I have the means and the ability to vaccinate my cats but

[EFerrari]

there seems to be some debate about it. They were all vaccinated when they were kits. It's been a couple of years and time to do it again. Or, is it? Have any of you cat people heard about this controversy?

My guys are indoor cats, so I sort of want to think through the issues before I pull the vaccine.

[Critters2]

1. I don't get my cats vaccinated.

Because they're indoors....and because I'm a cheap, lazy pig.

YMMV

[EFerrari]

3. . . .

:spank:

The vaccine cost me about $25 for 10 doses and my rescue friends fixed me up with syringes and needles. I've also had training in how to deliver them -- it's really easy but you have to be careful.

[Critters2]

12. I am enjoying this WAAAAy too much!

:evilgrin:

[stuntcat]

2. vets have never mentioned vaccinations, to us

We've had 2 to 5 indoors for years with lots of trips to vets and we haven't done it, not since the 90's anyway, maybe I used to do it years ago and forgot though! I don't know if they need it or not.. mine might because once in a while one will break out for a couple hours.

[EFerrari]

4. I recently picked up a little guy wandering down my avenue.

Since I brought him into the family, I thought maybe I should just do him AND everyone else since he can't tell me where he's been. He's a looker, especially in his nonsquished by traffic state. :)

[stuntcat]

10. wandering :o

omg he's lucky you found him, his life is Made!
There're are so many animals out there that no one cares for, but when I hear these stories on DU it makes me so happy :loveya:

[nuxvomica]

5. If they are elderly or have chronic health problems, I wouldn't

My cat Amos stopped getting rabies after he got on in years and never had the FIV or the feline leukemia vaccines because he had no chance of contracting either. He only got rabies boosters because in NYS, if your pet is not vaccinated according to the schedule and there's a rabid or potentially rabid wild animal reported on your property, your pet could be quarantined. There's also the injection-site sarcoma to be concerned about and you should ask your vet about that before getting a cat vaccinated.

[EFerrari]

6. The boards I read are mostly saying, don't do it.

That's counter intuitive and so, the question.

I have four great vets at our clinic and they know I'm on a limited income and are cool with me doing this bit of it the care. They actually offered me a job as a techy but I can't live on what they can pay although I'd love the work. :)

[barb162]

27. The vets say if your cats are old or ill they SHOULDN'T be vaccinated

[bicentennial_baby]

7. I don't know...

My cat is vaccinated. He's indoor. He's healthy. :shrug:

[lizziegrace]

8. Mine got all their initial shots

and that's it. They're indoor cats and I heard enough horror stories about tumors at the injection sites that it didn't seem to be worth it.

[EFerrari]

9. My thing is, I introduced one new guy into the colony

and he can't or won't give me his history -- so, I'm a little worried about what he's added to the germ pool.

He wasn't neutered, had fleas and a tape worm, so I assumed whoever his idiot owner was hadn't vaccinated him either.

edit: Welcome Wah Baby. We don't want your koodies. :)

[Rhiannon12866]

44. What a cutie! And how fortunate for him that he found you!

I so miss having a cat, have had three in my life, all rescue, but I kinda have my hands full dealing with a puppy and a 100 lb.+ Airedale, but nuxvomica lets me share his two kittens...:loveya:

Jack & Charlie, unlikely best friends... :D

[SOteric]

11. I took my cat for vaccinations today.

The vet told me that his own cat, an indoor cat, get's only a Rabies vaccine. Other than that, he won't vaccinate and he told me about something that they put in cat vaccines that makes them less than desireable. With this ingredient in (whatever chemical name thingamie) the Rabies vaccination can be updated every three years, but it's not really good for the cats and studies have shown it can shorten their expected life span. Without the ingredient, the Rabies vaccine is needed every year. But it's much less traumatic to their systems.

[Madrone]

13. I don't vaccinate.

Disclaimer: In the situation you're talking about I understand ... not sure what I'd do there.

I have 3 indoor cats that have not been vaccinated beyond their initial round of kitten shots. They are all elderly kitties now.

I have a 4 year old dog that has not and will not be vaccinated past his puppy shots, with the exception of rabies which has more to do with legalities than anything else. My vet is completely behind this.

