Vaccines can help prevent many diseases that affect cats, just like we did when we were kids. Vaccines are not 100% protective against disease, but they can improve a cat’s protection against infection.
Some people say that my cat is just a domesticated cat without going out. Does it need vaccination? Shop or sneak out of the house; as long as you go out, there is the possibility of infection. What’s more, some domestic cats may interact with stray cats through screen windows, which may also be infected. In addition, the owner’s clothes, hands, and shoes may also carry pathogens home, so the vaccine must be vaccinated, but there are some things you should know about the vaccine:
What exactly are vaccines?
Vaccines help prepare the body’s immune system to fight the invasion of disease-causing microorganisms. Vaccines contain antigens, and when the vaccine is introduced into the body, the immune system is slightly stimulated. When a cat is exposed to a real disease, its immune system recognizes it and either fight it off completely or reduces its severity.
Core and non-core vaccines:
The American Feline Association classifies vaccines into core and non-core categories. The core vaccine is considered essential for all cats (vaccines against pathogens of high risk to cats) and protects against leukopenia (feline distemper), feline calicivirus, feline herpesvirus type I (nasotracheal disease), Inflammation), and rabies, the combined vaccine of the first three vaccines is a common “feline triple combination.”
The choice of non-core vaccines is based on cat lifestyle (distribution of pathogens in different regions/countries/environments): including feline leukemia virus, feline HIV, feline infectious peritonitis virus, feline chlamydia, and B. bronchiseptica vaccine.
When should kittens be vaccinated?
If the mother’s immunization With a healthy system, kittens automatically receive antibodies from their mother’s colostrum. The immunoglobulins in colostrum help prevent infectious diseases before the kitten’s own immune system develops. The antibodies in this colostrum are so-called “transition antibodies,” which slowly begin to decline 50 days after the kitten is born. Therefore, when the kitten is about two months old, it is recommended to vaccinate a cat triple dose at 8, 12, and 16 weeks so that its resistance can continue to work. (Adult cats who have never been vaccinated should also be vaccinated according to their normal vaccination schedule.)
When to delay vaccination:
A week after the vaccination will make the cat’s body resistance decline, and it will slowly increase after a few days. Therefore, it is necessary to confirm the physical health of the cat before giving vaccinations.
Defer vaccination if your cat has any of the following conditions.
· poor appetite or vomiting
· diarrhea, digestive upset, or dehydration
· abscesses
· Upper Respiratory Tract Infection
· Urinary Tract Infection
· Serious Trauma
· Before Major Surgery
· Pregnancy Early
· kittens before travel or just brought home
· history of allergic reactions
· elderly cats, generally sufficient antibodies
· Do not get vaccinated at the same time as other vaccines
What are the symptoms of the vaccine?
Most cats do not experience any adverse effects from vaccination. If the cat has facial edema or vomiting and diarrhea on the day of the treatment, it may be a so-called acute allergy, and the cat should be brought back to the hospital for treatment immediately, but the probability of this is very low. Vaccine reactions are usually mild and short-lived.
· fever
· depressed
· loss of appetite
· vomiting
· Diarrhea
· swelling and redness around the injection site
· lameness
If these conditions persist for more than five days, you should contact your veterinarian.
Are there any risks from vaccines?
Vaccines gently stimulate an animal’s immune system to elicit protection against a specific infectious disease. This irritation can produce mild symptoms ranging from pain at the injection site to fever and allergic reactions. There are other less common side effects, such as injection site tumors and immune disorders associated with vaccination. That said, vaccines have saved countless lives and played a vital role in the fight against feline infectious diseases. But as with any medical treatment, side effects and risks exist. In most cases, the risk is much less than the risk of the disease itself.
Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the cat’s physical condition before vaccination and to communicate with the veterinarian about the cat’s medical history.
Do we need to get our pets vaccinated every year?
W was vaccinated a lot when I was a child, but I stopped getting vaccinated as an adult. However, under the habit of “vaccinating every year,” we let our cats live until they are old and vaccinated. Our cats can’t afford such vaccine protection. We can use logic to figure out the following three points:
First of all, the effective period of vaccines is much longer than one year, and there is no scientific proof that every year Gotta get vaccinated. The current vaccinations are not regulations but only so-called “veterinary recommendations.” There are two apparent reasons for the veterinarian’s suggestion. One is, of course, interest. The same vaccine must be administered every year. Considering the current huge number of pet cats, how tempting is such a benefit-driven approach? Everyone has seen it. “I’m not a medicine god.” Second, medical research is expensive, and long-term research on animal immunity lacks financial support. Even if veterinarians have the conscience and courage to say that they do not need to be vaccinated every year, they will inevitably be caused by some negligence. Cat sick man corrupts.
Second, the dose of the vaccine was not adjusted for the size of the cat. Vaccination every year, the same vaccine for 4 pounds and 8 pounds, the same for big cats and kittens, this makes no sense from a logical level, not to mention that this dose of vaccine is administered every year, which is harmful to the cat itself. How heavy is the immune system? There have been many discussions and disagreements in human society because of the issue of vaccines, most of which are also related to the drawbacks of “excessive vaccines.”
Finally, there are many cases where over-vaccination can cause serious health problems. Especially concerning the immune system, which includes allergies, epilepsy, anemia, and cancer.
Then how should cats be vaccinated:
The core vaccine that cats must be vaccinated for is the “cat triple” (mentioned above); at the same time, according to local laws, decide whether to vaccinate against rabies. (If the family does not go out, it is a non-epidemic area, and there is no possibility of bats entering the home, and rabies vaccination is not required). Healthy cats without special needs for other non-core vaccines do not need and should not be vaccinated. Then every three years (or more frequently), perform an antibody number test/titer test against the feline distemper virus; if the number of feline distempers virus antibodies is insufficient, then make up the vaccine. Take your cat for regular checkups, and don’t be superstitious about vaccines.
In addition, in terms of the immune effect and long-term health of the vaccine types, the low-toxicity/weak live vaccine is significantly better than the inactivated vaccine, but the short-term risk to weak animals is higher. Feline plague test strips can be used to test the effectiveness of the vaccine. Weak live vaccines that have not expired can make the test strips positive. If there is no reaction, do not inject.
Finally, let’s talk about a cute little question, can I bathe the cat after the injection? For vaccination, it is simply a “shadow of childhood” “level memory. You had so many vaccines as a child you must remember that you can’t take a bath after the vaccine.
Similarly, within a week after the cat is vaccinated, it is necessary to reduce the stimulation to the cat and try not to take the cat out of the house or go to the pet store for a bath because the cat’s immunity will decline this week, and after a few days It will slowly rise. At this time, if you come into contact with pathogenic bacteria, the cat will be more likely to get sick.
