vaccination advice requested please.

[swampmaxmum]

Is Felix vaccinated? If he is, that minimises your risk. I found that I tried to raise it with my vet (who said indoor cats don't need vaccinating if the risk outweighs the benefits, but your situation's slightly diff) but I ended up ringing or emailing the drug co vets myself (mixed results); it's better if your vet will do it. Feebee has said just what the cancer specialists told me when my boy got a lump from the rabies vaccine - it's the adjuvant that causes the problems.
When I was ringing around (it was only about rabies vaccs tho' and some time ago) there were no inadjuvanted vaccines in the UK.  That's different from inactivated though as yours truly had inactivated polio vaccine rather than the drops once. There may be inactivated or 'dead' vaccines that can be ordered in. When did you last have him vaccinated? A vet at one of the drug cos thought that most vaccines last up to 3 years, rather than just 1.
You could maybe consider having his antibodies measured if that's possible (expensive but may be possible??) to see how much immunity he has to a certain disease.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I would definately speak to the vet about this before the next jab is needed, My vet has very set ideas about the jabs and would not buy in the dead virus for me.

If you feel he is rather set in his ways it would be worth ringing another vet for their opinion too letting him know that your cat is FIV+

[Dawn F]

I'd speak to the vet, Oscar one of ours is allergic to vaccine but we didn't find that out until he had been very ill - as we have a cat proofed garden and all others are vaccinated the vet said not to do him and take our chance with enteritis

[clarenmax]

Not sure what to advise for the best to be honest.

Max is FIV, and I've been advised by my vets not to vaccinate, or if I ever do decide to, to use the 'dead' form of the virus.

It might be worthwhile getting your vets to speak to the manufactures of the vaccines as mine did, to see what their thoughts are?

[feebee]

Hi,

My advice would be to talk to your vet about this.

It's a looong time since I was at Uni but if I remember right all vaccinations contain something called an adjuvant, what this does is stimulate the immune system into action so that the "memory" of the virus can be produced. Usually if you have a reaction to a vaccine it's the adjuvant that will cause it. That may mean that there is an alternative vaccine out there that won't produce the same reaction, possibly!

Also it may be that the vaccination will leave him off colour for a day still but that could well be the better option than a potentially fatal infection. All I can really say is if it concerns you chat to your vet about it.

Hope this is a help.

 

[melysion]

Tobys annual boosters are due soon.

Last year my (then) vet started 'from scratch' as we didn't have a vaccination record - so he had one vac - and then this was repeated 4 weeks later. I think it was for cat flu, enteritis and parvovirus.

The first lot was ok but Toby felt off colour after the second vac. His hind leg was sore and he didn't eat properly for a day.

I've always had it drummed into me that its very important that animals get their annual boosters but I'm not sure what to do.

For those that don't know - Toby is FIV+ and is (obviously) strictly an indoor cat. He is - however - likely to be going to my mothers with me on a frequent basis where there is another cat who does go outside (albeit its only the garden but Felix does go out).

What do people recommend? I'm having a hard time knowing what to do for the best.