Are vaccinations an absolute necessity for keeping your cat healthy? Not everybody thinks so, and they worry about occasional side effects that some cats might experience from the shots.
Many people feel that if your pet is a strictly indoor pet, it's enough to provide good food, a clean environment, and lots of toys and exercise.
Of course these are the main day-to-day essentials for good cat care, but do the people who don't like vaccinations have a point? Don't dismiss vaccinations as a means of keeping your cat's health on an even keel, even if it never goes outside.
Most of them are exposed at some point to a virus that causes upper respiratory infections, whether they caught it at the shelter, from other cats when they were kittens, or elsewhere.
They never shed the virus, and can keep getting infections or infecting fellow pets, so one of the strongest tips for healthy cats is to get this vaccination at the very least.
The feline distemper virus is also extremely hardy, highly contagious and deadly.
Even if you have an indoor pet, just to be safe, you should have it vaccinated for this as well.
Some vaccinations might be optional, but every cat owner needs to consult with their vet about them.
The feline leukemia virus can be spread easily, and it's the virus that kills the most pets.
Even if your cat is strictly an indoor one, if there's ever a possibility they might come into contact with other cats, it's a good idea to have this vaccination to be secure.
Other vaccinations for Chlamydia, a form of peritonitis, or ringworm may be given to finish the job of keeping the cat healthy, but not all of them should have them.
So a consultation with the vet is essential.
One shot that you may be given no choice about is a rabies vaccination.
Some states legally require this vaccination as part of your cat care, because of the risk of transmission to humans.
Keeping your cat healthy involves viewing it not as an isolated being, but as part of your household, so the humans should be protected too.
There's such an array of possible vaccinations that your best course of action is to talk to your vet about your concerns, and get all the expert information you can.
Many people feel that if your pet is a strictly indoor pet, it's enough to provide good food, a clean environment, and lots of toys and exercise.
Of course these are the main day-to-day essentials for good cat care, but do the people who don't like vaccinations have a point? Don't dismiss vaccinations as a means of keeping your cat's health on an even keel, even if it never goes outside.
Most of them are exposed at some point to a virus that causes upper respiratory infections, whether they caught it at the shelter, from other cats when they were kittens, or elsewhere.
They never shed the virus, and can keep getting infections or infecting fellow pets, so one of the strongest tips for healthy cats is to get this vaccination at the very least.
The feline distemper virus is also extremely hardy, highly contagious and deadly.
Even if you have an indoor pet, just to be safe, you should have it vaccinated for this as well.
Some vaccinations might be optional, but every cat owner needs to consult with their vet about them.
The feline leukemia virus can be spread easily, and it's the virus that kills the most pets.
Even if your cat is strictly an indoor one, if there's ever a possibility they might come into contact with other cats, it's a good idea to have this vaccination to be secure.
Other vaccinations for Chlamydia, a form of peritonitis, or ringworm may be given to finish the job of keeping the cat healthy, but not all of them should have them.
So a consultation with the vet is essential.
One shot that you may be given no choice about is a rabies vaccination.
Some states legally require this vaccination as part of your cat care, because of the risk of transmission to humans.
Keeping your cat healthy involves viewing it not as an isolated being, but as part of your household, so the humans should be protected too.
There's such an array of possible vaccinations that your best course of action is to talk to your vet about your concerns, and get all the expert information you can.