Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Contented Cats Get Vaccinations - Some Tips To Follow

By Alison Heath


Anybody who owns a cat must be responsible with ensuring his health. And taking care of his health would definitely entail having your cat vaccinated.

6-8 week old kittens

Give your cat his first vaccination when he is a month and a half to two months old. From birth to six weeks, a cat can rely on the antibodies of his mother. But, once he is weaned from the mother, he needs his own antibodies to protect him.

Before anything else, though, your vet would need to be sure that your cat does not have worms, and would need to give him a physical exam, stool exam included. Feline Infectious Peritonitis and Feline Leukemia are two common diseases kittens pick up, and the vet also needs to take blood samples and test them to make sure your cat doesn't have these. These tests don't take long to be done, likely only minutes. Chances are your cat will get either a Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) or Feline Leukemia vaccine. Cats that never leave their home may not need these vaccines.

But, all cats are likely to receive FVRCPC vaccine even if he never leaves home. This is a compound vaccine that is made out of several vaccines. The diseases covered under FVRCPC are the following - panleudopenia, chlamydia, rhinotracheitis and calicivirus.

10-12 week old kittens

Two to four weeks later, you cat will need to visit the vet again. The vaccines covered here would be the same as above, only repeated a second time, covering FIP, Feline Leukemia and FVRCPC. He may get a second worming too if he had one at his first visit. And when a cat spends most of his time outdoors, he will also need to get a rabies vaccine by the time they reach three months.

The next visit will happen at ten to sixteen weeks old. A third FVRCPC vaccine would need to be administered. And some cats will get their rabies shot now too.

Year-old Cats

At one year old, the cat will need Rabies and FVRCPC vaccines again. A rabies shot given to your cat at this time (if he had one within the past year) would be valid for a three year period. As for FVRCPC vaccines, these need to be done every year on your cat. This would also include FIP and Feline Leukemia boosters.

These are all vaccines that make sure your cat stays healthy. While vaccines are meant to protect cats from disease, there are some who acquire a reaction to the injections. The main reason why cats do not need Feline Leukemia shots if not necessary is because they can very rarely develop cancer as a result of the vaccines. Lumps and tumors are another risk of these vaccines. It is important that you make sure to let the vet know if there are any signs of these things with your pet.

The quick guide above should guarantee a happy and productive life for your cat.




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