How often are your cats vaccinated?

I have mine vaccinated once a year like our vet says to. A couple of days ago a friend told me that because my cats never go outside it's not necessary to have them vaccinated this often that once every three years would be sufficient.

 

Well, how often you should do it will depend on what type of vaccine the veterinarian uses. There are vaccines that are proved to be effective for up to three years in cats, and there are others that are only approved for up to one year. Veterinarians will have their reasons for recommending and using one over the other. Some vets use the one year ones because it is a way to make sure that their clients are getting their animal in at least once a year for a physical (which is really important even if you cat doesn't need vaccinations, but clients are more likely to go in yearly if they have a reason besides just "a checkup"). This does not make the vet bad, since that is really what pet owners should be doing any ways. Some will use one years perhaps because of their perception of the brand, safety and duration. Some vets find it hard to change, so they continue giving yearly shots. Either way, trust that your vet is telling you what you need to do at their practice. If you want a three year vaccine, ask them if you can get them. You should be able to because they are out there.

 

I usually have my cats vaccinated once a year as well. I use to slack off on their vacinations, but not any more. I will sacifice whatever I have to in order to provide for them their vaccinations for the year. They only live once, so i will take care of them the best that I can. I always ask the vet when their shots are due for the year.

 

Ours are about once a year, too, mostly because in order to leave them at a kennel, their records have to be up to date and that's what is required. I'm sure some of the vaccines do last for 3 years, but that'd be up to you and your vet to discuss, depending on what they use.

 

Once in every three years? I haven't heard of this before. I always have my cats vaccinated once a year. It doesn't matter if the cats are inside or outside. Vaccination is based on the principle of 'prevention is better than cure'.

 

Definitely.

Interesting:

So apparently it's not just with outside cats either.

 

If it's true that vaccines can last three years, then either the vets have been scamming us all this while or they themselves were just as ignorant.

 

Maybe they were being overcautious. Better safe than sorry, right? If they knew for sure that the vaccines worked for at least a year, then it may have been standard procedure to do it every year instead of risking them getting something by stretching it to 3 years.

 

Assuming that they do know about the three-year thing, I still suspect the money factor plays a part in the one-year recommendation. They could actually make it two years and still have a lot of room for error.