Cat Vaccination Program

Responsible pet care requires cats to be taken to the vet for their initial course of vaccinations, but these cannot protect them for the rest of their lives. The immunity weakens over time and your pet can again become susceptible to disease. Should your pet become infected, treatment can require frequent visits to your vet and possibly hospitalization. Not all diseases can be cured and disability or death often results. VACCINATION IS THE ONLY MEANS OF PROTECTION OUR VACCINATION REGIME IS 8 WEEKS OF AGE – F3 and FIV  (must be 8 weeks for FIV) 10 WEEKS OF AGE – FIV 12 WEEKS OF AGE- FIV & F3 ANNUAL – F3 and FIV If FIV vaccines have lapsed by 3 months- the FIV program should be restarted If a cat comes in with no vaccination history and is over 6 months old- always two F3 vaccines are needed. Clients wanting a cat greater than 6 months to start the FIV course require a blood test to check that the cat does not have the disease before starting the FIV program. The test is $52 and takes approximately 20 minutes to run, therefore it is sometimes easier if the cat is left with us for an hour. The cat then requires 3 vaccinations 2 weeks apart.   What an F3 Vaccination Covers For  FELINE PANLEUCOPENIA: This viral disease is the most dangerous affecting cats. It is highly contagious and the death rate is high, especially under 12 months of age. Pregnant cats may lose their young or give birth to kittens with abnormalities, quite often with brain damage.   Symptoms: Depression, loss of appetite, uncontrollable vomiting and diarrhea, often with blood and severe abdominal pain. The virus spreads so easily in heavily contaminated areas and may need cleaning with special disinfectants. Cats that do recover may continue to carry the virus for some time and infect other cats. FELINE CALICIVIRUS AND FELINE RHINOTRACHEITIS: Otherwise known as “cat flu” and it is caused in 90% of cases by Feline Herpes Virus (Feline Rhinotracheitis) and/or Feline Calicivirus Feline Respiratory disease affects cats of all ages, especially young kittens, Siamese and Burmese cats. It is highly contagious and causes sneezing, coughing, runny eyes, nasal discharge, loss of appetite and tongue ulcers. Fortunately, the death rate is low except in young kittens, but the disease is distressing and may persist for several weeks. Recovered cats can continue to carry and spread the infection for long periods of time. What an FIV Vaccination covers for: FELINE IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS (FIV) DISEASE (FELINE AIDS) FIV is another disease affecting the healthy cats immune system. Their natural defense against attack by other diseases may be seriously affected, much in the same way as HIV in humans. This disease is not transmissible to humans. FIV is almost always transmitted by bites from affected cats, The virus that causes the disease is present in saliva. While some infected cats show no sign of disease, others may display initial symptoms such as fever, loss of appetite, diarrhea, lethargy, swollen lymph nodes. As the disease progresses, symptoms may occur such as weight loss, sores in and around the mouth, eye lesions, poor coat and chronic infections. Eventually, the immune system becomes too weak to fight off other infections or diseases and as a result, the cat will die from one of these subsequent infections. Unfortunately in Australia and New Zealand, a lot of cats are infected with this disease. Risk of infection with FIV and ‘cat flu’ for outdoor cats is high- vaccination is strongly recommended.