Recently, somebody posted here how easy it is to spread feline
distemper - that you could bring it in on your clothes, if you had
contact with an infected cat, and then give it to your own cats
if they're not vaccinated. Could the person who posted that (Kajikit,
maybe?) say more about that? Did I understand that correctly?

This worries me because I have two indoor-only cats and one indoor/
outdoor. Smudge (the indoor/outdoor) is fully vaccinated. However,
I didn't keep up with the shots for the indoor-only kitties because
I was quite broke. Now I'm working again so I can afford it, and I
want to make sure they're protected. (For the record, Smudge has been
going outside *unrestricted* for only 6 months. Before that, I had her
on a leash in the outdoor stairwell, so she had far less contact with
other animals. I think there's more risk now.)

Also, I have another reason for not vaccinating one of my indoor-
only cats, Roxy. She has feline herpes and I consider her to be
immune-compromised. So I don't like to give her vaccinations unless
she truly needs it, and since she doesn't go out at all, I didn't
think she would need it. Now, after reading the comment about feline
distemper, I'm quite anxious about that, and I'm wondering if I
should bring Roxy and Licky up to date on their shots.

Questions:

- Do I need to vaccinate Roxy and Licky? Are they at risk due to
 the fact that Smudge goes out, even though she is fully vaccinated?

- Which shots do they need?

I'm also going to ask my vet about this, of course, but frankly, I
don't fully trust this vet not to tell me that I need to get them the
absolute maximum of everything, because they try to squeeze every bit
of money out of you they can. I don't want to short-change my kitties,
but at the same time, I don't want to give them shots they really
don't need. It's not even a matter of money anymore, but rather, I'm
concerned about overloading Roxy's system with pathogens (albeit dead
ones) when her immune system is occupied dealing with the herpes.

Licky is also an issue because I seriously don't think I could get
him into a carrier. And if I do manage to bring him to the vet, I
fear he will be totally traumatized. It would probably be a lot
easier if I could just get the serum and a syringe, and give him the
shots myself! There is a local vet who will do that.

Thanks for any advice.

Joyce