How important is it for cats to have their vaccinations?

Question

I just got a cat and he is about 11 weeks old. He is an inside cat. Is it ok for me to wait til after xmas to get his shots?

Answer 1

Read these answers to another question.
My 11 year old cat had his vaccines, rabies, feline lukemia and oneother...all the time.I'm sure the vaccines killed him, if he hadn't had.

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Yes, it happened to me about 4 years ago. I took a perfectly healthy cat of 3years to the vet for routine vaccinations. She lay ed around most of that day, the next morning she was dead.
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yes the vet killed one of our cats once with medication and a injection
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Yes, I had a 2 year old cat who reacted the same as your cat did. I got her from a shelter and she received all of her vaccinations at one time, in 1 visit to the vet. She came home very sluggish, couldn't walk very well and vomited repeatedly. I took her to the emergency hospital, they tried to rehydrate her on an IV overnight and she never recovered. At the time this cat passed away, I thought she was just sick or that something was wrong with her before I got her. 1 year later, I got another cat from a different shelter and the same thing happened.

Answer 2

You must make sure he NEVER goes outside. Has he ever seen a vet? Promise me you will take him right after Christmas and you will take him before if he looks sick and we'll let it go this time.
also
1) never let him drink the water the Christmas tree is standing in. That will make him sick.
2) Don't over feed him the Christmas goose or turkey or ham or whatever. Just a bite. And don't stuff him full or candied yams or cranberry or Jello salad or anything else on the table. buy him his own cat treats at the cat store if you want him to eat something special.
3) don't get that stringy tinsel. If the kitty eats is it could cut up his insides.
4) if you have company, don't force him to be sociable if he doesn't want to be. some cats are the life of the party and others just want to hid under the bed until the strangers go home. Forcing him to meet people when he's not in a good mood will make it worse.
I know you didn't ask for this, but Christmas can be hard on cats.
good luck with your new kitty.

Answer 3

All-in-all, it's still very important to be vaccinated. Some, well many, diseases can be spread as easily as sitting in the window, looking through a screen with an infected cat on the outside who may happen to sneeze. He will need at least 2 FDRC vaccines, the second one will be given 3 but no more than 4 weeks after the first. When it's time to neuter, he will probably have his rabies vaccine at that time (cats are predators by nature). It is highly recommended that he be tested for FIV/FeLV, then vaccinated (same as the FDRC - two are needed, then once a year). One more piece of advice - if you are contemplating declawing, it's best to have it done when they are young and weigh less. This can be done at the same time as his neuter. I know many people say don't do it, it's just a recommendation to have it done at the same time IF you are contemplating this procedure.

Answer 4

Hello,
It is very important that the cat has his first series of shots so he can build up Resistance. After that it depends on what you do with the cat. I would certainly give him a booster around his first year and if he goes outside I would keep on doing that. the same for when you take him to shows or breed with the cat. Maybe not every year, but every two years. If the cats lives alone in the house or with another house cat, I would not vaccinate so much. It would not be necessary.

Answer 5

The main thing your kitten needs right now is dewormed!! That is of the highest priority at this point. As far as vaccines, as long as you don't have another animal that goes outside (i.e. a dog) you are fine waiting until after Christmas. According to my vet, cats that live strictly indoors with no access to animals that do go outside, they only need vaccines about every 2-3 years - after the initial doses to build their immune system that is. We gave our cats vaccines every other year but now that we have a dog, it'll be yearly definately! Call around, if you have a Tractor Supply Company near you, they sell animal vaccines that you can administer yourself. It's about $5 for the feline ones. The package says how to administer it (in the tuft of the neck where Mom carried them) or you can call the vet and see if they could do it for you since you have the vaccine yourself. Good luck!

Answer 6

Yes it is important that he gets all his shots now. It is a bit safer that he is an inside cat but the vaccine will prevent him from getting any disease that he would usually be able to get if he hadn't been vaccinated.
Also, make sure you continue to worm him and give him flea-control tablets to prevent fleas on him.

While you're at the vet, get a health check done and micro-chip and de-sex him - whether he is an inside cat or not - he should be de-sexed to prevent marking his territory everywhere.

Answer 7

He must not come in contact with other cats in the meantime. But the shots are needed, because germs are carried into the house by you, from your shoes, from the air, etc, so it's better to get it done.

Answer 8

it is very importand to get kitty's ther vaccinations. Some kitty's are born with parasites and you wont know if they have it or not until they get sick! get your cats there shots asap. other wise it might cost you more money in the long run!

Answer 9

I think as long as the cat is staying indoors all the time,it won't be too bad.However if your cat starts going out then you really need to get them done.

Answer 10

yes if its a outside cat he needs the rabies shot.