Fall 2008 • V ol. 43 No. 3 - San Diego Humane Society and SPCA

Ask Dr. B
The Value of Vaccines: Protecting Your New Kitten
Q: I just adopted a new kitten, and I
want to make sure she starts off life on
the right paw – what vaccines does she
need to stay happy and healthy?
– Kitten Lover in Kensington
A: Up until about 15 years ago, the
answer to this question was a fairly standard
one: your kitten should receive every
vaccine that is available for cats. Later, as
an adult, it should receive every vaccine
available every year for its entire life.
However, in the early 1990s, it was
recognized that some cats can develop very
serious reactions to some vaccines, including
the development of a life-threatening cancer
at the vaccination site. As veterinarians
began to study this phenomenon, it became
apparent that we were over-vaccinating
some cats. They were receiving vaccines that
they really did not need. As a consequence,
today, opinions vary somewhat as to which
vaccines are recommended. Opinions also
vary as to how often these vaccines should
be given.
To try to put some scientific basis behind
the recommendations that veterinarians
were making, the American Association
of Feline Practitioners put out a set of
recommendations that was based on
the best possible scientific information
available. This group tried to weigh the
benefits gained by vaccine administration
versus the risk of side effects that all
vaccines have.
To determine which vaccines an
individual cat needs, it is important to
make an honest appraisal of that cat’s
lifestyle and environment. A cat living
on the 8 th floor of a high rise apartment
that never goes out of the apartment has a
completely different risk of exposure to
serious contagious diseases than does a
cat that lives outdoors and comes into
contact with many other neighborhood cats.
Because of this difference in exposure risks,
the apartment cat should receive different
vaccine recommendations than the outdoor
cat.*
We now divide vaccines up into “core”
and “non-core” groups. The “core” vaccines
are recommended for all cats, be they indoor
or outdoor, while the “non-core” vaccines
are recommended only for those cats that
have significant risk of exposure to the
diseases these vaccines are designed to
protect against.
The core vaccines that are recommended
for all kittens are:
1. FVRCP, or a vaccine against Feline
Viral Rhinotracheitis, a respiratory
infection
2. Feline Calicivirus, which also
protects against respiratory infection
3. Feline Panleucopenia, often called
Feline Distemper
All kittens will need a series of at least
two of the above vaccines given two to four
weeks apart. The exact number of vaccines
each kitten receives will depend on the
age of the kitten at the time they start this
series of vaccines. As a general rule, the
earlier they start (as early as five weeks of
age), the better protection they receive, but
the greater the number of vaccinations they
will require.
Finally, your kitten should receive a
single rabies vaccine after they are four
months of age. As an adult, the FVRCP
needs to be repeated every three years for
most cats throughout their entire lives.
Rabies vaccination is repeated at one year
after the first vaccine was administered,
and then it is repeated every three years
thereafter.
Your regular veterinarian recommends
the non-core vaccines only if it is felt
that your cat has a significant risk of
being exposed to certain diseases. The
Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) and Feline
Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) vaccines
are the two most commonly recommended
Photo: Jen Petit
non-core vaccines available. These two
diseases are only spread by direct contact
of cats, so if your cat is indoors and has
minimal to no direct contact with other
cats, these vaccines are typically not
recommended.
When making a decision about which
vaccines to have administered to your cat,
it is important to sincerely evaluate your
cat’s environment. While not all cats need
every vaccine available, it is also important
to recognize that administration of the
proper vaccines for your cat is one of the
most important health decisions you will
be making. Modern vaccines have saved
literally millions of cats’ lives by preventing
life-threatening contagious diseases.
Jim Babbitt, D.V.M.
San Diego Humane Society and SPCA
* Due to the threat of overpopulation,
disease, predators and harm from vehicles,
the San Diego Humane Society recommends
that pet owners keep cats indoors.
For more interesting and informative
articles on caring for your pet,
please visit www.sdhumane.org.
Or, if you have a veterinary question
or issue you would like to see
addressed in this column, email
info@sdhumane.org with “ASK DR. B”
in the subject line.
AnimalFare • Fall 2008
www.sdhumane.org
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