When Can A Kitten Get Vaccinated

How Can I Stop My Cat Getting Cat Flu

The best way to prevent your cat getting cat flu is have them fully vaccinated and stay on top of any boosters. Dont let kittens outdoors until they are fully protected as they may come into contact with unvaccinated cats. If youre buying a kitten, make sure that their mum has had her vaccines as well which could reduce the risks of her kittens getting poorly.

What To Expect At A Vaccine Appointment

Its important that your cat is healthy when they have their vaccination, so they will be given a full health check, and you can discuss anything you are worried about.

If you have any questions or concerns about your cat, the vaccination appointment is a good opportunity to discuss them with your vet, for example if you think they might be gaining weight, need a worming tablet, or youre having trouble with dental care.

Your cats vaccine will be an injection under the skin. Youll be asked to hold him/her still while the injection is given, but if you dont feel comfortable doing so tell your vet so that they can take steps to help keep everyone stay safe. Vaccinations arent usually painful, but they can feel cold or sometimes sting a little, and every cat reacts slightly differently.

Why Vaccinate Your Kitten

When kittens are born, their immune systems are not fully developed and they are unable to fight disease on their own. Fortunately, they are able to get some protection from their mothers. Nursing mothers provide antibody-rich milk called colostrum. These maternal antibodies provide kittens with temporary immunity against illness. The length of this immunity varies from kitten to kitten. Protection from maternal antibodies generally fades somewhere between the ages of eight and 18 weeks.

There is no easy way to know exactly when a kitten is vulnerable to a specific disease. In an effort to strategically protect kittens from diseases, veterinarians administer vaccinations at strategic intervals. A vaccine is designed to trigger an immune response and prevent future infection from that disease.

All kittens need certain core vaccines, which provide immunity against the most dangerous and widespread diseases. Core vaccines are considered essential for kittens in most geographical locations. Depending on your location and your kitten’s environment, certain non-core vaccines may also be recommended. Talk to your veterinarian about your kittens risk of exposure to these diseases.

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Etiology Transmission And Pathogenesis

Feline parvovirus is closely related to mink enteritis virus and the type 2 canine parvoviruses that cause canine parvoviral enteritis. All are now designated as members of the species Carnivore protoparvovirus 1. FPV can cause disease in all felids and in some members of related families , but it does not harm canids. Conversely, some currently circulating CPV strains have been shown to cause feline panleukopenia in domestic cats and larger felids. However, FPV dominates over CPV as the cause of feline panleukopenia worldwide. Vaccines that contain FPV protect cats against disease caused by CPV, although vaccines that contain FPV induce much lower antibody titers against CPV-2c than against FPV.

Virus particles are abundant in all secretions and excretions during the acute phase of illness and can be shed in the feces of survivors for as long as 6 weeks after recovery. Being highly resistant to inactivation, parvoviruses can be transported long distances via fomites . However, FPV can be destroyed by exposure to a 1:32 dilution of household bleach for 10 minutes or more at room temperature. Peroxygen disinfectants are also highly effective. It is important that contaminated surfaces are thoroughly cleaned of organic material before disinfectants are applied.

Are Cat Vaccines Safe

All cat vaccinations are required to undergo rigorous tests to prove that they are safe and effective before it can be licensed for use in pets by regulatory authorities in Australia. When cat vaccines are used as recommended in healthy cats, they are safe and help to prevent some very risky feline diseases.

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How Is Cat Herpes Treated

Cat herpes can be treated with a few different antiviral drugs. Some of the most common options include:

• Systemic antiviral therapy: This uses a human anti-herpes antiviral drug, also known as Famciclovir, that has been proven to be safe in cats. It is given by mouth and helps manage severe infections.
• Topical ocular antiviral therapy: These anti-herpes drugs, known as idoxuridine, trifluridine, and cidofovir, can be used as eye drops in treating cat herpes. Eye drops are usually given daily and sometimes combined with other treatment options.
• Nursing care or hospitalization: In severe cases, your veterinarian may recommend that your cat is hospitalized so they can receive nutritional support or intravenous fluid therapy .

Bacterial infections often complicate cat herpes. Combined with antibiotics, supportive treatment for your cat is essential for their recovery. With the right medication and care, your cat can live a long and healthy life.

What Exactly Are Cat Vaccinations

A vaccination is an injection of a mixture of molecules that will help stimulate an immune response to a specific disease. A common one would be the rabies vaccine. In the rabies vaccine, there are parts of the rabies virus, not the entire virus. It’s not an active or live virus, but parts of the virus that we inject along with other chemicals into your cat to help them start to build antibodies, to protect them against exposure to rabies, and keep them safe. We also have vaccines for many different diseases in cats. There is the feline leukemia vaccine and what we call the distemper vaccine, a combination of several diseases that can cause feline distemper and various respiratory diseases.

