Our thoughts on cat vaccination
Kittens
At present we vaccinate kittens against Flu, infectious enteritis and Leukaemia at 9 weeks old and 12 weeks old.
Feline infectious enteritis
This virus causes severe and usually fatal bloody vomiting and diarrhoea especially in kittens. It can survive for prolonged periods in the environment. Due to vaccination, this disease is not common.
‘Cat flu’
Two common viruses, feline herpesvirus (FHV-1) and feline calicivirus (FCV), are spread by close contact with carriers and are responsible for the majority of cases of acute upper respiratory tract disease or ‘cat flu’ that we see. Infection causes mild to severe signs including sneezing, nasal discharge, eye inflammation and discharge, mouth ulcers, sore throat (pharyngitis) and coughing. Pneumonia is a life-threatening complication. Some cats recover fully in a few days. Others take weeks. Some develop permanent damage to the nose or eyes.
Vaccination protects a cat from severe illness but does not prevent infection.
Sometimes our vaccine will cause a very mild cough or sneeze but your cat will still be able to play eat and drink normally. Contact us if this is not the case.
Feline leukaemia virus
Feline leukemia virus or ‘FeLV’ is a fragile virus transmitted in the saliva through prolonged close contact between cats. Infection usually results in life-long infection and frustratingly, most die within three years of being diagnosed with FeLV, usually from an associated illness such as lymphoma or anaemia.
Vaccines can have adverse effects
Mild reactions such as pain at the injection site or a low fever for a day are neither unusual nor worrying but more severe adverse reactions to inoculations do sometimes occur. Occasionally your kitten may become lame. This is due to a reaction gathering in joints. This will resolve without permanent damage within 1-2 days. Rarely, a nasty cancer can develop at the injection site. This is so rare and the benefits of vaccination so great that we would never advise against vaccination because of this.