[liberalhistorian]

14. Yes, you still do have to vaccinate them every couple of years,

just like with children. And that includes indoor cats; as my vet explained to me, there may be times when they're exposed to other animals either accidentally or otherwise, or to something you may bring in from the outside. Always better safe than sorry. And you KNOW the guilt-trip looks cats are perfectly capable of giving, too!

[idgiehkt]

15. I don't know if I would bother with the rabies because it won't be legal

It has to be administered by someone in an official capacity to count. I recently took all of my parents dogs and cats and my two dogs and had them done (10 animals), because there is a rabies outbreak around here this year. A dog actually made it to the vet with rabies, and the vet recognized the symptoms, and by that time 10 people had been exposed to the animal and all had to have the series of shots that you have to get with exposure, which are $3000 a series. So someone made a quick $30,000 bucks. Around here (in all of NC) if your animal comes in contact with rabies, it has to be quarantined at the local animal shelter, because vets will not take them. And you have to pay. The shelter here killed a beautiful harlequin great dane a few years ago. The lady had let the vaccinations lapse and it bit ( but didn't break the skin) a repairman, who had to report it and it had to be quarantined. Within 12 days the dog had developed an upper respiratory infection and was emaciated and covered in feces and urine when they picked it up, it died a couple days later. I am not taking that risk with my pets of them ending up at a local shelter. But if you live in an area that doesn't have many occurrences of rabies in wildlife maybe you don't have to worry about it. I think if one animal on the property is exposed they all have to be quarantined...not sure about that but I do get rabies for that reason, I have always gotten my animals vaccinated with a 3 year vaccine after the first one-year vaccination that they get. Sorry to be so long-winded. Some people are now saying you can have a titer test done to see if they actually need the rabies vacc after 3 years but a vet once told me the state wouldn't count that as immunity if there was exposure. I just know I'm not willing to have to have my animals quarantined at this shelter, no way in hell. As far as the other stuff goes, I don't have cats and I declined the FeLv, etc, vaccine for my parents cats because I can't afford it. Two are inside and not exposed (but may have been in the past) and 4 are outside and if the vaccine is not fully effective (when I was working for vets I think it was 80% but that may have changed, it might have gotten better) then they run a risk of getting it anyway. I can't convince them to bring all the cats inside and they are not my animals, so I didn't get them. I just know that if they are not vaccinated for rabies and spend 10 days at the shelter in quarantine they will be exposed to FIV, FeLv, FUS, etc etc etc and everything else under the sun.

[EFerrari]

21. Good point about rabies and quarantine. For that, they'll

go see their doc. We're next door to Golden Gate Park and anything can come out of there. :crazy:

[Liberal Veteran]

16. When Mischief escaped a couple of weeks ago, I was glad he was vaccinated.

All my fur babies are indoor cats, but you never know when one might slip outside for awhile and who knows what they could pick up in the neighborhood while catting around.

[TZ]

17. I believe that most vets believe that 3 years between

vaccines is a good idea, better than the 1 year it used to be. You have to realize that while all vaccines can have side effects, most are pretty safe. If they are indoor cats, there are probably some vaccines you can skip. But I wouldn't worry overly about them harming your cats. The problems with them seem to come when they are injected incorrectly as well.
Message boards tend to distort the dangers (and yes there are some) of vaccines. While I am not a vet, I do have professional experience with vaccines and am very knowledgable about vaccines. Its hard to get an accurate picture about them on the internet. There is a lot of ignorance and fear about them. Feel free to PM me if you have anymore questions. I actually have to take my guys in for some boosters soon myself. As someone said, a sick or old cat I would hesitate with, but I don't know anyone with a pet (and all my friends are pet people) that has had their animal have anything worse than being a little sluggish for a day or two.

[idgiehkt]

19. that's a good point

one of my parent's cats is thin and I had bloodwork done on her before the got the rabies shot, it was about $100. Still don't know what is wrong but I am beginning to suspect Leukemia, in which case the shot would have been useless, going to take her in and have her tested. I have had my dogs throw up after being vaccinated and their eyes run for a day or two, I don't do anything but rabies for older dogs, but for younger dogs parvo/distemper is a must...the espense you incur if they get (same with cats re: distemper) is not worth risking, that could be thousands for a vet stay.

[Kali]

18. depending on how long your others have been exposed to your newcomer,

I would say too late to make his arrival be one of the reasons. Plenty of other good reasons, and a few not to, but it sounds like anything he is carrying would already be passed along and vaccinating won't prevent anything already "caught".

