Your cat counts on you to be protected
One of the best ways to allow your cat to live healthy for many years is to have it vaccinated against the most common feline diseases. During the first few weeks of its existence, your cat received antibodies from its mother's milk, which immunized it against certain diseases. After this period, it is up to you to protect your companion, with the help and advice of your veterinarian.
When should I have my cat vaccinated?
In general, the immunity that a kitten receives at birth begins to fade after nine weeks. This is the usual time for him to administer his first vaccines. It usually needs to be recalled 3 to 4 weeks later. Your cat will need to be vaccinated regularly throughout his life. Of course, these are just guidelines. Your veterinarian will be able to determine the vaccination program that will perfectly meet your cat's needs.
Health visit and vaccination
Here is how this visit takes place:
Careful physical examination to determine the health status of your cat: indeed, only a healthy animal is able to get vaccinated;
Search for external parasites (fleas, ticks, lice, otodectes [ear mites]);
Search for internal parasites (flatworm, roundworm, etc.) in the stools. The presence of these parasites can also be detected by blood tests;
Administering vaccines and discussing the types of vaccines your cat should receive.
Discussion on all matters relating to his health and well-being.
What vaccines should my cat receive?
Most veterinarians are of the opinion that your pet should be protected from the most prevalent, contagious and severe diseases. These include feline panleukopenia (typhus), feline infectious rhinotracheitis and feline calicivirosis (coryza), feline chlamydia, feline leucosis and rabies. The veterinarian may recommend other vaccines, depending on the risks associated with the heredity of the cat, its environment and its way of life.
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Infectious feline rhinotracheitis
Like the common cold virus in humans, the virus causing this upper respiratory tract disease is easily transmitted from one cat to another. It is therefore imperative to have your cat vaccinated if he is called to have contacts with his fellows. The signs of this disease are moderate fever, loss of appetite, sneezing, runny nose and eyes and cough. This disease affects kittens very hard, but it can be dangerous for unvaccinated cats of any age because the treatment has limited efficacy. Cats can cure this disease, but they can remain carriers of the virus all their lives.
Feline calicivirosis
Calicivirosis is another important disease of the upper respiratory tract in cats. Very widespread and extremely contagious, it manifests itself in fever, ulcers and pustules developing on the tongue and pneumonia (inflammation of the lungs). It may be benign or severe, depending on which virus strain is responsible for it. Again, this disease can be difficult to treat. Cats can recover, but can continue to transmit the disease to other animals. In addition, they can later sneeze and chronic. Immunization is therefore extremely important.
Feline Panleukopenia
This disease is caused by a virus so resistant that it can survive outside the body of a cat for a year! Since most cats will be exposed at some point and the percentage of unvaccinated cats that contract this disease is 90 to 100%, it is imperative that the cats are vaccinated against this disease Possibly fatal. Signs of the disease are apathy, diarrhea, vomiting, severe dehydration and fever. Fortunately, the vaccine is very effective in preventing the disease because it is very difficult to treat. Even if the sick cat is recovering, it remains capable of transmitting the disease for a few weeks to other unvaccinated animals.
Rage
This deadly viral disease affects the central nervous system. It is a threat to most mammals, including humans. It spreads through the saliva of infected animals, either by bite or by contact with a skin lesion (foxes and bats are often carriers of the disease). Vaccination against rabies will allow your cat to better resist this virus, if exposed to it. However, you should know that there is no way to cure an animal with rabies. This is why many municipalities require that all cats be vaccinated regularly against this disease. Besides, if you were to travel with your cat either here or abroad, you would most certainly be asked to provide proof of vaccination.
Feline Leucosis (FeLV)
This infection caused by the feline leukemia virus (FeLV) can cause a multitude of health problems in your cat, whether it be cancer, such as leukemia, or various infections caused by Destruction of the immune system. In fact, it is one of the main infectious causes of death in cats. Once it has been exposed to the virus, the cat may show no outward signs of the disease for months and even years. All the while, however, he continues to infect his fellow men. There are tests for this virus. If the tests show that your cat has not been infected and you know that it is likely to come into contact with animals that are infected, we strongly recommend that you have it vaccinated against this deadly disease .
Feline Chlamydia
This bacterial disease is responsible for 15 to 20% of all respiratory diseases in cats. Chlamydia is extremely contagious, especially in the young kitten, and its infectivity is very high. This disease causes an infection of the mucous membranes of the eye, but it can also attack the lungs. Chlamydia can be transmitted to humans through direct contact. Vaccination remains the preferred method of preventing this disease.
Other diseases
For some infectious diseases, there is no vaccine yet, especially for infectious peritonitis of the cat, which can affect many organs, including the intestines, liver, kidneys and lungs. It is mostly seen in young adult cats.
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How effective are vaccines?
As with any drug or operation, no one can fully guarantee the effectiveness of a vaccine. However, for an animal that is healthy and in acceptable hygiene conditions, vaccination is definitely the best way to fight disease. In addition, if you calculate what it would cost to treat your beloved cat and take into account all the suffering that the disease implies for you and your companion, you will find that it is worth a hundred times better Prevent by vaccination than cure.
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