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When Should Kittens Be Vaccinated

To help protect kittens they’ll need two sets of vaccinations to get them started. Kittens should have their first set of vaccinations at nine weeks old and at three months old they should receive the second set to boost their immune system. After this, kittens and cats usually need ‘booster’ vaccinations every twelve months.

Until your kitten is fully vaccinated , you should keep him or her inside.

Vaccines Your Kitten Should Have

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Adopting a new kitten means going through many milestones together, including bringing your cat home for the first time, litter training her and introducing her to other animals to name a few. Other important first steps will take place in your veterinarian’s office. From vaccinations to spaying and neutering, being a new pet parent comes with new responsibilities.

To help you prepare, here’s a list of the most common kitten vaccinations vets recommend and why they’re important for your new family member. Educate yourself first, and then work with your vet to create a vaccine schedule right for your family.

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Vaccination To Your Adult Cat

If an adult feline has an unknown vaccination history or is having vaccinations for the first time, he will usually require two injections around 3-4 weeks apart. Then boosters are usually given regularly throughout life to keep them protected. How often an adult cat receives a vaccine booster depends on the type of vaccine being given and your cats health status, lifestyle and where you live.

Is My Kitten Protected After Their First Round Of Shots

Until they have received all of their vaccinations , your kitten will not be fully vaccinated. Once all of their initial vaccinations have been completed, your kitten will be protected against the diseases or conditions covered by the vaccines.

If youd like to allow your kitten outdoors before they have been vaccinated against all the diseases listed above, we recommend keeping them restricted to low-risk areas, like your own backyard.

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Can Cats Get Parvo From A Puppy

Yes, they can. Conventional wisdom stated that dogs and cats each have their own version of parvovirus. Canine parvovirus is known as CPV, while feline pavo is known as panleukopenia virus .

Its believed to be true that neither of these could cross species in the beginning. However, the canine parvovirus mutated over time, and was eventually able to infect cats as well as dogs.

A 2012 study found that CPV was present in cats, which shows that it can infect both species. The feline version, FPV cannot be passed to dogs. However, a cat with CPV can pass it on to dogs.

What Is The Vaccination Schedule For Kittens Adult Cats And Senior Cats

We typically recommend doing a distemper shot for kittens every three to four weeks, starting between six and eight weeks of age until about 14 to 16 weeks of age. We do several boosters because the antibodies that kittens receive from their mother through the milk can interfere with the vaccine’s effectiveness. It varies from kitten to kitten as to how long those antibodies stay in their system. Based on studies, we know that if we continue to vaccinate until they’re 14 to 16 weeks old, the vast majority of kittens will get a solid immunity to the diseases we’re vaccinating for by 16 weeks of age. Rabies is such an effective vaccine, and there is not a lot of maternal antibody interference, so a single vaccination – usually between 12 and 16 weeks – is adequate. We typically start between eight and 12 weeks for leukemia, and typically two vaccines as a booster series are enough.

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The Problem With Titers

Typically, vaccines are given every year. With titers, there is no way to predict what the levels will be in three to six months, even if they tested high at the time of the titer testing. Many factors can affect the immune system and its level of resistance. Factors such as disease, stress, or medications can impact it, and therefore there is no consistency over time regarding what the antibody levels could be. This could put your cat at risk until you go in for another titer test.

What Diseases Should Cats Be Vaccinated Against

The core vaccines for cats in the UK protect against:

• feline enteritis: Feline infectious enteritis is a disease caused when cats become infected with feline parvovirus . It spreads easily in unhygienic conditions and is sadly often fatal, with unvaccinated kittens being most at risk. Not all infected cats show symptoms, but those that do may vomit, become unable to eat or drink, and have watery diarrhoea.
• feline influenza, or cat flu: Cat flu is like a human flu it can cause a runny nose and eyes, and a sore throat. Other symptoms include aches and pains in the muscles and joints, mouth ulcers, dribbling, sneezing, loss of voice and fever. Cat flu is not usually serious in adult cats, although they can be quite ill. However it can be serious, even fatal, in kittens, and in adult cats with other serious underlying illnesses. Read more about cat flu here.
• If your cat goes outside, or lives with cats who go outside, we recommend vaccinating them against feline leukaemia virus: Feline leukaemia virus is an incurable viral infection that eventually produces fatal illness in cats which become permanently infected. It is estimated that one to two per cent of cats in Britain are permanently infected, and the majority die within four years of FeLV detection. Read more advice about FeLV here.

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Is There A Maximum Number Of Fvrcp Vaccines A Kitten Should Receive Between 4

Repeated vaccination of kittens in a shelter setting starting as early as 4 weeks of age and repeated every 2 weeks until 20 weeks of age is necessary to reduce risk in the face of disease exposure. Still the best way to ensure kitten health is to get them out of the shelter as soon as possible.

