question for cat owners

[1elephant]

we have two bengals. sake is 3 1/2 and ed will be 3 in july. we take them to the vet for annual visits. last year, during ed's annual visit, he received two shots - i believe they were rabies and distemper. when we got home, he started vomiting so much that we brought him to the emergency vet and they had to keep him overnight. he pretty much almost died, and it was thought that he had a reaction from having two shots at once.

we have to bring him for his yearly checkup tomorrow and i'm going to a new vet (bc we moved and the old one was too far away). i'm having a hard time deciding if i want him to have the distemper shot. he doesn't need rabies bc it's a 3 year vaccine, but when the vet called to confirm she said he's due for a shot. i've done some research and some places say that distemper is every year and some say that it's not necessary every year.

do you vaccinate your cats? if so, what for?

[StephanieMN]

My sisters cat had the same issue and my sister just refused to let them give her shots. She ended up with major health issues because of the shots.

[1elephant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by StephanieMN My sisters cat had the same issue and my sister just refused to let them give her shots. She ended up with major health issues because of the shots.

because she had them at one point or from not having them?

[ACDCDCAC]

are sake and ed outdoor/indoor or exclusively indoor?

 

i'm no vet, but from experience of having at least 1 indoor cat at a time my entire life, i can say that we (i and my mom) have never gotten any more shots for the cats past the first 2 rounds or so they get when kittens. we have had 3 cats that have made it to 10-20 yrs old, with nothing more than the occasional vet treatment for random MINOR things, and things like declawing and spay/neutering. because i am a firm believer of indoor cats only, i also feel very comfortable with this choice of not getting regular shots and checkups for them, and my "twins" carlo and rossi have been fine. i have a STRICT no outdoors policy for them, and everyone at home knows i am a madwoman when it comes to patrolling open doors and windows (NOT allowed!)

 

SO, that being said, it's not professional advice and only what i've experienced. also since your cats are already used to regular shots and checkups, i would not discontinue them, but i would say for sure to ask the new vet about that experience and hopefully they can help you make a more informed decision about the distemper shots.

[StephanieMN]

She actually ended up getting tumors in the spots where she had the injections. She had to have several surgeries and well it didn't end well.

After they figured out what it was my sister never had her get the shots again. I am not sure how common it is but it was pretty hard to see.

[CarrieRN]

I don't annually vaccinate my cats. They are strictly indoors as well. The kitten got his kitten shots but I won't get him boosters of the rabies vaccines. They only come into contact with each other and are at little risk. I had a cat before that had an allergic reaction to the rabies shot and had to go to the emergency vet. Then the next time she had to get benedryl prior to the shot. Too much hassle and expense for me...especially since she didn't go outside anyhow.

[A10CalGal]

Hmmm, interesting. I have always followed my vet's direction on this. However, my cats have always been indoor/outdoor, so maybe that 's the difference.

[Lilpaisley]

My cats are also strictly indoor. There is an eagles nest in the park about 5 blocks from my house and he is famous for picking up small pets. If you travel at all with your pets you might be required to prove they have had rabies shots (we’ve taken them to Canada before). Loki is a special need cat and requires prescription food. She still has not been required by the vet to have any of the other shots. Loki hates the vet and the less trauma she has to go through the better.

[azhuskergirl]

I stopped vaccinating my baby about 4 years ago. She's an indoor cat & she just turned 21 this month. One of my friends vaccinated her older cat & it died as a result, so I stopped taking her for her shots a while ago. I'm a bad mommy.

[Ana]

Our cats are both indoors, and never come into contact with other animals (kind of tough when they're in a condo on the 24the 24th floor) haha! But our vet actually told us that if they're indoor cats they don't need the vaccines. I have 2 cats and my mom has one and none of them get it. A friend of mine's cat had the same reaction that yours did and she stopped giving her the shots as well. I don't really think they're necessary unless they're outdoors.