What Is The Exact Core Vaccination Needed At 6 To 8 Week Kittens?

[10009891]

I will not over vaccinate my kittens. I read too much information against over vaccinations. So is the FVRCP the main core vaccination needed at 6 to 8 weeks? I was reading against boosters, which is not necessary, especially with 100% indoor cats. What's the age to start deworming kittens? Which product is recommended and best? I truly appreciate your professional comments. You guys are great!

 

[abyeb]

The two core vaccines for cats are FVRCP and rabies (according to the American Association of Feline Practitioners). According to this chart, also issued by the AAFP: https://www.catvets.com/public/PDFs/PracticeGuidelines/VaccinationGLS-summary.pdf, FVRCP can be given as early as 6 weeks, and rabies as early as 8-12 weeks.

This is a question to ask your vet, though. They’ll have a lot of experience vaccinating kittens, so they’ll know what works best.

 

[GoldyCat]

My vet will not vaccinate kittens at 8 weeks. He says if they're vaccinated that young they need 2 addtional boosters a month apart. If they get the first vaccination at 10-12 weeks they only need one booster a month later.

 

[white shadow]

.
Hi TroyRag !

These days, I would not be asking a general practice Veterinarian for any advice on vaccinating kittens! And....that opinion is based on personal experience and on reading other peoples' direct experiences/ accounts both of what they were "advised", not advised and the results of unfortunate vaccination activities.

You may already know of Dr. Lisa Pierson and her site CatInfo.com - here are her recommendations (and her rationale for NOT following to a 'T' the AAFP's guidelines):

Kittens:

Vaccinate kittens with FVRCP twice starting at 8-9 weeks of age with the second, and final kitten vaccine, administered when the kitten is no younger than 16 weeks of age.

The AAFP guidelines state that you can start this vaccine when the kitten is as young as 6 weeks of age but, unless there is a very high index of risk, I would definitely not vaccinate a kitten this young.

We wait until the kitten is at least 16 weeks old to receive his last kitten shot because the antibodies he got from nursing on his mother will have decreased to a low enough level that his own body can respond to the vaccine in order to make his own antibodies. (Maternal antibodies within the kitten can ‘tie up’ the vaccine before his body has a chance to respond to it.)

The AAFP guidelines suggest giving the FVRCP every 3-4 weeks until the kitten is 16 weeks of age. This is done in an attempt to vaccinate the kitten the minute his maternal antibody level wanes to a low enough level to allow him to respond to the vaccine. That way, there will be a minimal gap between the time his mother’s antibodies stop protecting him and the time when he can start making his own antibodies.

That said, I would rather not give this many vaccines to a kitten. Unless there is a high index of risk, I prefer to limit it to 2 vaccines total for the kitten series.

If you read the AAFP guidelines, there is the potential for administering 4-5 vaccines in the kitten series. Given the fact that the FVRCP vaccine has been proven to cause kidney inflammation (nephritis), I am not comfortable following their suggestions.

See Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis associated with over-vaccination in a cocker spaniel puppy at the bottom of this webpage.

The above case involved an owner who, without veterinary supervision, vaccinated his puppy 7 times – 1 time per month. The puppy died at 7 months of age from kidney failure due to kidney inflammation. The two most striking facts/comments in this case report are:

In addition, antigens in the complexes were similar to the vaccine antigens in the DHLPP vaccine, suggesting that the glomerulonephropathy in this puppy was secondary to frequent and unnecessary vaccination.”

and….

Further studies are required at this time to determine the role, if any, that recent past and current vaccine protocols play in the development of protein-losing nephropathies.”

The last statement is very important considering the fact that chronic kidney disease is the most common subject that I consult on and that 2/3 of the kidney cells must be non-functioning before we see any elevation in blood markers such as BUN and creatinine. Therefore, we certainly may be damaging kitten kidneys by giving them 4 vaccines by the time they are 4 months old but not be aware of it.

Put another way – if 7 vaccines in 7 months resulted in the death of a puppy, then I am not comfortable with 4 vaccines within 10 weeks for a kitten.

Link: Vaccines for Cats: We Need to Stop Overvaccinating​

If you're not familiar with Dr. Pierson, her bio info is here: The Origin of CatInfo.org She's also well-known for her years of volunteering on The Feline Diabetes Message Board.

That article also includes warnings to avoid vaccines that contain "adjuvants" with plain language explanations and with the strong advice to 'ask, never assume' when it comes to allowing vaccine products to be used in our cats.

[I used to have great respect for the AAFP - The Association of Feline Practitioners. That said, it must be remembered that they are an industry-supported organization.....]

Hope that helps !
.