Can he catch something?

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blkcatgal - 01 Jun 2005 01:39 GMT

Here's the story. My 16 yr old cat has been vaccinated every year of his
life until about 3 years ago when I read that cats didn't need to be
vaccinated every year. The last time he was vaccinated was about 1 1/2
years ago, rabies last year. He is predominately an indoor cat but does go
outside for an occasional walk around the house (supervised by me). Tonight
I let him outside and when my back was turned he went around the side of the
house and apparently encountered the neighbor's cat and a fight ensued. Fur
was a-flying! I chased the neighbor's cat away and managed to coax my cat
back into the house. This neighbor lets her cat out all the time. I have
no idea if it's vaccinations are up-to-date but it appears to be healthy
looking. My question is what are the chances my cat could catch something
from this other cat?

TIA

Sue

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Karen - 01 Jun 2005 04:29 GMT

> Here's the story. My 16 yr old cat has been vaccinated every year of his
> life until about 3 years ago when I read that cats didn't need to be
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>
> Sue

I wouldn't think they are very high. As long as there are no injuries. Keep
an eye out. With all that fur you sometimes don't find wounds until they
abcess.

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Ashley - 01 Jun 2005 08:19 GMT

> Here's the story. My 16 yr old cat has been vaccinated every year of his
> life until about 3 years ago when I read that cats didn't need to be
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> TIA

I don't know what sort of "something"s cats can catch in your neck of the
woods, but I would suspect the thing you are most likely to have to keep an
eye out for is an infected scratch/bite, turning into an abscess. If you
feel a lump developing anywhere, get him to the vet for some antibiotics
(and yes, this is actually one of the valid uses of antibiotics). But,
honestly, he's probably fine.

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Phil P. - 01 Jun 2005 20:34 GMT

> Here's the story. My 16 yr old cat has been vaccinated every year of his
> life until about 3 years ago when I read that cats didn't need to be
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> looking. My question is what are the chances my cat could catch something
> from this other cat?

Examine your cat very closely for bite wounds. Even though most adult cats
are resistant to FeLV, FeLV FeLV/FIV are efficiently transmitted by bite
wounds- even in vaccinated cats- because a large dose of virus is injected
directly into the blood.

You might want to ask your neighbor if his cat has been tested and
vaccinated. If not, you might want to get your cat tested,

Phil

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