Cat vaccination query

[LittleBrownFrog]

I remember coming across some research ages ago, that suggested that it wasn't necessary to continue with yearly 'booster' vaccinations for cats. Does anyone else know what I'm talking about - does anyone have a link to the information?

[Annie]

LBF sorry I dont know of a link but I did say the other day that a vet had said to me after about 3 or 4 years a booster was not necessary ( the whole experience is too much for one of my cats).

[LittleBrownFrog]

Thanks Annie. I think it was you that said it to me before then ... and then I did some digging around and found something, but can't for the life of me find it again now

Sebastian is currently locked in the utility room & we have an appointment this evening for his booster (the vet's receptionist was very lovely & has squeezed us in). We're just outside of the official 'limit' for not having to restart his vaccinations yet again (because he goes wandering for months at a time). One of the vets in the practice has agreed to do the booster for us, even though it will be just outside the guidelines.

That will bring him up to date for the next twelve months, and will allow us to put him in to kennels once we have a moving date (because we're only moving down the road & he has enough trouble remembering to come home already!) After that, I think we might just leave it, because I'm sure it can't do him any good constantly restarting the course - and it certainly doesn't help the bank balance! I will ask the vet this evening.

[Grannyof4]

If he is going missing you don't know with whom he is mixing or what nasties he is coming into contact. Cat flu is a killer for a start. If he was mine I would keep him up to date. Is he a full tom? Let's hope that the cattery don't notice the dates on his card....

[LittleBrownFrog]

Thanks Gof4.
His injections have been restarted twice already this year, because he goes missing. Catching him today was interesting to say the least - I had to net him with some chicken wire & got scratched to pieces for my trouble.
If you've got any suggestions for ways to make him come home regularly enough to make it possible to keep him up to date, then I would love to hear it.
The cattery will check the dates on his card, and I will explain to them, and they will trust the judgement of our vet, as do I.
I'm interested though as to whether the evidence supporting yearly boosters is funded entirely by the dr-ugs companies, and whether there is other evidence out there that says that (as Annie's vet seems to have implied) once they reach a certain age, then it is no longer necessary.
he's a pain in the neck this cat!!

[wendy]

I used to feed mine last thing at night and not leave anything down for them to start with.
They always came home of a night time.
As they grew older and understood the routine, I left biscuits down.
None of my 5 were mousers.

[LittleBrownFrog]

We've tried that - tried all the things I can think of. Our other cat is very civilised - he likes to hunt overnight in the spring, and occasionally has a couple of days' wandering, but he likes his home comforts too much & always comes home.

[Grannyof4]

Thanks Gof4.
His injections have been restarted twice already this year, because he goes missing. Catching him today was interesting to say the least - I had to net him with some chicken wire & got scratched to pieces for my trouble.
If you've got any suggestions for ways to make him come home regularly enough to make it possible to keep him up to date, then I would love to hear it.
The cattery will check the dates on his card, and I will explain to them, and they will trust the judgement of our vet, as do I.
I'm interested though as to whether the evidence supporting yearly boosters is funded entirely by the dr-ugs companies, and whether there is other evidence out there that says that (as Annie's vet seems to have implied) once they reach a certain age, then it is no longer necessary.
he's a pain in the neck this cat!!

Hadn't realised he was that much of a problem......norty pus.s. Is he a full tom? Could you tie a piece of elastic to him...... I have never had a wanderer over the 25+ years of rescuing cats. If they have arrived as a full tom they have had the snip and the ladies done as well.

[LittleBrownFrog]

He was neutered at 6 months old. We managed to get him jabbed yesterday evening, although the vet didn't dare take him out of the basket to do it!! He's gone now though & I doubt we'll see him for a while. Hopefully next time he comes home, we'll have a moving date in place & I will just ship him off to the kennels for the duration.
He's the first wanderer I've known - Mum has always had several cats, usually rescues, so & she says the same as you. She's had the odd one that goes walkabout for a day or two. The vet says he doesn't look like a cat that is living with another family - he's very lean & muscly, a hunter I think.

[bluebell]

Pleased to hear he got his jab - he sounds as if he was a bit feisty.

[LittleBrownFrog]

Feisty is an understatement!!

[julieann]

A freind of mine has never vaccinated her cats beyond the first year booster. she said she was advised by a freind of hers who is a vet that it isn't necessary. Her cats live to a ripe old age. One is 18, another died last year at 19 and the other 2 are still young about 5. i asked a stand in vet about whether its necessary to continue to vaccinate and got a lengthy lecture about why it is necessary. Her oppinion is that people who dont contunue are irresponsible and appeared quite annoyed that people may choose not to. I was left feeling a little like a naughty child! I would be interested to hear if anyone has read or finds any research about this.

[Meredith]

I don't vaccinate my dogs or cats past six years old. If you do a search online, there are plenty of opinions. I take the middle ground.

I have a relative, who is a vet and he doesn't keep up the yearly vaccinations for his pets.

[LittleBrownFrog]

Thank you both. I haven't really come across anything that convinces me either way at the moment.
I think we have to accept that it is cruel to try to keep him at home. When the next reminder card comes through the door, we will take him for the booster if he arrives home within the window of opportunity, if not, then we will just let it lapse. I think I am more worried about the impact of constantly restarting the course than I would be about letting it lapse.
When we move, he will go to kennels until we are settled, and then we will try to keep him shut in for long enough to learn that the new house is home. It's about 1/4 mile away from here, so I suspect his territory will remain largely the same, and I don't imagine that his wandering habits will change.

[Meredith]

It sounds as if he is his own man. We had a cat like that, way back in the early 70's, when I was a kid. Respect! Do your best for him but at the end of the day, he is free and if he lives life fast, then so be it.