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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / October 2004indoor cat need vaccinations?
Sam used to be an outdoor cat but for the past 2 yrs she's been an indoor cat due to housing regulations we live on a 2nd floor apartment and she likes to sit out on the balconey with much effort & patience I have managed to get her outside using a leash, but I don't think she like's it....all Sam does is sit in the grass she's never exposed to other animals I've never had cat that was an indoor one thats why I'm asking TY all ensoul What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy? ~Mahatma Gandhi I think technically all that she needs is a rabies shot (mandated by the state). gail > Sam used to be an outdoor cat but for the past 2 yrs she's been an indoor > cat [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > name of liberty or democracy? > ~Mahatma Gandhi [posted and mailed] As recently discussed in another thread, the FVRCP (3 in 1, or distemper combination) vaccination protects against three serious and often fatal viruses. These three can live days to months outside a host, and can be airborne like dust particles or carried in on your clothing. It's very necessary to vaccinate indoor cats against these, but many vets now feel that once every three years is ample protection after the cat has had its initial series. The other kinds of vaccinations protect against diseases requiring actual contact with infected animals, and aren't necessary for indoor cats. Rabies vaccination is usually required by law, and IMO, is a good idea, because an infected animal could get into the home, or the cat could escape and get bitten. > Sam used to be an outdoor cat but for the past 2 yrs she's been an indoor cat > due to housing regulations [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > I've never had cat that was an indoor one > thats why I'm asking  Signaturejamie (jamiemck@newsguy.com) "There's a seeker born every minute." > Sam used to be an outdoor cat but for the past 2 yrs she's been an indoor cat > due to housing regulations [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > TY all The only vaccinations I suggest for a cat in your circumstances are Feline Herpes and Calicivirus (FVRC) every 3-5 years because there's a possibility, however unlikely, of picking up the viruses from the outdoor environment. Feline Parvovirus (panleukopenia) is not a problem for adult cats. Phil I had the misfortune of taking a very sick cat to the vet today. The diag turned out to be kidney failure, but in making the diagnosis, one of the first things the vet asked was re the cat's vaccination history, due to the double edged sword: i.e. could it be something like feline AIDS or leukemia, or conversely, could her illness be due to the possibility of cancer from a vacine injection....... Due to the connection between sarcoma and vacinations, none of my cats will ever get a vaccination, beyond what they got as kittens. Rabies is unnecessary if you keep your cat indoors. I have two cats which go out occasionally on a leash, usually only in my front yard, and I'm there with them. An animal wont get rabies unless in contact with a rabid animal or its body fluids; it generally would have to be bitten by the rabid animal. There is rabies in some wildlife in my state, but to my mind, the risk of getting cancer from the injection is far greater than the risk of a rabid animal showing up on my front lawn and biting my cat (and/or me!) before we could get indoors. Of course the downside is if a rabid animal does bit your cat, its a death sentence. If you have to get a rabies shot, I read some time ago that the most safe one is the one that has something about "canary" in its name. Re feline leukemia, my sick cat was tested for it today even she was negative a year ago and even tho she is a 99% inside cat. (Today's test was negative) That's because, as my vet said, that illness can be spread by my cat even contacting the urine or feces of an infected cat. So, there was a small chance she could get that even from her limited outside ventures. (In my neighborhood, I've only seen one 'outdoor' cat though for many months, even further limiting the likelihood of contracting anything.) So I'd be somewhat more concerned about my mostly indoor cat getting leukemia, because how do you see where some infected cat has urinated, and thus know to keep your own cat away from that spot? But, still, since the leukemia vacine has a pretty bad reputation re sarcoma, again, in my own circumstances of not much likelihood of exposure, for my cats I think they have less of a chance of getting leukemia and relatively more of a chance of getting a bad reaction from the vacine, so I chose not to vacinate. >Re feline leukemia, my sick cat was tested for it today even she was >negative a year ago and even tho she is a 99% inside cat. (Today's test >was negative) That's because, as my vet said, that illness can be >spread by my cat even contacting the urine or feces of an infected cat. >So, there was a small chance she could get that even from her limited >outside ventures. I don't think this is true. Phil P. can probably elaborate on it if he's around. FeLV can't be contracted from casual contact where an infected cat has urinated and defecated. It's weird that your vet told you that. Sherry > I had the misfortune of taking a very sick cat to the vet today. The > diag turned out to be kidney failure, but in making the diagnosis, one [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > If you have to get a rabies shot, I read some time ago that the most > safe one is the one that has something about "canary" in its name. That's the Purevax vaccine by Merial - does not contain the whole virus or adjuvants. There hasn't been a single case of VAS associated with this vaccine. > Re feline leukemia, my sick cat was tested for it today even she was > negative a year ago and even tho she is a 99% inside cat. (Today's test > was negative) That's because, as my vet said, that illness can be > spread by my cat even contacting the urine or feces of an infected cat. > So, there was a small chance she could get that even from her limited > outside ventures. Possible, but very highly unlikely. FeLV is shed in high levels in the blood, saliva, urine, and other secretions - but it takes prolonged, close, moist contact to establish an infection - except in the case of cat bites where a large viral load can be injected into the body at one time. Otherwise, most adult cats reject the virus and resist infection. I doubt, very seriously, that your cat is at risk. Your vet erred on the side of caution by testing your cat - as long as he doesn't recommend vaccinating your cat against FeLV. (In my neighborhood, I've only seen one 'outdoor' > cat though for many months, even further limiting the likelihood of > contracting anything.) I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. > So I'd be somewhat more concerned about my mostly indoor cat getting > leukemia, because how do you see where some infected cat has urinated, > and thus know to keep your own cat away from that spot? FeLV is a fragile virus and doesn't survive very long outside the body - unless its kept moist and away from UV light. Did you ever notice how careful cats are not to step on urine soaked litter? Even if your cat did walk were an infected cat recently urinated, its very highly unlikely that she would pick up enough virus to establish an infection. Again, most adult cats reject the virus and resist infection - otherwise FeLV would rapidly deplete the general feline population - which is not happening. > But, still, since the leukemia vacine has a pretty bad reputation re > sarcoma, again, in my own circumstances of not much likelihood of > exposure, for my cats I think they have less of a chance of getting > leukemia and relatively more of a chance of getting a bad reaction from > the vacine, so I chose not to vacinate. That's the smart play. Phil <snippage> > > Re feline leukemia, my sick cat was tested for it today even she was > > negative a year ago and even tho she is a 99% inside cat. (Today's test [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > side of caution by testing your cat - as long as he doesn't recommend > vaccinating your cat against FeLV. <snippage> > FeLV is a fragile virus and doesn't survive very long outside the body - > unless its kept moist and away from UV light. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > otherwise FeLV would rapidly deplete the general feline population - which > is not happening. Regarding this discussion of FeLV, I would like your opinion, Phil (and everyone else), if I may? (I suspect I'm still going to err on the side of caution because I'm a worrier, but anyway!!) The situation is this: In June this year I acquired 3 cats (2 Siamese, 1 Balinese) - all female; one 3 months old, one 6 months and one 18months old. When I got home I kept them isolated and had them tested for FIV/FeLV. I didn't expect them to be positive because although I was a little worried about their living conditions (there were a lot of cats all together), none of the 3 had ever been outdoor cats or in contact with ferals, etc. They all tested negative so that seemed fine. I have now recently found out that 2 of the studs at the cattery had tested positive for FeLV and one of them had in fact died. My question is - should I retest these 3 girls? I am fairly sure none of them had any close contact (sniffs through the wire, max) with the 2 studs; however the 18month old girl is the daughter of one of them - and her mother had been subsequently mated to the other FeLV+ stud, recently. If Cassie was fully grown when she came to me I would have thought that by this age a negative should be a negative. And I'm thinking that although they should be re-tested ~3 months from the last exposure, that in this case any exposure has or had been occurring for months/years? I think I'll be testing them again anyway just for the peace of mind (it's just gathering the $$$), but I'm guessing that the one most likely at risk in terms of contact (Cassie) would also be least at risk in terms of resistance due to her age... I suppose I'm seeking reassurance that I haven't inadvertently put my other cats at risk, and the best way to get that would be to re-test these three, but has anyone else had a similar situation? Cheers Catherine (a worrier!) > <snippage> > [quoted text clipped - 57 lines] > Cheers > Catherine (a worrier!) Hi Catherine, Although ELISAs negatives are generally reliable, under your circumstances, I'd probably err on the side of caution and retest all the cats or at least Cassie. Be sure to ask your vet to perform the tests him/herself and not delegate the tests to an assistant or tech. An ELISA- can become + if its not performed properly. Regarding Cassie - she's probably still negative. You're right, as exposure to FeLV accumulates with age susceptibil?ity to infection simultaneously decreases. However, I don't mean to worry you but age-related resistance is not absolute -- as you can see by infections among adult cats brought into households and catteries with endemic FeLV and also by some of the vaccine efficacy studies in which some unvaccinated adult controls became infected when they were housed with infected cats. Nevertheless, if she was negative at 18 months after months of exposure, I'm fairly certain she's still negative and not infective. Good luck, Phil > > "Phil P." <phil@maxshouse.com> wrote in message > news:<gpqdnVKfN5OUxcfcRVn-uw@giganews.com>... <yet more snippage> > > Regarding this discussion of FeLV, I would like your opinion, Phil > > (and everyone else), if I may? (I suspect I'm still going to err on [quoted text clipped - 50 lines] > > Phil Thanks for that! I think I will be re-testing all three, but it's reassuring to know the odds might be more on my side than not! I was also worried because when I got Cassie she had a mega-case of diarrhoea and I had to have her at the vet's overnight for IV fluids (the vet, who has very few social skills, was asking if I would like not to "bother" to treat her dehydration until I knew what her FIV/FeLV status was!!!!); she recovered pretty quickly after that but I thought she was more unwell than a young adult cat should have been. OTOH she had just travelled a few thousand km to a new place and was then caged on her own, which she was not used to either (I separated her from the other 2 because they didn't have diarrhoea yet and I didn't want them to...). But of course not every adult cat will be resistant to FeLV or those 2 studs wouldn't have become unwell (one of them entered that household as an adult in such circumstances as you describe above, assuming the FeLV was already in the household; I suppose alternatively he might have brought it in and somehow it was transmitted to the older boy, the one who died). This weekend I will be finding out what Cassie's mother's FeLV status is - if her mum is negative I will be greatly reassured; it just worried me that it was Cassie's mother who had been with the first stud with FeLV (although at that time he may well have been negative), had Cassie and then (admittedly 18mo later) was put to the other stud who was found to be positive - she could possibly have been the vector between the two, but I hope not! So Cassie will be off to the vet next week (after payday, LOL; not that one test should cost much; it just felt like I was slugged but with the previous time I was getting 3 FIV's and 3 leuk's done, so 1 test per cat ought to be cheaper)... If anyone is interested, I'll post an update later on... Cheers and havagoodweekend! Catherine |
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