Cat Vaccines: What you need to know

CAT VACCINES: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

 

At 1st Care Animal Health Clinics, your cat’s health is our top priority! In fact, we are one of the only mobile vaccine clinics in Southern CA that doesn’t over-vaccinate! We also use only top-quality vaccines that lower the chance of adverse reactions.

 

Why is this important?

 

VACCINE FREQUENCY: Vaccines play an important role in the health of cats, but many cats receive too many! Kittens certainly need their full series to ensure adequate immunity. For adult cats, vaccine requirements vary depending on your cat’s lifestyle.

  • FVRCP (“3 in 1”)-Regardless of lifestyle, adult cats do not need this every year. 1st Care follows the guidelines set by the American Association of Feline Practitioners, which recommend the FVRCP vaccine every 3 years.

  • FeLV (feline leukemia)-Recommended for kittens, as well as every 1-2 years for adult cats with a reasonable risk of exposure. We’ll discuss your cat’s lifestyle and suggest the best plan for him/her.

  • Rabies-Recommended for all cats who go outdoors, travel domestically or internationally, or where required by law. We only recommend the PureVax feline rabies. Although this is an annual vaccine, this adjuvant-free product is a safer option for your cat compared to the traditional rabies vaccine (see below).

 

VACCINE QUALITY: Regardless of the type of vaccine your cat gets, it’s important to use vaccines that minimize inflammation at the injection site. Why?

  • In some cats, chronic inflammation at the injection site can lead to a tumor called a feline injection-site sarcoma (also called vaccine-associated sarcoma). This spreads quickly if not caught early. Most tumors form within 4 years of the vaccine, but they can occur even later.

  • Since we don’t know which cats are more likely to get these tumors, the only thing we can control is the type of vaccine we give. Both the World Small Animal Veterinary Association and the European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases recommend avoiding vaccines that contain adjuvants (ad-juh-vents). These are substances added to certain vaccines to enhance the immune response. Adjuvants = chronic inflammation.

  • By using adjuvant-free vaccines, there will be less inflammation at the vaccine site. This means a safer vaccine with less risk of sarcoma formation.

 

YOU HAVE A CHOICE: Your cat is counting on you to be “vaccine smart”.

  • Talk to your vet about your cat’s lifestyle and which vaccines are needed.

  • Ask for adjuvant-free vaccines. Examples of these safer vaccines include:

    • FVRCP- any “modified live” vaccine (avoid killed vaccines!)

    • FeLV- only the PureVax Leukemia by Merial

    • Rabies- only the PureVax Rabies by Merial

 

*****1st Care Animal Health Clinics only uses adjuvant-free vaccines for cats!*****

                                                      

Visit any of our mobile clinic locations to receive adjuvant-free cat vaccines in your area or contact us and ask about our adjuvant-free vaccine services.

Thank you for caring about your cat. Please let other people know about this, so that more lives can be saved!

 

This article was shared by our friends at www.animalsource.com