I need help with my cats

CDaniels1987

Me and my GF got our first cat last August, she was 8 weeks old, and we got our most recent cat in January this year, again 8 weeks old, both have been registered with our local Manor Vets, only now have we found out they have never had the vaccination shots, they are indoor cats however I am worried about the fact that they haven't had them, can they only have them as kittens or would we be ok taking them down to the vets to get there shots at this age now? and also roughly how much would it cost.

I also think they may have fleas, they keep scratching and licking a lot, our oldest cat had them when we first had her and we got her treated at the vet, however I was looking at some treatments I could use at home and they all get awful reviews especially the Bob Martin ones where most people say it harmed there cat and in some cases even killed them! Whats the best way to deal with this without expensive vet bills everytime they get fleas?

Thanks in advance for any advice given.

Fridaycat

Your cats were too young to have had their vaccinations when you first got them as they should be done at 9 and 12 weeks old, with a single annual booster thereafter. It is not too late to get them done now, though, so if I were you, I'd make an appointment at the vet ASAP.

The cost will depend on two things: how expensive your vet is, and whether or not you get them vaccinated against Feline Leukaemia. If they are completely indoor cats, you probably don't need the latter. I would therefore estimate a cost of around £40-£50 per cat for the initial courses, and around £30 per cat per year for the boosters.

The best way to treat fleas would be using something like Frontline which you don't need a vet's prescription for.

DebiT

Forget the injections, very often they can compromise the immune system, spend the money on some good flea treatment like advocate.

Buttonmoons

I have never had my cats injections as they are indoors, if I ever move and they were able to go out, I'd get them done though/or put them in kennels - which is a requirement

Oliver14

DebiT wrote: »

Forget the injections, very often they can compromise the immune system, spend the money on some good flea treatment like advocate.

Thats an opinion with no basis in Science. You obviously are a little clueless to how vaccinations work, If it was true no one human or animal would never have any vaccination. There is some evidence that boosters may not be needed as often but vaccinations do work,

OP do not take dodgy advice from someone on a message board go and speak to your vet about the vaccinations.

As for fleas as well as treating your cats you will need to treat your house as there will be eggs etc in your soft furnishings

spike7451

Oliver14 wrote: »

Thats an opinion with no basis in Science. You obviously are a little clueless to how vaccinations work, If it was true no one human or animal would never have any vaccination. There is some evidence that boosters may not be needed as often but vaccinations do work,

OP do not take dodgy advice from someone on a message board go and speak to your vet about the vaccinations.

As for fleas as well as treating your cats you will need to treat your house as there will be eggs etc in your soft furnishings

You may also need to de-worm the cats as well as the flea treatment.Basically the flea eats the worm egg,the cat licks the flea off & swallows it,flea dies & worm egg hatches inside pet,very alien like....:eek:

http://animalpetdoctor.homestead.com/fleas.html

CDaniels1987

Ok thanks for the advice, we went to get some frontline today but needed to know the exact weight of our cats before we could buy, so we now have to buy some scales tomorrow so we can weigh them!

The plan is, get frontline tomorrow and deflea them, then worm them next week, then in the next month get the injections sorted!

BTW will they be ok having frontline without having their injections? I know it may seem a silly question, just want to make sure their ok as I have read some absolute horror stories from the spot on home treatment although it only seems to be for Bob Martin, having really read anything bad about frontline!

Caroline_a

Frontline is good stuff - you shouldn't have a problem with it. Also, your vet will weigh your cat if you can't estimate - or do you have bathroom scales? Weigh you and cat, put cat down, weigh you, subtract one from the other!

I'm surprised that you think your cats have fleas though if they are house cats - are there any other signs of fleas? ie flea dirt around the neck area (looks like small pieces of black dirt)

Personally I would get the vet to check them out - it could save you money in the long term - I don't frontline my house cat as she's never anywhere to catch cat fleas!

spike7451

Caroline_a wrote: »

Frontline is good stuff - you shouldn't have a problem with it. Also, your vet will weigh your cat if you can't estimate - or do you have bathroom scales? Weigh you and cat, put cat down, weigh you, subtract one from the other!

I'm surprised that you think your cats have fleas though if they are house cats - are there any other signs of fleas? ie flea dirt around the neck area (looks like small pieces of black dirt)

Personally I would get the vet to check them out - it could save you money in the long term - I don't frontline my house cat as she's never anywhere to catch cat fleas!

My Orbit was a housecat as well,He got fleas off ME as I was working in a very stinking home while as a service tech for NTL,Other than that time,we've never had fleas before so the OP may have transferred them to the cat from contact from someone or someones pets who has fleas.

CDaniels1987

Yeah they defo have fleas! I was the same for the last few weeks thinking "nah they are house cats, they wont have fleas" but I have actually seen a few and seen the flea dirt, I saw one on me the other day and it jumped before I could get it.

We'll try the Frontline and if the scabs don't go or anything will defo take them to the vets but they def have got fleas.

Fridaycat

It is a myth that house cats don't get fleas (just as it is bad advice not to get them vaccinated). As Spike has pointed out, they can come from a variety of sources. Frontline will be fine, it is far superior to Bob Martin's stuff which I am amazed is still allowed to be on sale :eek: