This is a question all cats owner struggle with, no matter how many studies one reads, there is no one answer. Breeders, or Show cats HAVE to be vaccinated once a year, including rabies (even if they never see the outside like ours). But all in all, most breeders (and research buffs) agree, that annual vaccination is bulltinkel. Especially american brands have shown to be effective 2 years and more, after all, a person does not get yearly booster shots either. Once you have the anti-bodies, they tend to stick. So what we do, we vaccinate as long as we are forced to, and the second our cats go off the breeding program, we stop. Generally after the age of 7 years they are so pumped full of antibodies it would be damaging to keep them shot full of more. If you want prove, do an annual antibody test. Often cheaper then the vaccinations too. Why are you not told? Vets make most of their incomes with the shot business. Only a very good one (or a very informed one) will tell you its not needed. But as with many 'on the fence' topics, you have to decide for yourself if and for how long you want to vaccinate your animals (provided they have no outside access and do not come in contact with dogs who do, in which case all bets are off and you'll need to continue) and read as much as you can. US based animal associations suggest vaccinating twice (8 and 12 weeks) as a kitten, then again at age 1, and 2, and then every 3 years.
What vaccinations are most commonly used?
Cat flu (Herpes- Calicivirus)
Cat Pendemic (Panleukopenie; felines Parvovirus)
Feline Leukemiavirus (FeLV) - not needed for indoor cats without dogs in the house
Rabis - not needed for indoor cats without dogs in the house
Here are a few interesting sources we dug up for you:
USA: „Kirk’s Current Veterinary Therapy“ - Source: Book
http://www.catshots.com
www.cvmbs.colostate.edu (vaccination plan of vet clinic Colorado State University)
www.maxshouse.com/vaccines.htm (vaccination plan of Cornell University)
www.avma.org/vafstf (Informationen about vaccination cancer)
www.api4animals.org/default.asp?ID=558 (1998 vaccination report of US-vetassociations AAFP and AFM)
www.oocities.org/~kremersark/aafp.html (AAFP/AFM-Report 2000)
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