is annual injections for a outdoor cat essential???

Anacrusis

SnowyOwl wrote: »

Personally I would not take the chance with my cats' lives. QUOTE]

I don't believe I know whether it's better for cats to have a yearly vaccine or better for them risk catching illnesses, so while I agree with what you say above, whatever we choose to do we are taking a chance, although if someone understands and has researched how the vaccines should work and then decides maybe the risk of the cat becoming ill is lessened...

I wonder if we should be more concerned about our pet's diets? Cat's are not meant to be vegetarians but the vast majority of available cat food contains just 4% meat + meat deriratives (dread to think what they are??) fish varieties also contain 4% fish as well as the 4% meat. This is both the cheap brands and the expensive ones such as whisers, felix etc. I'm thinking a better diet is more important than whether we vaccinate or not.

tanith

I've kept cats for 40 odd years and none have had yearly injections , they go to the vet if they need treatment or sick/injured but not for vaccination.s.. my cats have always lived to a ripe old age of at least 18, my last one died of a tumour at 20 and I still have my old lady who is almost 21 old but healthy. It personal choice of course , you may not be as lucky as I have been..

Tigsteroonie

I stopped having my cats boosted when I moved up to Scotland, as the nearest vet would have involved a ferry journey and a two-hour round trip. We did have a bout of catflu in the house, brought in by a new cat we had homed, but we successfully nursed them all through it.

Bear in mind though that catteries will invariably insist upon proof of annual boosters for any cats placed there.

snowman2_2

An outdoor cat should have vaccinations and it is more important than for an indoor cat. Diseases are more likely to spread when cats can meet each other. The big vaccination for outdoor cats is Feline Leukaemia (FeLV) which needs direct cat to cat contact to spread - usually fighting. There is no treatment for FeLV and it is usually fatal within a couple of years. We see loads of cases near us.

As to the length of immunity, feline enteritis (panleukopaenia) probably lasts several years, cat flu about 18 months and FeLV only 15 months. Each disease is different as is each cat. You can't compare with human or dog vaccines either as the only common vaccine for cats, dogs & humans is rabies and each species has a 3 year duration. .

albacookie

Some info on FeLV - http://www.fabcats.org/owners/felv/info.html

They estimate the prevalance of infection to be 1 - 2% which is quite high. FeLV causes serious illness and is often fatal so I'd vaccinate.

mutter

I have concerns about the effect over-medication has on the immune system and general well being (in humans as well as animals) and decided not to have the boosters, and my vet is fine with that.
He is interested in the holistic and complementary approach and totally understands where I'm coming from.

I do accept I'm taking a risk with their lives, but so far I've been extraordinarily lucky and not lost any of my 17 (not all at once!) to anything that a booster might have prevented.
They have all had 24/7 access to outdoors - though some have utilised that more than others - and several have lived beyond 20.

I think you just have to do the research, speak to your vet and make your own decisions in the end.

bluebeary

i frontline and drontal my cat every two months at least, im paranoid about bugs anyway

he has his annual jabs due in june, if you need to go away and put cat in a cattery, you have to have evidence of this anyway

tanith

bluebeary wrote: »

i frontline and drontal my cat every two months at least, im paranoid about bugs anyway

he has his annual jabs due in june, if you need to go away and put cat in a cattery, you have to have evidence of this anyway

One of the reasons I've never put one of my cats in a cattery is so they don't become exposed to something another cat might pass on no matter how clean/careful they are these things still happen regularly... I have family come in and take care of the cats if I am away .

heretolearn_2

I always got my cat vaccinated every year, but I do wonder why it is necessary. Our vaccinations don't have to be repeated every year - you have them when you are kids and that's it, done for life usually. OK, tetanus every ten years. How come animal vaccinations don't last?

building_with_lego

I did a bit of reading around this recently. It seems that vaccines vary in the length of cover they provide- some 18ish months, some 3 years or more. Vets encourage annual boosters as that's what the vaccine manufacturers advise; it's also a way of ofsetting the high costs of things like operations- they can charge slightly less to the client as they've made a packet on jabs!

(I also discovered that FeLV immunity is pretty much set by 18 months of age: if your cat is older they are unlikely to develop effective immunity and if you've vaccinated before then they don't need boosters any longer. I *think* that I'll get my two done for FeLV again at 2 years and leave it after that. I'll always vaccinate for flu and FIV etc as there are lots of cats around here.)