Are Vaccines Necessary For Indoor Cats

My cat lives indoors. Are vaccines necessary?

Answer:

Like many veterinarians, I wish I had a quick and simple answer, but there is no one size fits all solution to the complex question of what vaccines should be given to cats. Some people hesitate to vaccinate their cats due to concerns about over-vaccination and a type of tumor called a vaccine-associated sarcoma. Some cats are really difficult to take to a veterinary hospital. However, it is important to discuss your cats individual risk factors with your veterinarian before skipping any shots.

The American Association of Feline Practitioners vaccination guideline recommends that kittens get a full series of vaccinations against panleukopenia, feline herpes type 1, calicivirus, feline leukemia, and rabies followed by a booster one year later. The type and frequency of vaccines given after that point varies considerably, depending on a cats lifestyle, and where you live. If your cat is truly 100% indoors, and does not have contact with indoor-outdoor cats, the current recommendation is to continue to receive boosters for panleukopenia, feline herpes type 1, calicivirus every 3 years, as these diseases do not require direct cat-to-cat contact to spread.

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Felv: What Happens If I Bring A Leukemia

The risk posed to other cats depends on a few factors, such as their age and how much they interact with the FeLV-positive cat.

The more we learn about feline leukemia , the more complicated it gets to advise cat lovers on the dangers of having an FeLV-positive cat in your home with other cats who dont have the disease.

Testing for feline leukemia can be complicated. The progression of the disease can be highly variable.

The safest answer, of course, is to have healthy, FeLV-negative cats not get exposed to FeLV-positive cats. But life isnt always that simple.

Here are some scenarios Ive been faced with from cat-loving clients:

Is There A Test For Felv Infection

Special blood tests have been developed to detect the presence of the virus in the cat’s blood. In general, these tests are very reliable, although rarely a false positive result occurs. In some situations, it may be necessary to confirm infection with through repeated blood testing at a later date.

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When Should My Kitten Be Vaccinated

Vaccinations are important for your young kitten. Some infectious diseases are fatal, and vaccinations can protect your kitten from many of these diseases. In order to be effective, immunizations must be given as a series of injections at prescribed intervals, so it is essential that you are on time for your kittens scheduled vaccinations. Immunizations are started at 6-8 weeks of age and are repeated every 3-4 weeks until the kitten is 4 months old.

The routine or core vaccinations will protect your kitten from the most common diseases: feline distemper , feline viral rhinotracheitis , calicivirus, and rabies. The first three are included in a combination vaccine given every three to four weeks until the kitten reaches 16 weeks of age. Rabies vaccine is usually given once at 12-16 weeks of age.

“Your veterinarian will assess your kittens lifestyle and discuss these vaccinations with you to help you decide what is best for your cat.”

Non-core vaccines are not administered to every kitten, but are recommended in certain areas for cats with certain lifestyles. Cats that live outdoors are at more risk for infectious disease and often need these additional vaccines. One non- core vaccine for chlamydophila may be given if this disease is common in your area. Feline leukemia vaccine is recommended for all kittens that are exposed to outdoor cats, so if your kitten goes outside or lives with another cat that goes in and out, feline leukemia vaccine may be added to the regimen.

How Do Vaccinations Work

Vaccinations prepare the immune system to recognise and fight off a particular disease quickly, preventing it from taking hold in the body. Vaccines work because they typically contain a dead or weakened disease – giving the immune system time to build up resistance, ready to fight disease faster in the future, and keep your kitty healthy!

If your new pet hasnt had any vaccinations before you bring them home, they wont have any resistance or protection against common kitty illnesses. So for this reason, its best to keep your cat away from neighbourhood cats and indoors until they have had their shots.

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Why Should I Have My Female Cat Spayed

Spaying young cats offers several advantages:

• Your cat will avoid heat periods, which usually begin at six to seven months of age and occur every two to three weeks in an unbred cat. During the heat period, female cats encourage the attention of male cats. The female cat will posture and vocalize, which can be annoying to owners so too can the presence of neighborhood male cats that mark the territory outside your house and fight off other suitors. Sometimes the natural urge to mate is so strong that your indoor cat will attempt to escape outdoors to breed.

• Spaying prevents unplanned litters of kittens that often never find suitable homes.

• Spaying prior to the first heat cycle greatly reduces the risk of breast cancer.

• Spaying prevents cancers or infections of the reproductive organs.

Spaying a cat may be a common procedure, but all surgery must be taken seriously. The correct term for spaying is ovariohysterectomy, and refers to the complete removal of the uterus and ovaries under general anesthesia. An overnight stay in the hospital may be advised to allow close monitoring during recovery and provide adequate pain control .