Vaccinations and cancer (felines, dog, litter, flea)

[jaida]

Originally Posted by Lola4

Jaida,
Are your cats indoor only? If so, there is a verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry slim chance that they are going to catch anything.

The words from our vet... The chance of our indoor only cats catching anything are more slim than the possible medical issues sometimes caused by vaccines.

Yeah, our cats are indoors (except for the rare times they managed to get out over the years). Growing up, I had several indoor cats and my mom only got them shots when they were kittens. Now I'm wondering if our vet is just out to make money.

[jaida]

Originally Posted by MissNM

Injections used to be done in the neck - that is why our boy got the lumps along his back. Now they do it on the leg, in the event a cancer forms, the leg can be amputated and the life saved.

Wow, I didn't know that. My vet always gives the cats their shots on the back of the neck.

[lottamoxie]

My cat got her kitten shots and I just had her vaccinated at the one year later point and that's it. I'm not planning to have her vaccinated again. She's an indoor-only cat and I have no other pets. She should have enough protection with the shots she's had and since she never goes outside, I'm not worried about it. I also take off my shoes the moment I walk in the house.

[ulrikeV]

Originally Posted by jaida

Wow, I didn't know that. My vet always gives the cats their shots on the back of the neck.

My Bobby got his rabies shot in the hind leg, he holds still (more or less) when two people hold him.
My Suzie got hers in the scruff, because it it was the only spot they could get a "good shot" without having to sedate her. I found a vet who was willing to give it a try without having to bring her in a trap and then the vet approaching her with the loooooooong anesthesia needle and then vaccinate her.
This vet also has the only feral cat organization in the area, neuters a lot for free , and in her practice they sedate by leaving the cat in a carriere with a towel on top and then in a glass tank and gas.
Better than trap and looooooooooong needle (like in TNR).
In Maryland, where I live, rabies shots for cats are the law, 3year or 1year according to the vaccine used.
Completely ridiculous to vaccinate a 10 lb feline with the same vaccine as a 200 lb dog or larger animal, vaccine is proven in other countries to last for 7 years and longer, and here on the peninsula there has never been a rabid cat, and all other wildlife in general rabies is scarce, different though on the Western Shore.
Knowing about the rabies facts in the local area the vets around here are a bit relaxed when it comes to bite wounds or bats in the attic. But they have to follow the law. If I bring in a cat that's been biten by a dog or racoon or coyote and is pretty torn up and needs immediate medical attention (not just a cat bite and abscess that I meanwhile know how to treat myself if I have to) and that cat is not current on his/her rabies shot, the vet by law has to put the cat (or dog) down.
If the cat is current it will still get yet another rabies shot, as all other animals AND HUMANS in that household and the cat and all other cats and dogs in the household need to be quarantined, I forgot for how long, I think 6 weeks. Happened to my landlady and another person I heard of.
So I am also torn between tormenting my cats with unnecessary poisons or risking them being euthanized because the neighbor's dog attacked them badly. My cats are feral born and VERY outdoorsy as are most cats around here.
They both btw developed a small lump at the injection site that was gone 2 weeks later.
Freaks me all out. Having to make decisions and compromises I don't like to make.
All other vaccines are taboo in this household. According to all holistic vets adult cats are immune to feline leukemia, especially if they were feral born, always outdoors and exposed to everything under the sun from early age on. They were vaccinated though for everything else as kittens when I had them neutered.

[Dude111]

Originally Posted by no kudzu

I refuse to get my cats vaccinated other than initial kitten shots which they had from the breeder when we got them.

Yes they can cause MORE PROBLEMS than not!!

[MissNM]

We get kitten shots, all in the leg. And that is it.

If required by law and enforced, get only the 3-year rabies. Or plead with the vet to claim an immune issue that would make the cat exempt from shots.

[ulrikeV]

The excemption for rabies vaccinations is also not possible in all states.
But if I move to another state where that is possible, that's what I will do.
The cats must turn all rabid over the years from all these shots .
Here's a link for info on rabies laws in all U.S. states (click the link then where it says State Rabies Laws):
State Legislative Resources (http://www.avma.org/advocacy/state/issues/rabies_vaccination.asp - broken link)

[katzenfreund]

Just visited our holistic vet today, who told us again to never get our indoor cats vaccinated. He says it causes more problems, in fact most of the health problems animals in his clinic have, he says are due to vaccines and overmedication. Our cats were vaccinated as kittens, because they came from rescues, but after that no more vaccines.... He has quite a bit of literature in his office about the problems the vaccines cause.

[luvmycat]

I'm really glad so many of you understand the danger of these things...I also don't vaccinate my indoor cats at all...they were all vaccinated prior to my taking them in, but that's it. These laws need to change already, it's so ridiculous to demand that people routinely pump toxic chemicals into their cats year after year, especially when most of these vaccines will protect the animal for the duration of its life.

[katzenfreund]

exactly. wonder how much is really just about money. The vet today told us that he asked one of the pharma reps years ago about the vaccines and he said they probably would be good for 10 years. So why on earth do so many vets push yearly vaccinations?