Honey08
Waffled a lot!
Just wondering. Have never bothered in the past. Cats will never go in a cattery and are in a rural area where they don't come into contact with many other cats (two at most)...
Do you vaccinate your cats?
- Thread starter Honey08
- Start date
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite
Well-Known Member
Yes ours get done for anything and everything that they possibly can.
We are out in the sticks but do get a lot of other cats poking their noses in; so get them done every year.
But the main reason is that basically IMO I think it shows good faith in the vets; for example if (god forbid) we have to take one of the cats in for an emergency, the vet will have seen the animal, know that its been seen regularly by the practice and therefore know its history. Plus, yes, actually, we DON'T want them picking something up that could easily be avoided.
We are out in the sticks but do get a lot of other cats poking their noses in; so get them done every year.
But the main reason is that basically IMO I think it shows good faith in the vets; for example if (god forbid) we have to take one of the cats in for an emergency, the vet will have seen the animal, know that its been seen regularly by the practice and therefore know its history. Plus, yes, actually, we DON'T want them picking something up that could easily be avoided.
dogatemysalad
Well-Known Member
No, I never have in over 50 years of owning cats. Only time they ever saw a vet was to be neutered, they've been hardy and healthy, touch wood.
Moomin1
Well-Known Member
Definately vaccinate. I see far too many cats harbouring disease and spreading it around (even if just in contact with one or two, it's still one or two, not none) and the picture isn't pretty or a good outcome for many. :-(
GlamourPuss86
Well-Known Member
Yup he's a walking disaster area!
NinjaPony
Well-Known Member
Yes, I adore my cat and want to protect him from everything I can. He used to be a "fit and healthy" cat for about 6 years before becoming diabetic, now the poor sod is glucose tested most weeks at the vet and has nearly died twice. Luckily he is a fighter! So after everything I'm not about to stop something as simple as a vaccination.
Moomin1
Well-Known Member
I find it truly remarkable that in 50 years of cat owning, not one of your cats has fallen ill, required a vet exam, meds, a dental, or euthanasia! ;-)
cptrayes
Well-Known Member
SusieT
Well-Known Member
yes, particularly with outdoor cats it's extremely important, they are no less prone to the diseases you vaccinate against than dogs (for their respective diseases) and in fact as they tend to roam more and other cats roam nearby they are probably more likely. They are very nasty diseases and it costs about 20-25 quid to vaccinate yearly, stupid and irresponsible not to.
cptrayes
Well-Known Member
Dammit I've been stupid and irresponsible ever since I've lived in a property with no other houses within half a mile. 60 cat years with no issues.
It's more dangerous for my cats to go to the vets than go without vaccination
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ILuvCowparsely
Well-Known Member
Yes I have and always will vaccinate for flu though to leukemia.
The only cats which they don't do is when they are 15 then they normally stop the leukemia.
Also a very oldie who wont be re homed also does not get vaccinated.
With all the cat diseases out there I think its imperative they are protected.
The only cats which they don't do is when they are 15 then they normally stop the leukemia.
Also a very oldie who wont be re homed also does not get vaccinated.
With all the cat diseases out there I think its imperative they are protected.
Blackwijet
Well-Known Member
yes - even though mine are basically house cats I get them vaccinated just in case I ever had to put them in a cattery. It's about the only time they see the vet so they get "mot'd" whilst they are there (much to their disgust!)
(much to their disgust!)
ILuvCowparsely
Well-Known Member
So because they don't go into a cattery you think its not important?
You can't say they don't come into more than 2 cats, you don't know if there is ferral cats around which harbour diseases. Its not just other cats you need to worry about, they can be bitten or scratched by any other infested animal
bitten by a fox get abscesses etc
cat Flu*
Panleucopaenia*
Feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) Cause Feline Leukaemia Virus (FeLV)
Chlamydia Cause Chlamydophila felis (formally C.psittaci)
Bordetella Cause Bordetella bronchiseptica
cat flu is a killer and can leave permanent damage to the eyes and recurring flu symptoms throughout life.
Sorry but I vaccinate
My horses are vaccinated for flu, so I wont short change my cats of this procedure.
