The way we vaccinate cats has changed. A decade ago vets would vaccinate against all the important diseases every year regardless of the cats lifestyle, age or risk of infection. This has no doubt saved many a cats life but this blanket vaccination policy also resulted in many cats having vaccinations that may have not be needed.In July 2009 a panel of specialists in feline medicine and vaccination published a series of recommendations for vaccination in cats. The European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases is composed of 16 independent veterinary experts (i.e. do not work for drug companies) from across Europe.
The guidelines they have presented reflect a consensus of expert opinion, experience and scientific data and are published in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery (2009) Volume 11, issue 7. This is a highly respected journal and the recommendations are from some of the best scientists in the world when it comes to feline health.
At Purton Vets we have always promoted the idea that an individual's specific needs should be considered when deciding on their preventative healthcare plan. Simply following a drug company's data sheet which describes the legal license a vaccine has without taking the patients individual needs into account is not in the patient's interest. We use our knowledge of disease and current scientific evidence to make decisions on how drugs should be used in the real world.
The 3 major diseases we vaccinate against in the UK are cat flu, feline enteritis and feline leukaemia. Leukaemia is not consider a core vaccine which means only certain cats should receive it, however flu and enteritis are consider core vaccines meaning all cats should receive them.
There are 2 main considerations that decide which vaccinations a cat should receive are the cat's age and the environment they live in.
Indoor Cats
Indoor cats are cats that never go outside. If your cat falls into this category and you have no plans to allow it outside in the future then the only vaccination required is against cat flu and feline enteritis. Feline leukaemia is not required. Kittens need 2 injections a few weeks apart and a booster 1 year later. After 1 year of age indoor cats only need flu and enteritis boosters every 3 years. It's important that if you vaccinate this way you test any new cats you introduce to your home for leukaemia (FeLV) to be sure they don't introduce the disease to your home.
Outdoor Cats
Outdoor cats are cats that step outside, however infrequently. These cats need to be vaccinated against cat flu, feline enteritis and FeLV. Kittens need 2 injections given a few weeks apart and a booster a year later. Adults need cat flu boosters annually and enteritis boosters every 3 years. Adults also need vaccination against FeLV until they are at least 3 years of age but from then onwards they only need FeLV boosters every 3 years.
Not only does this mean your cat needs less vaccination with less risk of a reaction, but it also costs less as the FeLV component is quite expensive.
Remember that part of our decision making process is to consider the risk of disease in a local area and the specific cats environment. The prevalence of FeLV in the UK has greatly decreased thanks to reliable tests, improved understanding of the disease and effective vaccinations. In Purton and West Swindon the disease is rare however further afield towards Lynham the incidence is higher especially within the stray feral population.
Our understanding of Felv has improved and we know that cats become resistant to infection with age. Cats less than 3 years of age are at greater risk. The virus does not survive well outside the animal and spread usually requires persistent close contact with an infected cat. The virus does not travel through the air and is spread through faeces, saliva, nasal secretions and milk.
The outdoor adult cat leukaemia guidelines and the indoor adult cat flu/enteritis guidelines do not follow the vaccine producers recommendations. They are required to base their recommendations on tests they have run on animals and receive a license for the vaccines use that they cannot deviate from. FeLV has only been tested to show 1 year immunity although it may last longer but no test results have been published. However given the significantly lower susceptibility of adult cats and low incidence of the disease our revised vaccination guidelines for FeLV should be protective and negate the potential side effects of vaccination.
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