Vaccinations

[sicycat]

Originally posted by iluvcandy
Sicycat-

I think you're talking about adjuvant. From the same article I quoted from earlier it says "Currently, there is only one non-adjuvant rabies vaccine, and it is approved only as a yearly vaccine."

But, maybe some good news: "In an encouraging new development, an article appearing in the Nov. 1, 2003, issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association examined the risk factors for the development of vaccine-associated sarcomas in cats and found no increased risk associated with vaccines containing adjuvant. The only factor that did seem to increase risk slightly was administering a vaccine that is cold - that is, directly out of the refrigerator."

I sure hope that's true, my cat got the 3 year vaccine.

Jill and Candy

Thank you.. that's what I was thinking about .. adjuvant. And that's an interesting tip about the vaccine being cold.

Its really hard because, different people tell you different things.. and you read so many different things it just get so confusing and frustraing when its time to make a decision. All I know is when I asked my vet about getting a 3 year instead (I thought it would be nice to not have to go every year) she told me they switched to the 1 year purevax because of less risk of sarcomas. So I dont know what to believe yknow.

I bet they dont really know anything.

 

[ldm]

I have a question for you guys,

Kinsey's supposed to have her rabies shot this week but I was wondering if I could wait until august when Mosely's due so they can just go together? Anyone know if this is okay?

 

[tuxedokitties]

Originally posted by LDM
I have a question for you guys,

Kinsey's supposed to have her rabies shot this week but I was wondering if I could wait until august when Mosely's due so they can just go together? Anyone know if this is okay?

I'd say it depends on where you live, and if your cat is indoors-only. If you live somewhere rabies vaccination and possibly licensing is required by law, or somewhere that rabies has been a problem, don't wait. If you live somewhere it's not required by law & your cat is indoors-only, it's probably OK to wait. If you're unsure, call your vet's office & ask - they should be able to tell you what's appropriate for your area.

 

[twofatcats]

Just a suggestion, here. Because there are differences in law and in disease risk in different countries, it would be easier to follow people's points of view if everyone would go back to their profile and add at least their country in the location field, if that is not currently given.

 

[sammie5]

Oh, good point about location. I don't want to change my profile, but I am in Southern Ontario.

My cats were on slightly different "schedules", Bailey due in February, Sam due in April for shots. I asked the vet about delaying Bailey's for a couple of months so I could take them in together, and she said, no problem, the vaccine was good for much longer than one year, so there was no risk in delaying.

 

[sol]

Originally posted by Sammie5
I had a long discussion with my vet about vaccinations and frequency. Last year, we talked about the issue of sarcoma at the site. She has gone to a few seminars about this issue, and says that there is no concensus, and its very confused. They really do not know if vaccinations cause sarcoma, and there is evidence that some cats are just pre-disposed to sarcoma, and even anasthetic needles can "cause" it. So there is no verifiable direct link between vaccination and sarcoma. She did say that the injections that were related to sarcoma in cats that developed it were sub-q injetions, she prefers intra-muscular injections.

As for rabies, it is required by law, and also highly recommended, to protect humans. The risk of rabies in our area is fairly low, as they have eradicated it from the local skunk and raccoon population. However, there appear to be rabid bats, and there were two human deaths from rabies in the past year. So the consequence of getting rabies from your cat, who contact it from a bat or mouse, is catastrophic. Basically, you vaccinate your cat to reduce the life threatening risk to yourself.

As for distemper, this is not as serious for humans, but much more easy for the cat to contract. Because its airborn, even an indoor cat can contract it.

So, after thinking that we were going to be on an every three year schedule, we changed our minds, and have switched back to annual boosters.

And Sam is sick for the first day, but all he does is sleep it off. I get sick for a day after vaccinations too. Its not life threatening (like anaphylactic shock).

Weill, since the cat in question lives in the UK, rabies isn't at all necessary. Like I said earlier, the UK is a "rabies-free" country meaning no vaccinations are necessary. I know because I live in a rabies free country and have been checking up facts about importing breeding cats.