It is important to vaccinate your cat from 9 weeks of age and then annually to maintain protection.
Kittens: Start from 9 weeks of age with their first vaccinations with one of our vets, followed by a second vaccination 3-4 weeks later. See our kitten vaccinations for more details.
Adult Cats: Continue their vaccinations on an annual basis to maintain protection. We strongly recommended that all pets have an annual health check. This involves a full clinical examination from a Veterinary Surgeon to ensure there are no problems which could benefit from prompt attention at an early stage, and advice on maintaining good health. In addition advice can be given on treating for fleas and worms, neutering, micro chipping and dietary requirements. These annual boosters supply the best protection available against major infectious diseases in addition to the initial kitten course. These diseases have few effective treatments and are often fatal.
What do we routinely vaccinate our cats against?
Cat Flu: Routine vaccination offers protection against two different strains of ‘cat flu’. It is very common in the cat population and spreads quickly in multi-cat household. Cats have ‘flu’ like symptoms with watery eyes, sneezing, and discharge from the nose, and more serious cases can involve chronic sinusitis, damage to or loss of eyes and ulcers in the mouth. Although it can be treated, once cats have caught it, it can often re-appear throughout life.
Feline Panleucopaenia/Feline Enteritis: This disease causes serious and potentially fatal gastroenteritis similar to Parvo virus in dogs. It is becoming less common in the UK but is still a high risk for young kittens as the virus can persist in the environment for months, even years after exposure. It can be brought into a house unknowingly on footwear, so indoor cats are still at risk, and its close relationship to Parvo virus allows cross infection cases, too. Cats show symptoms including vomiting, anorexia and a fever. They require intensive supportive treament including intravenous fluids and nursing care, and still the risk of losing them is high.
Feline Leukaemia Virus: This highly infectious disease can affect cats of all ages, especially kittens. It is spread in many ways including fight/bites, urine, blood and saliva. It is associated with the occurrence of tumours, anaemia and suppressing a cat’s immune system making them vulnerable to other diseases, and becoming unable to deal with simple infections. Signs and symptoms may take months or years to develop and can be very vague as it affects the immune system so cats may just seem a bit off colour, may appear slow to recover from minor illnesses or have on and off anaemia. There is no treatment or cure for this virus, we simple try and maintain a good quality of life for the cat for as long as possible.
We endeavour to keep up with the latest thoughts on vaccination, and tailor the program to a cat’s individual needs. If you have any questions or concerns please talk this through with one of our vets.