Cat Care - Vaccinations

Before the wide-spread usage of vaccinations, many cats would fall victim to disease and illness, and die; from the panleukopenia, also known as feline distemper, to upper respiratory infections like herpesvirus and calvirus, cats were vulnerable to a range of ailments. It is clear how important vaccinations are to a cat’s health. Deaths due to these and a host of other diseases have been reduced with the emergence of vaccinations.

Get Protected

Progress in medical technology has made redundant the usage of injections for vaccinating cats; there are now other procedures on-hand including one which allows nasal administration of certain vaccines. With further advances in medical technology, more methods of vaccinating cats will probably emerge.

Inoculating Your Kitten

The majority of experts agree that all essential vaccinations to protect against feline panleukopeni and upper respiratory viruses be administered to a kitten between the ages of 4 and 20 weeks. The first vaccination should be given when the kitten is 6-8 weeks old; subsequent vaccinations should be delivered at regular intervals of 3 or 4 weeks till the end of the course, which usually occurs 14 to 16 weeks from the initial vaccination.

It is essential that a kitten which frequents the outdoors be vaccinated for the feline leukemia virus. The many kinds of vaccinations available necessitate that a veterinarian be consulted to come up with a suitable vaccination plan for your kitten.

About the Older Cats

‘Booster’ shots to renew immunity will have to be administered to a cat from week 20 onwards, all the way to when it is 2 years old. Beyond this age, booster shots, while still recommended, should be taken after discussing the pros and cons with your veterinarian. There is an on-going debate over how frequently booster shots should be administered and there is no national consensus. While some veterinarians advise a round of shots clumped together, others counsel that shots be administered annually. However, some shots have to be taken subservient to local laws, such as those for rabies.

It’s Not Over Yet

You should pay careful attention to your cat after getting it vaccinated. That way, even though it is accepted that vaccinations are harmless, if your cat gets sick or starts to act strangely you will get in touch with your veterinarian immediately.

Regardless of their views on booster shots, almost all experts hold that vaccinations are an essential element of adequate pet care. Not only do you keep your cat healthy by getting it vaccinated, you also prevent the spread of feline disease.

Is Spaying or Neutering Your Cat the Way To Go?

If you are looking to avoid future problems for the little cat in your life then you may want to have him or her neutered..\ Everyday hundreds and thousands of cats around the world get put to sleep simply because they did not have a home to stay at. These kittens and cats are suffering and do you know why? Simply because a owner did not take responsibility to spay and neuter their cat and didn’t care where the kittens went.

If you have a regular household cat then you should consider spaying or neutering Mr. or Mrs. Fluffy. Many times individuals have misconceptions of when to spay or neuter their cats. Many individuals believe that the female cat will have to have kittens or even go into heat once before she gets spayed. The truth is that both male and female cats should be fixed by the age of six months and you should not wait for them to go into heat.

When you spay or neuter your cat they will be going through a surgical type procedure in order to take the reproductive organs out. When you spay a female you will be removing the uterus and ovaries and when you neuter a male you will be removing his testicles. Yes, putting it this way may seem cruel and unkind but the truth is you are actually saving a kitten from suffering.

Would you like to know why you should have this procedure done before your cat reaches six months of age? By spaying or neutering a cat you are preventing the cat from developing mating instincts that can be annoying. These mating instincts include spraying urine all around your house or yard . If your cat has not been spayed or neutered he or she will also have a instinct to want to escape more in order to find a mate. If you have your male cat neutered this will lower his instincts of wanting to fight with other cats. You may not believe this but when you get your female cat spayed you could actually be preventing your cat from getting pyometra or even getting breast cancer.

If you spay or neuter your cat you will not have to listen to those annoying sounds of your cat in heat. Many individuals state that neither the male nor female cat will gain weight after he or she has gotten spayed or neutered. The procedure of spaying and neutering cats has been around for about 25 years in North America. You should also know that spaying and neutering is a safe procedure for your cat.

If you still do not support the spay and neutering programs for cats then you should think about it this way: all over the world there are cats sitting in humane societies in cages and have no place to go. Have you ever been driving down the road and saw a bony cat scavenging for food? Perhaps things would have been different for that cat if someone had had their cat spayed or neutered. Seriously, if you have not thought about it before then you should think about it now.