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jenniaddams
Well-Known Member
Nope, neither for cats or dogs. They obviously get their initial lot but they don't get boosters. Never going into an cattery/kennels. Don't like dosing everything up constantly either. The dogs recently had a booster for the first time because one had a bit of a dodgy gut and there was parvo on the go locally so they got it while they were in anyway.
cptrayes
Well-Known Member
Because they don't go into a cattery, there is no requirement for them to be vaccinated imposed on me by outsiders.
It used to be said to be case that routine vaccination of cats could cause cancer because of the 'alert' nature of their immune system. Has this been disproved ?
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ILuvCowparsely
Well-Known Member
There maybe no requirement, but there are still infections and illnesses they can catch unless they are 100% house cats.
My cats are vaccinated always will be. They go out a lot almost 23 hours a day, they come into contact with other cats, badgers,foxes ,rabbits and more.
If they go into pens that is different as
all vaccines must be up to day and cats free of nasal discharge problems diarrhea and more. Though I don't have to go through this procedure of checking vaccines etc when they go into pens.
AmyMay
Situation normal
Nope.
They had all their injections as kittens and up until two years old. After that their immune system is quite up to the job of looking after them.
They had all their injections as kittens and up until two years old. After that their immune system is quite up to the job of looking after them.
cloverleaf1985
Well-Known Member
No, because mine are essentially house cats, bar a small enclosure outside the back door, so don't come into contact with other cats, and I also get concerned about the effects vaccinations can have re cancer etc.
MerrySherryRider
Well-Known Member
Never had mine done and I've owned cats all my life, as has my mother, grandmother and probably beyond. Can't recall having had a sick cat that needed a vet apart from euthanasia in old age.
Oops, no, Tabitha got cancer when she was 17 yrs old and saw a vet then back in 1968, I think.
Perhaps being common moggy's from farms, who live outdoors except when the weather starts to get cold, has kept them hale and hearty with a tough immune system.
Oops, no, Tabitha got cancer when she was 17 yrs old and saw a vet then back in 1968, I think.
Perhaps being common moggy's from farms, who live outdoors except when the weather starts to get cold, has kept them hale and hearty with a tough immune system.
Meowy Catkin
Meow!
Mine is vaccinated. We are in a rural area, but we have a lot of ferals about. Plus people tend to dump their ill pets here too. It makes me so cross - they don't want to pay the vet's bills so they drive out to a quiet area and dump them. I don't know if anyone remembers the cat with the eye infection that I caught, that ended up being PTS because the infection had tracked along the optic nerve? She was definitely a ex-pet cat.
ester
Not slacking multitasking
No, he's never had any, I suppose in part because I was brought up with farm moggies and not vaccinating (he is one such moggy). He has seen the vet a fair bit for check ups though as he has heart disease which should have killed him about 4 years back... apparently noone told him though.
(horserider ours lives outside whatever the weather- he graduates to a horse rug if it snow, I really thought he would struggle since he was diagnosed and a hard winter would probably call it a day but apparently not!)
I suppose, much as we have ended up loving him we deemed him a free farm moggy who we had for a purpose rather than as a pet, and that if he did catch any of the diseases you vaccinate against we would PTS.
(horserider ours lives outside whatever the weather- he graduates to a horse rug if it snow, I really thought he would struggle since he was diagnosed and a hard winter would probably call it a day but apparently not!)
I suppose, much as we have ended up loving him we deemed him a free farm moggy who we had for a purpose rather than as a pet, and that if he did catch any of the diseases you vaccinate against we would PTS.
MerrySherryRider
Well-Known Member
Ester, they're not daft, are they ? We had one that would lie in the hay with the guinea pigs when it was cold. The old yard cat sleeps in the horses backs in winter, she has her favourite horses on which she bestows her favours.
Sussexbythesea
Well-Known Member
I had both my girls vaccinated for Flu & Enteritis until they were 13 and then after one was ill after the vac I read up more about it and the risks. I decided that due to their age and routine vaccs they would likely be covered now anyway and as they spend most of their time sleeping and rarely go out now they are unlikely to be exposed to any disease. So I no longer have them vaccinated.
Honey08
Waffled a lot!
Thanks everyone for your input.
