Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat Health & Behaviour => Health & Behaviour General => Topic started by: Paws on January 22, 2007, 20:19:15 PM
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I took our eldest cat for his vaccinations today- calici, chlamydia combined one. He is indoor only but our other boy has been diagnosed with calici virus so we had him vaccinated... Anyway, I forgot to ask the vet if there are any side effects of this vaccination? He seems fine (if a bit vocal as he always is when he comes back from the vets!) but he is 16 and I worry about him!
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i think there are side effects to almost if not all medicines, however not all animals suffer from the side effects by any means and the benefits usually far outweigh any side effect.
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I took our eldest cat for his vaccinations today- calici, chlamydia combined one. He is indoor only but our other boy has been diagnosed with calici virus so we had him vaccinated... Anyway, I forgot to ask the vet if there are any side effects of this vaccination? He seems fine (if a bit vocal as he always is when he comes back from the vets!) but he is 16 and I worry about him!
Sometimes they can be abit off colour of a day or so (same with an vaccine).
Did your vet advise to have the other cat vaccinated aswell ?
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No he said not to have Paws vaccinated as it could make his calici worse...
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No he said not to have Paws vaccinated as it could make his calici worse...
Oh i just wondered coz 2 of mine have had Calici (they remain carriers for life) and i asked if i should still have them Vac'ed and was told yes.
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Swampy had to have an op in 2005 to remove a possibly cancerous tumour that grew as a result of his rabies vaccination. It was benign, but could have been a fibrosarcoma. They are rare, but as more cats travel and so are more regularly vaccinated, becoming sadly more common. There's quite a bit on the web by the US Vet Association study group into the link between vaccination and fibrosarcoma. It's a dreadful cancer as recurs very often. I believe that the leukaemia vaccine also carries this risk. I think the others (flu etc) are safer. However at the time I had contact with one of Europe's top veterinary cancer surgeons and his advice on vaccines was to assess whether the risk outweighs the benefits or vice versa. Swampy is an indoor cat so I stopped all vaccines except rabies (which he had in his lower leg as is predisposed to tumours once he's had one....horrible, but he needed a passport at the time so had to have rabies jab). The cancer specialist says his cat is an indoor cat and he has decided not to vaccinate her either.
On the other hand, if your cat's running around the countryside, s/he will run more risk of leukaemia than of cancer from the vaccine.
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The cancer specialist says his cat is an indoor cat and he has decided not to vaccinate her either.
That is his choice and he is entitled to it, however cat flu and feline enteritis are airborne therefore it is just as important for indoor cats to be injected.
vaccination and fibrosarcoma. It's a dreadful cancer as recurs very often
Different web sites quote different stats somewhere between 1 in 30,000+ and i in 50.000, in view of this I don't think it can be said that it recurs often. I personally think the benefits of injections far outweigh the risks.
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I think it depends as if indoor cats live in an enclosed flat and never venture out or are put in a cattery, there is very little risk. If they have access to a cat run, a much greater risk. I did an awful lot of research in 2005 while waiting for his surgery and spoke to 3 specialists in 3 countries, all of whom discourage rabies and leukaemia vaccines unless necessary (the flu ones are safer). It's the adjuvant (aluminium) which provokes the reaction which can be cancerous and if it is, it is a dreadful cancer. I am not trying to discourage people from vaccinating cats that should be vaccinated. I used to vaccinate mine every year for years. I just lived through a fibrosarcoma scare and it was terrifying. The pathology came back as 'benign, but of the type of tumour where you must continue to survey the site'. He was 13 then and had to undergo a major operation, just because of the over vaccination of pets under the Passport Scheme.
Annual vaccination is really OTT imho. Plus if you do vaccinate, don't let the vet do it between the shoulder blades. It is a really difficult site to remove a lump from. Better on the flank or (as in US and Oz) in the leg. Non vaccination unless absolutely necessary if your cat has had a vaccine related tumour as apparently it means they are predisposed.
Once the drug cos move to non adjuvanted vaccines as at least one company are doing in America, it will be much safer.
The rate of fibrosarcoma in the UK is very low, but in countries where annual rabies jabs are insisted upon (and leucogen) it is higher.
It's as well to be aware of the risk, that's all, and take a decision based on what's best for your cat.
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I think it depends as if indoor cats live in an enclosed flat and never venture out or are put in a cattery, there is very little risk.
In this country most people know that as mentioned previously cat flu and enteritis are airborne and therefore even cats living in flats are just as susceptible. Believe me I have seen a who household of cats and kittens wiped our due to enteritis and it is absolutely horrible. There have been devastating cases of cats not being vaccinated at all, because they were thought to be at low risk of disease (e.g. older cats and/or indoor cats) and then contracting a fatal illness. The positives far outweigh the negatives.
It's as well to be aware of the risk, that's all, and take a decision based on what's best for your cat.
Couldn't agree more we make our decision based on what we think and often know is best for our cats.
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obviously we dont have rabies Vacs here in England and i personally dont have my lot done for FeLV.
i have got friends who have never ever had their cats vaccinated. My friends cat sophie is 16 and apart from having thyroid now has never been ill.
I asked my vet a couple of years ago about doing the Vac's in the top of the leg so if a tumour did appear the leg could be removed but he said it was so rare over here that he didn't think it was necessary
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So small and tender
It is available in the UK and pets that have pet passports need it.
i have got friends who have never ever had their cats vaccinated. My friends cat sophie is 16 and apart from having thyroid now has never been ill.
I think we all know cats like that, however on balance I think it is better to be safe than sorry. I know I keep on about the fact but it is only when you deal in rescue on a big scale that you realize the implications.
If you just take in a few cats a year you just do not realize but dealing with hundreds or in our case over 1000 a year it is a very different story
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vaccination and fibrosarcoma. It's a dreadful cancer as recurs very often
Different web sites quote different stats somewhere between 1 in 30,000+ and i in 50.000, in view of this I don't think it can be said that it recurs often. I personally think the benefits of injections far outweigh the risks.
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I think it is possible that swampmaxmum meant that once the cat has had the cancer, it often comes back even if it had been cured ('recurs' as opposed to 'occurs') but i might be completely off the mark, in which case you are right ;)
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'recurs' as opposed to 'occurs')
I did actually wonder about that
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i just came on to start a thread about side effects, someone beat me to it! My kitten was vaccinated for the first time today and she's really tired, ready to get up and go if i put a toy in front of her but otherwise just happy to rest just now. I was a bit worried but looking online i read it's not uncommon for them to be tired for 24 - 48 hours. I think the vet should have mentioned this. Also the vet on my last visit (at the same place) said she wouldn't need everything as she going to be indoors, but a different vet today said it's best if she get's everything - so i went along with her advice. I'm a bit angry about that, would you not think 2 vets at the same practice would give the same advice? it's pretty confusing especially as i haven't had a cat for 12 years so i feel a bit in the dark, so it's easy to go along with their advice even if it might not be good advice.
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Perhaps the 2nd vet was just airing on the side of caution thinking that the indoor cat may escape and come into contact with a cat with leukaemia. Having said that we only inject indoor cats for enteritis and cat flu.
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Perhaps the 2nd vet was just airing on the side of caution thinking that the indoor cat may escape and come into contact with a cat with leukaemia. Having said that we only inject indoor cats for enteritis and cat flu.
Absolutely, she said she thought it was wise to cover everything - which i'm fine with, I just felt a bit confused seeing as i'd been given different advice by her collegue 4 weeks earlier.
Tilda is still sleeping/resting and she's not eaten anything since 10am. Just got up once to go to her litter tray then back to bed. She seems ok though.