[EFerrari]

22. True. His eyes were clear, coat was good, no temp

otherwise, he'd have gone to the vet before coming home. We're lucky because the office is short walk away.

[MissMillie]

20. it's a law in this state that cats have to be vaccinated for rabies

certainly, you can put this off w/ indoor cats, but if you bring them to the vets for anything else and you have no record of a rabies shot, they will not treat your cat until they vaccinate it.

[EFerrari]

23. I've been having the shots updated when I take them in for

other stuff but four of these guys haven't needed anything for a while, so that system is not working. I better call and see what the vet says about rabies. :hi:

[bicentennial_baby]

28. Hm. My vet hasn't mentioned that at all...

Weird.

[MissMillie]

31. when you adopted him

he was probably already vaccinated for the year.

After the first year, then they can do shots that last 3 years.

[Beausoir]

24. We have backed off over vaccinating. I only do it because these damn cute half-dead strays seem to

find my house in the middle of a freezing cold MN night. And I have to adopt them.

I don't want my healthy cats exposed to things.

One of my girls gets a terrible reaction from vaccines, and one vet told me that could lead to cancer. So she doesn't get much.

[China_cat]

25. Check with your state health department

You may be legally obligated (indoor or not) to vaccinate against rabies. We no longer do anything but that and would skip the rabies shots but we live in a rabies epidemic state. If somebody should come to our home and be bitten or scratched by one of them and we couldn't provide proof of vaccination, the animal would be killed and tested. No ifs ands or buts.

However, a lot of the controversy comes from people who believe that that nothing should ever be vaccinated for anything. Not pets, not people, especially not your kids. They don't believe that vaccination is the reason we no longer have full-scale polio epidemics, etc.

[barb162]

26. Why do they need vaccinations if they're indoor?

They don't. Check some GOOD university sites for the latest info on vaccine protocols.

[EFerrari]

35. I think I'm going to hit the UC Davis site. Good call. n/t

[TZ]

39. indoor cats can pick up infections from YOU carried in off the street

or if you come in contact with other cats. Some viruses are hardier than others. SOME vaccines aren't necessary for indoor cats but since you don't live in a vacuum, they still can theoretically pick up some of this stuff. Really, talk to your vet (fyi..cats can get things like lyme disease and West Nile Virus also..those are insect born..ticks and mosquitos) about what is a threat in your area. Some parts of the country have different risks as well.

[EFerrari]

40. Oh, definitely! I'm the biggest risk around here because I go in and out.

You're so right about that!

lol

[Eurobabe]

47. have you seen any sites that give info on lymes in cats?

my orange baby was bitten by a tick in May, although I got off of him -- it worries me that he might get lymes someday. I am keeping a close eye on him. He got outside in the backyard for a split second in the spring. :mad:

[TZ]

50. If it was a big tick (normal sized)

I wouldn't worry. Deer ticks are very small and usually you wouldn't see them. I know a bunch of dogs that sadly have gotten Lyme disease, though.
Here's some info on Lyme and cats..apparantly cats can get it but be asymptomatic:
http://www.messybeast.com/lyme.htm

[Eurobabe]

52. oh thanks, that was a good little piece!

This tick was fresh (like SPAM) it had just attached itself, and had not yet started to suck blood. And it was big. I am hoping for the best, so far, since May -- the Demon seems like his normal, saucy self.

[Eurobabe]

53. oh thanks, that was a good little piece!

This tick was fresh (like SPAM) it had just attached itself, and had not yet started to suck blood. And it was big. I am hoping for the best, so far, since May -- the Demon seems like his normal, saucy self.

[spinbaby]

29. We vaccinate more than the recommended schedule

Two of our kitties get rabies shots annually instead of every other year. These two are youngsters we adopted as strays, and they maintain their regular rounds around the neighborhood. Our neighborhood has quite more than its quota of bats and racoons, so rabies is a worry. The older indoor cats get shots on the regular schedule.

[EFerrari]

36. I stopped letting mine out after losing a beautiful red girl

who was probably stolen and I hope not by bunchers that sell to the Universities. :(

/oops

[spinbaby]

37. These were neighborhood strays when we adopted them

They were already established in the neighborhood and it didn't seem right to make them give up their freedom for room and board.

