Keeping your cat healthy is important for a number of reasons. First, cats are like family. It's sad to see the cat you care about suffering with an illness, especially one you could have prevented. Second, when you keep your cat healthy, you help to prevent the spread of disease to other cats. Finally, preventing your cat from getting sick in the first place is easier financially than treating illnesses after they develop.
Knowing what vaccinations your cat needs is part of taking good care of your feline friend. Unfortunately, there's quite a bit of confusion over what vaccination schedule is best for cats. Individual differences in cats also can affect which vaccinations they need.
Instructions
Cat Vaccines
1. Determine whether your cat will be a strictly indoor cat or if it will be an outdoor cat, too. Indoor cats and outdoor cats have different health needs and risks and outdoor cats need some vaccinations that indoor cats do not. For example, indoor cats usually have very little risk of feline leukemia, so that may be a vaccine that the owner of an indoor cat chooses to skip.
2. Consider how often your cat is boarded in a kennel facility. In a kennel, your cat may be exposed to a number of diseases that it otherwise would not be. Diseases such as herpes virus and calicivirus are more commonly passed around among boarded cats. Vaccines for these diseases do not prevent infection, but they do reduce the severity of illness and may be required by boarding facilities before you can board your cat.
3. Check with your local county about legal regulations regarding vaccinations. There are few feline vaccines required by law but, like dogs, cats are often required to have a rabies vaccination.
4. Talk with your vet about her recommendations for your cat. Make sure you discuss all the relevant information including how often your cat is exposed to other cats, how old your cat is, when it was last vaccinated, what vaccines it received and any allergies you know of.
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