We've never had any of our cats done in the 40 years we've had cats. All of them have lived to the ripe old age of at least 17, some of them to their 20s. Only two of them have ever seen a vet (car accidents) until the day they were put down at home. None of them have ever seen kennels. TBH we have never done the dogs either in the past, its just that I've gone down the insurance route for the first time with them (having always had healthy mongrels in the past and now having two labs and hearing far too many stories of hip dispaysia etc) and I think they have to have their jabs because of that. Also we take the dogs out and camp at Bramham and Burghley etc, where there are thousands of other dogs at a time..
Amymay that's interesting. These two cats had their initial courses of jabs and were neutered at a year old before we took them. They are now just over two.
The vet is coming tomorrow to the house to do the dogs on his way home (fab fab vet, doesn't even charge for visiting) so we will see what he thinks. I have a lot of respect for him.
We've never had any of our cats done in the 40 years we've had cats. All of them have lived to the ripe old age of at least 17, some of them to their 20s. Only two of them have ever seen a vet (car accidents) until the day they were put down at home. None of them have ever seen kennels. TBH we have never done the dogs either in the past, its just that I've gone down the insurance route for the first time with them (having always had healthy mongrels in the past and now having two labs and hearing far too many stories of hip dispaysia etc) and I think they have to have their jabs because of that. Also we take the dogs out and camp at Bramham and Burghley etc, where there are thousands of other dogs at a time..
Amymay that's interesting. These two cats had their initial courses of jabs and were neutered at a year old before we took them. They are now just over two.
The vet is coming tomorrow to the house to do the dogs on his way home (fab fab vet, doesn't even charge for visiting) so we will see what he thinks. I have a lot of respect for him.
SusieT
Well-Known Member
the Felv PART (can be given separately) of the vaccine has a very small risk of inducing a specific type of cancer. This is not relevant to the main three part vaccine which is often given separately. Additionally the risk of cancer is smaller than the risk of Felv. The theories of doing it when kittens then once or twice more have no basis, only that people decide that they cba doing the yearly trip-as an example dog vaccines are not always given every year, but this is due to studies done to support this. If you think it's not necessary to vaccinate after two/three years you can of course titre test( but expensive so a lot of effort for those who have 'decided' that their cats only need two vaccines/etc)
ps=half a mile is nothing to cats. Both yours and others.
ps=half a mile is nothing to cats. Both yours and others.
SusieT
Well-Known Member
''
Perhaps being common moggy's from farms, who live outdoors except when the weather starts to get cold, has kept them hale and hearty with a tough immune system. ' how does that theory then explain the multiple scraggy, thin, riddled with cat flu etc. cats most farms with uncontrolled populations have?
Perhaps being common moggy's from farms, who live outdoors except when the weather starts to get cold, has kept them hale and hearty with a tough immune system. ' how does that theory then explain the multiple scraggy, thin, riddled with cat flu etc. cats most farms with uncontrolled populations have?
dogatemysalad
Well-Known Member
Probably because my cats are neutered and well fed. They're not left to breed season after season as that wouldn't leave many cats in good condition.
Why would not being vaccinated mean a cat was scraggy and riddled with cat flu ?
Never, ever had a cat riddled with flu or any other disease.
SusieT
Well-Known Member
I was pointing out your theory of being 'robust outdoor cats' doesn't actually work for cat population generally as they come down with disease quite well in those conditions. To answer your question - dats who are immunosuppressed/running disease tend to be skinny calici and herpesvirus tend to show as what people know as 'cat flu' and tend to go a while, then reappear, then go away, then reappear (if they haven't killed the cat yet). Hence-unvaccinated outdoor cats from 'robust farm stock' or living on farms with no vaccs can be quite stereotypical.
dogatemysalad
Well-Known Member
I think you are confusing feral and semi feral cats with pet/working cats. Many farm cats are well looked after and don't bred indiscriminately.
Whether or not the cats are vaccinated has little to do with being well cared for.
Whether or not the cats are vaccinated has little to do with being well cared for.
SusieT
Well-Known Member
no I'm afraid not-I think you're missing my point-that well fed does not necessarily mean well cared for. Many 'outdoor' cats are fairly healthy, but without vaccines, if you have a colony (regardless of how well fed they are) disease will run rampant due to the nature of the virus'. If you see outdoor cats that aren't vaccinated with their chronic problems you would understand. Neutering will help but vaccinating is the answer.