Good News! We can protect our "Purrfect" Friends with Cat Vaccinations.
Cat Vaccinations.
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Cat Vaccinations, what do they do for our cats?
We as cat caretakers love our cats. We want the best for them and good health = long life. One of the BIG things we can do for them are give the vaccines they need. A lot of this depends on the cat. Where the cat lives, how often, if at all it goes outdoors. What are its playmates? Where the cat lives plays a major role. Urban? rural? The geographic area are things we need to think of when choosing what cat vaccinations our "purrfect" friends will need. Your veterinarian can help you with this decisions.
Here are the cat vaccinations available. Feline panleukopenia Feline viral rhinotracheitis Feline calicivirus Rabies
For kittens the schedule would be:1 dose prior to 12 weeks 1 dose or more after 12 weeks, Annually thereafter or as determined by your vet.
For adult cats: Annually or as determined by your vet.
It is important to vaccinate our pets. This helps to prevent a disease and prevent the spreading of disease. It is much safer to prevent disease than to try to cure it once infection occurs. It is not very cost effective having to treat an infected animal either. Nursing kittens are getting immunizing antibodies from the mother as they feed off her.
(As long as the mother has been vaccinated.) This is called maternal antibodies or passive immunity. These maternal antibodies help to protect the kittens at an early age, however this protection dwindles fast during the first few months of life and soon are totally gone. That is why it is important to vaccinate kittens earlier than 12 weeks of age and re-vaccinate after 12 weeks of age. This will help protect them long after the maternal antibody levels have declined. So is also important that the mother cat has had her vaccinations.
Cat vaccinations are great protectors for our pets but the vaccine needs to be on board well before the animal is exposed to a disease. Hopefully our pets will never even come in contact with a disease but if they should lets make sure their immune defenses are primed and ready to fight.
There are some adverse effects possible with vaccinations. They are very rare but do happen. An allergic reactions to the vaccine and local injection site irritation may occur. On even rarer occasions tumors (fibrosarcomas) at the injection site may appear. Ask your veterinarian about this and the steps to take if a reaction should occur. Most Veterinarians will give the injection sub Q (under the skin) as oppose to IM (in the muscle). This help to reduce the chance of fibrasarcomas. The injections should also be given at the rear of the body. The reason for this is, it is much easier to remove a rear leg should a tumor appear opposed to a growing tumor higher up on the body.
Rabies This is one of the world's most publicized and feared diseases. Rabies is more common in cats than any other domestic animal. The virus attacks the brain and central nervous system. It is transmitted to all warm-blooded animals, including humans, mainly through saliva when bitten by an infected animal. Infected cats may withdraw and avoid contact with people, then become unnaturally aggressive later. Once infected, rabies is almost always deadly. Rabies vaccinations is mandated by law. This is to protect you and your family along with your cat. Most states require this vaccine 1 to 3 year intervals. Your veterinarian will know the laws in your area and vaccinate accordingly. Note: This is the only vaccine that MUST be given by a licensed veterinarian. I you do this yourself and a biting incident should occur, the vaccine will not be recognized by the health department and you will need to follow the steps as if your pet never was rabies vaccinated.
Feline Panleukopenia Also known as feline distemper. This is an extremely contagious widespread virus that infects virtually all susceptible cats within the first year of life. Signs include fever, loss of appetite, dehydration, vomiting and diarrhea or bloody, liquid stool. Severe clinical illness is the rule in young unvaccinated kittens, with most deaths occurring between 3 and 5 months of age. Less severe or sub clinical cases are more common in older cats.
Feline Respiratory Disease The majority of feline respiratory diseases come from feline viral rhinotracheitis (FVR) and feline calicivirus (FCV). Both are highly contagious viral infections. FVR is caused by herpes virus. Both result in similar illnesses. The symptoms, discharge from the nose and eye, conjunctivitis, ulcers of the oral cavity, anorexia, depression and inflammation of the upper respiratory tract. Felines usually recover in 1 to 2 weeks, although cats with FVR can become persistently infected after returning to normal, shedding the virus during times of stress. FVR can result in abortions of infected fetuses. Unvaccinated kittens are at greatest risk of FVR and FCV. Chlamydia psittaci bacteria are less common in the cause of feline respiratory disease but this can increase the severity of FVR or FCV. Important Notice: Click here for important update to FCV. If you own a cat you really need to read this.
Feline Leukemia FeLV is a very effective cat vaccination but must be given before the cat is infected. There is a blood test that can be given first to make sure the cat is FeLV free. This virus severely limits the cat's immune systems ability to ward off all sorts of infections. If a cat is infected with this disease it can just be a carrier of the infection for a long time without displaying any signs. Occasionally, if stressed by injury, surgery or some other stressful event the disease will start to show itself. Sick cats may have periods of time when they appear to be healthy only to relapse to illness. This virus will be fatal over a period of time. This disease initially produces immunosuppressive infection followed by various other diseases like respiratory disease, diarrhea, anemia, low white blood cell counts affecting the immunosuppressed cat. If a cat would survive these initial diseases, many will develop some form of cancer. FeLV disease spreads from cat to cat through direct contact or through contaminated food or dishes or litter box.
Feline Infectious Peritonitis FIP is a viral infection that can take years to show its ugly self. It is fatal once it does. Cats 2 years of age and younger and elderly cats are most often affected. FIP begins as an upper respiratory infection that can progress to inflammation of the tissues and organs including the abdominal cavity. A classic sign of this infection is swelling of the abdomen due to fluid build up. This is the wet form of the disease. The fluid discharge within the abdomen and occasionally in the chest displays a golden, dense liquid with flakes of proteinaceous debris floating within the fluid. These cats loose weight rapidly, refuse to eat much and run a high fever. The dry type of infection is where the cat displays a high fever and impairment of internal organs such as the kidneys, liver, lungs and intestines. These cats simply do not improve no matter what supportive care is provided.
Feline Immune Deficiency Virus FIV is a disease similar to the human Immune Deficiency Virus (HIV). The FIV is found only in felines. It is believed that the disease is spread mainly through the bite of an infected cat. Like FeLV, this disease suppresses the immune system's strength so affected cats are likely to develop all sorts of infections. They include urinary tract, respiratory tract, intestine and kidneys. Skin infections are also common place. Various cancers may also develop. There is no cat vaccinations available at this time for FIV. The virus relatively in common and most infected cats remain normal for extended periods until immunodeficiency occurs. If you are interested in buying your own vaccines Click here.
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