[EFerrari]

38. Oh, I understand. I guess for me, the risks just got too great.

My guys were all out door cats. But, there are enough of them to amuse each other when they're not actively trying to drive me crazy. :)

[barb162]

30. Read this

and many other sites like it.
http://www.newvaccinationprotocols.com/Conclusions.htm
http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/petvacc.htm

Google "adverse vaccine reactions in cats"

[EFerrari]

33. Thanks, barb!

[Zookeeper]

32. I always adopt my pets from Animal Rescue or...

from the Humane Society, so they have been vet checked and immunized. Since I keep my cats indoors, I usually leave it at that.

My 19th year old, frail Siamese has no interest in going outside, however I was a bit concerned about our new big boy cat, who probably was an outdoor cat at one time based on his urge to get out. Luckily, when he does slip out, he stops when he reaches the grass and flops down, so I'm not too worried about him, either.

I know that there are a lot more strays in S.F., though, so, I might handle it differently there. I remember that huge colony of feral cats out by the Legion of Honor that people continued to feed and encourage, even though many of them looked really sick.

[EFerrari]

34. There's another one a few blocks away at the SW corner of

GG Park. People do catch and release after they spay/neuter, worm & vaccinate them. I don't know how I feel about that. Basically, what I think is happening is that they're cleaning up coyote dinners. :shrug:

/oops

[Rhiannon12866]

42. Are you familiar with Alley Cat Allies?

They do a wonderful job of attempting to reduce the feral cat population by maintaining the colonies and using "trap, neuter, return" as their method. I know a couple of people in rescue who work with them. I got to know about them when I sent for articles from them to help me socialize a kitty who I brought in from the outside.:-)

http://www.alleycat.org/

[Rhiannon12866]

41. I had this discussion with my vets, as well.

My cats were all indoor cats, so it seemed pretty pointless to me, as well, especially if there could be health risks associated with inoculations. However, at both my vets, I was asked what would happen if a bat somehow got in my house and bit the kitty, exposing her to rabies. Since both vets were associated, this sounded extremely far fetched and some kind of propaganda that these women were spouting.:eyes:

However, since then, I have had not one, but two, friends who had exactly this experience! Friend #1 came home and went to bed without turning on the lights and woke up to find a bat in her house. Since her two cats were not currently vaccinated against rabies, she had a choice, have them in quarantine which would have cost her $6000, or have them euthanized. She didn't have the money and her daughter eventually found out that the kitties weren't in quarantine like she said, causing a huge breach in their relationship. Such a sad story.;(

Friend #2 had this happen to her sister. The sister awoke to find one of her two cats had somehow trapped an errant bat in a gift bag and was sitting on it, LOL. She also has a dog. Since her pets were inoculated against rabies, they were okay, but my friend's sister and her seven-year-old daughter had to go through the rabies series, not pleasant for them.:-(

It's up to you, but those have been my experiences. My guys get their shots when they're due. Thanks for the reminder. My puppy is due for his rabies booster in September.:hi:

[Eurobabe]

43. My indoor guys got initial shots as babies, and the older had some

follow ups. They get rabies boosters, but none of the other vaccines. One is 7 and the other is going on 16.

[Rhiannon12866]

45. And how are they doing?

Did you ever solve the piddle problem?:shrug:

Rhiannon:hi:

[Eurobabe]

46. My cats are great, my Mom's little guy is the PIDDLER

and next week she is getting her carpeting ripped out downstairs and replaced. Laminate in the kitchen and new carpet in the living room. I know she has to do it, but Mr. Whizzer is not going to stop his thing.

She got a light brown carpet so the cat gack doesn't show anymore. LOL. You know you've got cats when...

