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Cat Forum / General Topics / April 2006Vaccination Question - please help
I have a cat who stays in the house 95% of the time and is allowed to go out occasionally on a leash. My question is: Would my cat really require booster shots every year? I have heard that they are both unnecessary and can actually be downright dangerous. I've also heard that veterinarians promote them because they make a lot of money off them. Thank you in advance. (((((( >^,,^< )))))) Hugs, Donna K. "Donna K." <Smart_Blonde-@webtv.net> wrote in message > I have a cat who stays in the house 95% of the time and is allowed to go > out occasionally on a leash. My question is: Would my cat really require > booster shots every year? I have heard that they are both unnecessary > and can actually be downright dangerous. I've also heard that > veterinarians promote them because they make a lot of money off them. Since I live in an apartment my cat is entirely house ridden and I know she won't be coming into contact with other cats. For that reason other than rabies shots, my vet said other shots weren't required. It's the 5% outside that you have to worry about. It's almost a forgone conclusion that your cat is going to come into contact with other cats and other animals at some time. I'd recommend the shots, but that's your decision. <snip> > It's the 5% outside that you have to worry about. It's almost a forgone > conclusion that your cat is going to come into contact with other cats and > other animals at some time. I'd recommend the shots, but that's your > decision. yep. I agree! it's like saying you stood next to someone who was sick and they sneezed... but only 5% of it got on you! > "Donna K." <Smart_Blonde-@webtv.net> wrote in message > > I have a cat who stays in the house 95% of the time and is allowed to go [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > other animals at some time. I'd recommend the shots, but that's your > decision. I guess if you live in the U.S. then your big problem is rabies, but those injections are a separate issue. We live in U.K. and have had three pairs of outdoor cats over the last 30 years. The first two (ca. 1976) had all their jabs for flu and leukaemia when they were kittens, and then nothing else for the rest of their lives, because when we went on holiday our neighbours looked after them, even though they were outdoors most of the time. They lived to be 19+ years, and survived in a neighbourhood with tens of cats and various other wildlife (foxes, rats, mice, etc.). The next pair (ca. 1975) also had their kitten flu and leukaemia jabs, but also had to have boosters every year because they went into kennels when we went on holiday (the road had become too busy to leave neighbours to look after them), and the kennel demanded the certificate. One lived to only 9 and died of cardiomyopathy a couple of years ago, and the other's still with us at 11. We got a couple of kittens last autumn, they had their kitten jabs, she was killed on our road a couple of weeks ago at 9 months, he's still here. In my humble opinion, if it were not for putting my cats in kennels that demand a certificate when we go on holiday I wouldn't bother with the yearly injections, I suspect that, frequently, they may do more harm than good - and they cost an arm and a leg. Where you live, I'd go for a one-off series of rabies injection instead, as you've done, and not do the yearly top-up for flu and leukaemia. It's only my opinion but I think your vet is right. s. >I have a cat who stays in the house 95% of the time and is allowed to go > out occasionally on a leash. My question is: Would my cat really require [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Donna K. Hi Donna, Even though your cat is on a leash ... even though you may not see a cat while out with him/her ... your cat is exposed to feline viral diseases and many bacteria. Because of this, it is essential (in my opinion, after 27 yrs of cat caring) that your cat is vaccinated. Both my cats are vaccinated and I keep up their boosters. Recently, I had cause to be relieved that they are protected. My dear Panther disappeared for 6 days in freezing weather. When she came home, she was thin, covered in ticks and had cat 'flu. Fortunately, due to her vaccinations, it was only a mild dose of 'flu and she recovered with antibiotics. Without her vaccinations and in such poor condition, she might have died. There are many risks in life, but this is one I was not prepared to take. Another good reason for vaccinating is that many catteries will not take unprotected cats. It is also true to say that any cat waiting at my local vet while Panther was also there with 'flu, was likely to catch this disease. I'm sure that, at some time in its life, your cat will visit a vet where it could become infected. Do you really want to take that risk? Talk to your vet about your anxieties, but do get your cat vaccinated. Spider >I have a cat who stays in the house 95% of the time and is allowed to go >out occasionally on a leash. My question is: Would my cat really require >booster shots every year? I have heard that they are both unnecessary >and can actually be downright dangerous. I've also heard that Calici and Rhino. (upper respitory infections) and Panleukopenia (distemper) are easily transmittable between cats. You can come into contact with a sick cat at the vet or can bring it home on your clothes if you're around a cat that has one of these infections. On the other hand, to get FeLeuk (Leukemia) your cat has to have close, prolonged contact with another cat who has it. My vet recommends for indoor cats the FVRCP vaccine every 3 years which is what I get; I don't get the FeLeuk vaccine or Rabies. Repeated (yearly) FeLeuk vaccines and Rabies vaccines have caused cancerous growths in some animals. http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/petcolumns/showarticle.cfm?id=287 http://cats.about.com/cs/vaccination/a/vaccination.htm >I have a cat who stays in the house 95% of the time and is allowed to go >out occasionally on a leash. My question is: Would my cat really require [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > >Donna K. Absolutley yes. I had indoor cats, a 100 year old house, I said to myself nothing could happen to these cats, that they would perfectly safe. Well one day a squirrel got into the house, each cat had to go to the vet to have a "booster" rabies shot. The squirrel apparently made a hole in the wall somewhere and got in through that way. *****I would also add many of these shots are mandated by state law.