Yearly Cat Booster Jabs - do you?

simontheiceman

In terms of duration between vaccinations, you do have a degree of leeway and I would expect most praactices to accept anywhere between 3 and 6 months as this is what the manufacturers are happy to tolerate as reasonable. The reason they do not last longer is due to the interesting science of immunology particularly in respect of different species. Hence you cannot compare human vaccinations and animal vaccinations. If you fail to vaccinate or fail to keep up boosters then you take a risk and if you are lucky then you will have saved a few pounds but (and its a big but) you and only you are responsible for the welfare of your animal and this is now enshrined in law under the Animal welfare act 2006 (with updates in 07 and 08). Technically; if you fail to take care of an animal especially in respect of a preventable disease then you could be held liable.

ailuro2

I lost a cat of just 3 years old to FLV, and having my cats vaccinated since has been a tiny price to pay to stop that particular heartache.
I'd had him since he was born, so it was terrible to be told I could choose to have the tumour removed and watch him slowly die, or to have him put down straight away even though he hadn't been in pain yet.


I prefer my cats to live to a ripe old age, and prefer a bit of prevention when cure is impossible.;)

Igol

My last moggie was about 2 when I got her and never went near a vet in the 10 years I had her and never seemed to suffer as a result of my years of 'neglect'. My new little pest will hopefully only be attending the vets at the end of the year to be done and thats all I'm planning for him.

lowis

my cats are indoor cats and i still vaccinate them, it is a condition of my insurance and should i ever need to put them in to a cattery they are protected against infection. my vet used to operate a reduced vaccination schedule (bi-annually) but he has now gone back to an annual schedule. i would rather my cats were protected than not... but each to their own and i respect other's decisions, this is just my choice, based on advice from my vet and research that i have done myself.

tanith

A moron here too... I have kept cats all my life and they have all lived long and healthy lives but never had any jabs of any kind.. they only went to the vet if obviously ill or had an accident but this was a very rare occurance.. I guess I have been lucky but all my cats have lived to be at least 17 and two lived beyond twenty only passing away with cancers.. my current old lady is 20 and still healthy and strong.. in the early days I seriously could not afford to keep up with jabs but then came to realise that my cats stayed healthy without...

lowis

my mum stopped vaccinations of her cats when they were about 8, and they all lived to 16 years plus (one reached 21)...and they were outdoor cats. i can understand the thought process either way...i just prefer to have mine vaccinated.

Sazzyukrafc

Yes do have them vacinated! It's best to be safe than sorry, as they say!

I believe that if you are a few weeks over, you can still get their boosters done as there is some lee(?!!? lol!) way. But don't quote me on that one.

Please remember...if you want to go away and put them in a cattery, you MUST have their vacinations up to date. No cattery will take them without proof of vacinations. My auntie runs her own kennels and cattery, and this is the first thing they check.

snowman2_2

Most insurance policies insist that you vaccinate and by not doing so you could potentially invalidate your policy. The immunity has only been shown to last for 15 - 18 months in a cat against the core diseases (rabies can be upto 3 years) but as you get older your immune system weakens which is why we give pensioners the flu jab. I vaccinate my own cats and my mums right through to old age and give the same advice to my clients

TinkyWinky_2

If you have concerns about the potential risks from "unnecessary" vaccination then there would be nothing to stop you asking your vet to blood test to check your cat's levels of immunity. I know this is a hot topic in dogs at the moment so i assume the same concerns would apply to cats.

Bear in mind though that you may have difficulty in finding a cattery to board your cat (although some will accept veterinary certification that your pet has an acceptable level of immunity) and you'd no doubt have a fight to get your insurance to accept an alternative approach.

Personally I can see the argument against unnecessary vaccination but I wouldn't compromise my insurance cover.

All of which reminds me that my youngest dog "needs" a booster!

zzzLazyDaisy

In my younger days I had cats and did not have innoculations or insurance. I was lucky, most lived to a ripe old age, although one had to be put down following a car accident and I do wonder to this day if anything could have been done for her - although the vet said not. I wasn't a moron (I don't think so anyway) I was just a very young hard-up single mum who just didn't know about these things

Two years ago a delightful burmese cross adopted me, and I have to say that I am now very much older and wiser, and I keep his innoculations and insurance up to date - it is a small price to pay for all the pleasure and companionship he gives me, and I would never forgive myself if anything happened to him that i could have prevented, i would never forgive myself.