:hi:

[Rhiannon12866]

48. I knew that this kitty was your mother's, but I remembered your original concern.

Did she ever try Feliway, which I told you I tried for my own cat, not because she had litterbox issues, but just to calm her, since I brought her in from a terrible life outside. But they now have this in a plug-in atomizer, which I have heard has had a lot of success. Your mother may want to try it.:-)

Anyway great to see you, my friend. I currently have one very difficult Brussels Griffon puppy and am also dealing with a 100+ Airedale. *sigh* I miss having a kitty, though I share nuxvomica's, who lost his beloved Amos (at 17) on May 1st of this year and has adopted two tiny kittens, little orange brothers, who get bigger by the day. I really am taken with them and cat-sit whenever he asks me to. I used to be able to pick up both of them in one hand, but not anymore. If I pick up one of them, the other one cries, so I pick him up, who purrs, and the other one cries. I love the kitties.:loveya:

Rhiannon:hi:

On edit: I thought that you'd like to see the little guys, very cute... Tom is in the foreground and Huck is in the back. He got them a kitty climbing tree and Huck is actually a little bigger now. Guess who was an English major, LOL.:D

[Eurobabe]

51. Oh ginger babies!!!

:loveya: :loveya: how can you stand it?? They are so cute!! Next time you see them, give them a chin scritch from me?

My Demon is 7 now, and he amazes me everyday with his crazy antics: chirping, rolling over, just being a generally all-round great companion. I don't know what I would do without him. He was a one in a million find at the SPCA.

Orange catz RULE da planet! :hi:

[Rhiannon12866]

55. Aren't they just the cutest things?!

When I pick them up, which they demand, I am so tempted to squeeze them, LOL.:loveya:

And I have also been partial to the orange kitties, though two out of three of mine have been black, also with personality to burn. ;) Amos, who we lost in May, was also a little ginger baby. He was rescued by a guy who I worked with, as a tiny kitten, back in 1990, and he became nuxvomica's baby. We still miss him a lot, but this explains why he chose these two little ones, (whose mother was rescued by his sister and she produced the kittens *sigh*) when he decided he was ready.:-)

Here's Amos, who was also a demon...:loveya:


So I know what you mean about orange cats ruling... I still have the pic that you sent me of your amazing baby...:loveya:

Rhiannon:hi:

[Eurobabe]

56. Oh, sorry to hear you lost Amos

did he cross the bridge, or did you literally lose him? Somehow I think I missed that...:hug:

I am now forever partial to gingers, (I do have a big sweet old brown tabby too, he's very mellow) I think in general tabby cats are the sweetest. JMHO.

[Rhiannon12866]

57. Awwww! He looks like he's smiling, LOL. And very friendly.

Is he a lap cat? He sure looks like one.:loveya: I have since learned that orange kitties are almost always male, as tri-colors are usually female...:shrug:

And when I said that we "lost" Amos, that's as far as I can go towards saying that he died. nuxvomica was running him to the vet every other day, but he wasn't getting any better and they couldn't tell him what was wrong, so I finally put him on the phone with my vet's office and they persuaded him to bring Amos in. Using the same X-Rays and examining the same cat, my vet diagnosed him, said that he could continue treating him as he had been, but he wasn't going to get any better. So he made the decision right then and there, couldn't let his best friend suffer. And that's been rough, since we also built a house back in 1990, so Amos has always been there. I keep expecting to see him around any corner.;( I didn't push the idea of the kittens, but I knew that his sister was looking to place them, and think that they have helped a lot...:-)

I kinda lost it when I picked up his ashes, told the vet tech that this never gets any easier, never dreaming that I would lose my own little baby less that two weeks later. He's the little guy in my sig who's making faces at everybody. He went with me everywhere and slept on my pillow, so I'm not dealing very well with it.;(

Here's nuxvomica's tribute thread for Amos...:loveya:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x6472468

[REP]

49. Rabies Boosters Only and Only When They Need Grooming/Boarding

I'm in Mountain View, we're surrounded by asphalt and they never go outside unless I put them in a carrier and make them! I'm far from anti-vacc, but I will never give the FLV vacc and give others only as risk level dictates.

[Flaxbee]

54. If you have introduced a new cat to the mix, yes, get them

vaccinated - but then if they'll all be indoors all the time, I don't think you need to do it after they've all had their checkups/shots. DO NOT GET THE 3 YEAR RABIES VACCINE for your cats -- only do the one year.
And make sure all shots are delivered to their flanks, NOT BETWEEN THE SHOULDERS. One of our cats developed a major lump when she had a shot between her shoulders -- the first biopsy showed sarcoma, but it eventually dissolved. Phew! But shots between the shoulders are bad, and vaccines continue to get stronger / more "effective" but it seems that just because the vaccinations are more potent it doesn't mean they're better for the cat - the opposite, in fact.