***** I have 6 cats--indoor only(occasionally,too, I will put one in the cat stroller and let him get some fresh air)--but all of mine are kept current with their shots. >>I have a cat who stays in the house 95% of the time and is allowed to go >>out occasionally on a leash. My question is: Would my cat really require [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > ----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption > =---- >*****I would also add many of these shots are mandated by state >law.***** Depends on the state you are in. In michigan there are no shots required my law for cats. > I have a cat who stays in the house 95% of the time and is allowed to go > out occasionally on a leash. As a vet, I very strongly disapprove of leashes, as they stop the cat rushing out onto the busy road and getting knocked down and brutally, painfully mangled by onrushing vehicular traffic. For true cat-protection I recommend building a cat suit of armour and encasing the cat inside 24 hours a day. Remember to drill urine-holes. Oh - and breathing ones too. > My question is: Would my cat really require booster shots every year? I have > heard that they are both unnecessary and can actually be downright dangerous. That's true. All injections are dangerous. As a vet, I should know. My advice is to not give cats injections at all. Their health is best looked after by gross underfeeding (to stimulate the metabolism) and regular, severe beatings. > I've also heard that veterinarians promote them because they > make a lot of money off them. I would have to say this is true, even though as a vet, I may seem to be doing myself out of business. Even though my advice is to NOT give injections, that's only over the internet. In "real life", I can't recommend them enough. On average, a cat who comes into my practice gets around 17 injections per therapy session. They're all just coloured water (blue, actually, from the toilet bowl), sometimes mixed in with fun items like laxatives and horse tranquilisers, but it makes me look really professional and the cat-owners, being utter, friendless morons, lap it up like the idiots they are. And pay for the privelege. "The Evil Vet" Well you deserve the group plonk Remind me not to take my cats to you. >> I have a cat who stays in the house 95% of the time and is allowed to go >> out occasionally on a leash. [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > and the cat-owners, being utter, friendless morons, lap it up like the > idiots they are. And pay for the privelege. "Only the weak are cruel. Gentleness can only be expected from the strong." ~Leo Buscaglia "The two most abundant substances in the Universe are hydrogen and human stupidity, with the latter having a longer shelf life." ~Frank Zappa "Donna K." <Smart_Blonde-@webtv.net> Donna people like him are nothing but a waste of air even looking in their direction. They are jerkin off in the dark because it makes them feel powerful and dominant to come out here in the unknown usernet and post stuff like he does to try and piss people off. It is there way of feeling special even though they are hopeless losers and will be all there life. > it makes them feel powerful and dominant to come out > here in the unknown usernet and post stuff like he does > to try and piss people off. Sounds to me like he didn't have to try too hard to piss you off. Instead of sounding like some illiterate, hysterical, anally retentive idiot that's had his humour gene removed, why not just ignore him? "Looking On" <x@y.com> wrote in message > Sounds to me like he didn't have to try too hard to piss you off. > Instead of sounding like some illiterate, hysterical, anally retentive > idiot that's had his humour gene removed, why not just ignore him? I agree, but there's one thing I do wonder about. Compared to many other newsgroups, pet newsgroups seem to have an abnormally high amount of trolls and miscreants. And even with readers who do actually own a pet, there appears to be a great amount of militant behaviour. It's just my opinion that if there's anywhere that could be construed as being 'congenial' it should be pet newsgroups. Apparently, I'm just deluding myself. I've noticed alot of antagonist behavior in the other ng's I visit. I wonder what people have been smoking lately that we cant get along with one another. My cats behave better than some people I've met up with on my ng's. It's sad. :( > "Looking On" <x@y.com> wrote in message >> [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > that if there's anywhere that could be construed as being 'congenial' it > should be pet newsgroups. Apparently, I'm just deluding myself. Ok...I'm gonna try to explain. I'm a Troll. I first came here to ask a question about cat doors, got some good info, and that was that. But, then I began to read some of these threads and found there are some serious nut-jobs here - people who have taken their relationships with their pets WAY TO FAR!!! If you really can't figure out why Snookums continues to puke on your favorite pair of penny loafers, then you DESERVE to have some jack-a.s like me make fun of your situation. I think my comments have 'generally' been in good taste, and I tend to retract those of mine that haven't. I also think some others' comments, such as running over fluffy with a Delta 88, are a little sick, but WHO CARES? The only reason the "fucktards" (what exactly IS a fucktard anyway) keep posting is to see the whiny kitty lovers scream bloody murder. I find it all rather hilarious. If you can't have a little fun, then what's the point? I also find the "legit" subscribers who purport themselves to be authorities on everything Cat to be far more annoying that the occasional troll. There is nothing worse than some self-centered "Pet Expert" sharing erroneous medical advice and totally unrelated anecdotes, when all the poster needs is to be redirected to a Vet! Who is worse, a troll who writes a few bad words, or 50% of the a.sholes on this group who put YOUR cat in danger by not directing you to a Vet first? > I've noticed alot of antagonist behavior in the other ng's I visit. I wonder > what people have been smoking lately that we cant get along with one [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] >> that if there's anywhere that could be construed as being 'congenial' it >> should be pet newsgroups. Apparently, I'm just deluding myself. >> it makes them feel powerful and dominant to come out here in the unknown >> usernet and post stuff like he does [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > of sounding like some illiterate, hysterical, anally retentive idiot > that's had his humour gene removed, why not just ignore him? Make sure you slap your mother for not swallowing also |
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