Yearly Vaccinations

[Liz]

As we have a multi household we vaccinate all ours annually except Ace he is totally unhandlable and does serious damage, Blue was vaccinated 2 years ago and thats the closest we have been to hom since another feral, and finally Riley who is living on top of the wardrobe in our bedroom but he was vaccinated and all the gubbins in July 2010 so no worries

[MrsH]

The issue of yearly vaccinations has come up regularly on a dog forum I go on. I'd be very interested in a definitive answer to this but as I use boarding kennels/cattery, I have to have them done yearly under their current rules, also the insurance would be invalid if I didn't.

[Velvet]

This debate is ongoing on forums

Because im involved with rescue sometimes transporting dogs in tbe car, i do get the yearly vaccines. If anything happened & i transported a dog that harmed my own through their not being vaccinated, i would never ever forgive myself

Also i like taking them for annual check up. I feel its necessary. Boxers can suffer from various problems, tumours & heart disease - just 2 off the top of my head & i value them getting a clean bill of health each year. Just my opinion

As for the kittens. Well last year Tim went into anaphylactic shock followung his. It was horrendous. Apparently it can get worse each year our vet is going to try splitting the booster in two so that his system isnt flooded with too much vaccine all at once to see if it helps. This is one reason they are kept as house cats. If Tim cant have vaccines, he cant go out, too big a risk. Luckily the nature of the house with utility room, back stairs to sun room etc means they do have their own 'space'.
As soon as brekker is over, they demand 'out' & go up the back stairs to bathe in the/any winter sun! We dont want to let him out & then have to take that away from him if he cant be vaccinated

Also i have friends who trap/neuter feral cats. What if i carried anything home to
our two. If they were not vaccinated
& they contracted something, again i could not forgive myself.

So for us, i will continue to be guided by our vet. I do see both sides of the coin.

[wilbar]

For those of you with insurance issues if cats are not vaccinated annually, I checked with my insurers (Tescos) and I was told that failure to maintain annual vaccinations will only invalidate claims for treatment of those illnesses that could have been vaccinated against. So if one of my cats broke its leg in a car accident, the fact that it was not vaccinated would not invalidate the claim. But it would be best to check with your own insurer on this.

One point that has not been raised, but is an issue in the dog world, is that if we all (or even more owners) decided to stop vaccinating, then the prevalence of these diseases would increase. You've only got to read about the increase in childhood measles as a result of parents not giving their children the MMR vaccine to realise this. Herd immunity is an important factor to consider, particularly if these diseases/illness start to increase.

Personally, I always vaccinate annually for the first 3 to 4 years that I have my cats, regardless of age, but especially young cats. After that, then I may reconsider the risks of not vaccinating in the light of the individual cat's lifestyle & the number/density of cats in the neighbourhood with whom they may interact. At the moment I've got 2 female cats of about 7 & 4 years old. They've both been vaccinated for the last 3 years. But I know that they rarely interact with other neighbourhood cats, they have fairly small territories (i.e. my garden & next door's garden) that are well-protected from other cats by my dogs so I don't consider the risks on not vaccinating to be very high. The cats never go into a cattery. This year I won't be vaccinating.

But I think that everyone needs to talk to their vet, & consider the risks for their individual cats.

[Velvet]

Thats one of my points Wilbur re dogs & not vaccinating but if you raise it on some forums ie that diseases might return/increase, you do tend to get put down.

In your biz if you visit a non vacc cat who has unbeknown to you, got a cat related disease, are you not at risk then of carrying that home to your own cats if theyre not vaccinated?

Thats the way my mind works - what if type of scenario

[wilbar]

Originally Posted by Velvet

Thats one of my points Wilbur re dogs & not vaccinating but if you raise it on some forums ie that diseases might return/increase, you do tend to get put down.

In your biz if you visit a non vacc cat who has unbeknown to you, got a cat related disease, are you not at risk then of carrying that home to your own cats if theyre not vaccinated?

Thats the way my mind works - what if type of scenario

That's a shame that people put you down for having a valid opinion. If the veterinary world can't agree on whether to vacinate annually, what hope have the rest of us got

Before I visit a cat client I've usually spoken to the vet & one of the things I check is whether the cat is vaccinated (plus whether it is neutered & when, whether it's on medication & why, undergoing any treatment etc etc). If a cat is not vaccinated then I'd take precautions before handling my cats. However it is quite common for me not to have to touch or handle a client's cat anyway. Many cats with behavioural problems don't want the added stress of a stranger in their house, let alone a stranger handling them! Sometimes I see very friendly & curious cats who want to investigate me but I'm usually aware by then, of the cat's physical health.

Some of the feline infectious diseases are not that easily passed on anyway, or need blood to blood transmission, so I don't feel that I'm putting my own cats at risk.

[farthing]

Originally Posted by Velvet

Thats one of my points Wilbur re dogs & not vaccinating but if you raise it on some forums ie that diseases might return/increase, you do tend to get put down.

I think this is a big problem, many people cannot remember ( or weren't born ) when distemper was a big problem.
I grew up on a council housing estate and every year people would get puppy, a couple of months later it had disappeared- and often it had died of distemper. I almost lost my first dog to parvo virus, this was just before the vaccine came into use and there have been outbreaks of it recently in some areas, considered to be because people have stopped vaccinations.

[Shelley123]

I think from reading the report that it is saying it is possible that some vacines last for the life of the animal or for at least 3 years. It is nor advocating no vaccinations at all.
So in that case the diseases shouldn't return because of animals not having boosters (if they are not neccessary in the first place )
The report does say that unvaccinated animals can be a risk.
I am not trying to be controversial and have always had my pets vaccinated, it's just that i am now trying to make an informed decision about boosters.
I have to say that as yet i do not feel confident to not have them done.
It's an interesting subject but confusing

[farthing]

I know you are not trying to be controversial, I just feel that many animals would have to be sacrificed to do the research into the vaccination time span, and many people forget this part of the equation.
It could not be done properly outside a scientfic study because the animals would all have to be subjected to the infection at the same time, each with various vaccination records and then monitored to see if they developed the disease. They would not be of any use after this, and survivors would be unlikely to be rehomed ( certainly the numbers of animal used would make it very difficult), therefore most would be euthanased. The reason this probably hasn't been done is probably due to the amount it would cost anyway. I was a research technician for 18 year so I can confirm this would use a lot of animal subjects.

[angieh]

That's why I love Catsey - so many views from different experiences and perspectives.

IMO, this thread is worth reading - (and perhaps turning into an Article?) to help people be aware of some of the wider issues concerning vaccination.