Are yearly vaccines really important???

Question

My cat is 1 year and a half years old! She had all her vaccines and rabbies shot when I adopted her at 6 months of age plus she was spayed! Every time I used to take her to the vet, she got really stressed and caught an URI really bad! Now she is due for her yearly vaccine, but I know she will get stressed again and get another URI. She is an indoor cat, never goes out and she's never sick now and I don't want her to be! I heard that indoor cats don't really need yearly vaccines. I have two older cats and they never have their yearly vaccines and they've never been sick! Any opinions would be greatly appreciated!!

Answer 1

Many veterinarians are now considering matching vaccines with kitty's lifestyles and not giving them routinely on a yearly basis.

There is absolutely no research showing for how long any vaccine is good. The manufacturers of course don't care to put money in it as it would reduce their profit if it was found we are vaccinating our dogs and cats too much. Independent research money just isn't available. A group of veterinarians nationally is raising money for a "rabies challenge fund" to do the research necessary to see how long that one is good for.

Personally I do not give vaccines to my cats. They all had them when younger and I have not given any for seven years now. There are no "rabies police" to check if your cat has had that one. The leukemia vaccine has actually been implicated in causing cases of that disease.

You might go to: http://littlebigcat.com and read Dr. Jean Hovfe's article titled "Vaccinations" (it's almost at the very end of her fifty or so articles). If you care to look in her newsletter archives she has updates on vaccinations there too.

Answer 2

They are important, but honestly they really depend on 1) whether your cat is indoor only or indoor/outdoor and 2) how much stress they experience when they go to the vet and 3) how their current state of health is.

If you have an indoor cat, and they get overly stressed especially how your cat does, talk to your vet and discuss whether this is something absolutely necessary for him because chances are it may not be. Or, there may be a way to give him something to make him sleepy so going to the vet isn't so much a strain on him. And in my honest opinion, I would say tell your vet you're going to decline and why, but I say that because I've been jaded:

I had an indoor cat, loved him, six years old, and he had a heart condition we did not know about. Went to the vet for a check-up, and he said my cat had to have a shot. My cat was particularly very angry at the vet, a very large cat and in bad health even though we did not know it (not even the vet, and this was a good vet). The experience of getting the shot made him so upset with his bad heart that it put him in cardiac arrest and he suffered a heart attack. I'm not blaming myself for this because how could you know and we were only doing what was right by the cat in a normal situation, but for absolutely sure these are things I think about when it comes to the vet from now on. I now have a cat, a male that's pretty big at 15 lbs but not fat 15 lbs, and since he's a mutt between a large breed and a medium-size breed (where I later learned most problems can occur), I'm having him checked out through x-rays to see if he may have a condition i need to be wary of later in his life, which may include no unnecessary stress past the age of 4 or 5. And if all I have him for is six good years, I'll enjoy every minute of it.

Answer 3

Even if the cats do not go outside you can bring diseases inside your house that the animals could catch. It is unlikely that you will bring a really bad virus into the house but it could happen. I would recommend getting yearly vaccinations but that is just my opinion I want my cats to stay healthy a long time and vaccinations help. Plus you never know when the cat could run out and open door and get into trouble outside.

Answer 4

After the series of puppy vaccines are complete, including Rabies, which is usually done at 16 weeks old, the Rabies vaccine and a DHLPP booster will be given 1 year later. After that, it's every three years. Some people choose to give the booster every year, but that is certainly debatable these days. If you choose, you can also have the Bordatella vaccine/intra-nasel given, and that is for Kennel Cough. In most places, the Rabies vaccine is the only one that's required by law, but IMO, the series of puppy vaccines and the booster given at one year of age are very important. Some people also my choose titer testing to see if a dog is protected, rather than vaccinating it unnecessarily.

Answer 5

Some shots they need every year, some they don't. There's a raging debate as to whether or not yearly rabies vaccinations are really necessary


They say that the vaccine is only really needed every three years. Just think how much money your city and your vet makes off of annual registration fees and how much the vets make off of the unnecessary shots...

Answer 6

I have 2 indoor cats. Strickly indoor, NEVER have been outside. I took them both to my vet initially upon adoption and had them vaccinated. Since then my vet has even suggested that due to the fact they are indoors and to save myself the cost; vaccines every other year is fine. I do follow that advise because mosquitos, flies, other insects can get in the house and bite the cats. They can carry diseases and just to be on the safe side I get vaccines.

Answer 7

I am a owner of nine house cats. I too never allow my cats outdoors, due to fleas, cars, etc. I don't get yearly shots because I think they are way to costly...not the shots, but the vets cost! It is outrageous! To charge 70 dollars a animal to just bring it in for a shot? Most of my cats are rescue ones and have a much better life than if they were strays. So I don't do it either...You can say it is wrong, but you know they are not a certain thing. So if the shots bother your cat (and you always keep it inside) you can skip them if you ask me, but if something goes wrong and you take your pet to the vets. They will require any shots to be updated or they can refuse to service your pet.

Answer 8

It does make me wonder how she's getting URIs.

I do suggest that you keep up her Distemper and Feline Leukemia vaccinations. And perhaps rabies too, in case she should get outside. Those are diseases she could catch from spatting with a critter through the screen- and to the best of my knowledge, there is no cure.

Answer 9

Indoor cats? Never allowed outside?
I would have cat treated at vet, only when necessary - thereby excluding annual vacinations . . . vets are 'out there' to make money - so beware - the annual teeth cleaning suggestions, etc.

Answer 10

YES!! Vaccines are VERY important, and your cat could get VERY sick without them. Some cats do get stressed, but it has to be done.