Does my inside only cat need vaccines? - Page 6

Shorty2U · ‎03-09-2010

We have 3 indoor cats. They are always up on their shots. So YES.

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make~ The Beatles

Allegedly · ‎03-19-2010

On 7/21/2014 ID2 said:
As far as I know, wherever you live a rabies vaccine is the law! It is unlawful NOT to have your pet routinely vaccinated. My indoor cats don't require any other vaccines per my vet. I do give them Revolution monthly though because we take them back and forth to our cottage. Never know when that one pesky infected mosquito will get in the house.

I was going to write the same thing. Where I live it is required to have cats and dogs receive rabies vaccines. My cats receive the rabies vaccine every 3 years and receive a certificate and little hang tag for their collar. Although my cats are indoor kitties, I comply with this law.

mousiegirl · ‎03-09-2010

At one time, I had many indoor cats, and after kitten and boosters for a few years, I did not vaccinate them. If I went on vacation, I had someone come over daily.

mousiegirl · ‎03-09-2010

On 7/21/2014 Smurfette said:
On 7/21/2014 ID2 said:
As far as I know, wherever you live a rabies vaccine is the law! It is unlawful NOT to have your pet routinely vaccinated. My indoor cats don't require any other vaccines per my vet. I do give them Revolution monthly though because we take them back and forth to our cottage. Never know when that one pesky infected mosquito will get in the house.

I was going to write the same thing. Where I live it is required to have cats and dogs receive rabies vaccines. My cats receive the rabies vaccine every 3 years and receive a certificate and little hang tag for their collar. Although my cats are indoor kitties, I comply with this law.

It may be required, but no one knows if a person does or doesn't. If an animal lives inside, it could not acquire rabies. My cats all lived to be senior citizens.

Still Raining · ‎03-30-2014

I had a very conservative vet, but she did think that rabies was needed for my indoor cats. They did live with doggies who went outside. Somewhere upthread there was mention of a bat and I think it was to protect from that sort of odd occurrence. I remember she said I would never forgive myself if I was in anyway responsible for someone getting rabies. But no other shots, only checking for worms.

PamelaSue72 · ‎09-22-2011

We have six cats and, other than their 3-year rabies vaccine, they get no other shots, unless the shots are for medications. That's it. They all had their kitten shots, but when they became adults, we stopped the vaccines.

Why? Feline sarcoma. It's more prevalent than what people realize. Our vet even lost a kitty to feline sarcoma and he says that most vaccines are over-rated; they are a good money-maker though. Cats don't need yearly vaccines anymore, esp indoor cats. Most vaccines are actually good for a lot longer than one year, but most vets won't tell people that. And when one of our furkids developed a huge lump in the vaccine shot site on her rump, that was it. At that point, we decided no more shots. Since they're indoor only, our vet is OK with it.

In PA, pets must have the rabies vaccine. We do allow that one, simply because bats can and do get into houses; while we've never had a bat in our house, there's always that chance. But that's it. And as long as they have the rabies vaccine, our vet will allow our cats in hospital when necessary (dental visits, for example, when they must have anesthesia for teeth cleanings).

We don't board our cats when we go on vacation, so it's not an issue. We have a pet sitter who comes in twice daily to feed them and to scoop their boxes. My sister also comes in for an hour or so every night while we're gone.

IMO, the most important thing a pet owner can do is make sure their pets get their (at least) annual vet visits for check-ups. We take our senior citizens (any cat who's over 10) for check-ups every six months.

jaxs mom · ‎04-18-2012

On 7/20/2014 SydneyH said:
Jules, that's a good point. A vet will not provide medical attention without their shots, rabies maybe?

I've never ever been to nor heard of a vet that refused medical treatment due to not being up to date on vaccinations.

Don't Change Your Authenticity for Approval

Clover29 · ‎03-09-2010

On 7/21/2014 mousiegirl said:
On 7/21/2014 Smurfette said:
On 7/21/2014 ID2 said:
As far as I know, wherever you live a rabies vaccine is the law! It is unlawful NOT to have your pet routinely vaccinated. My indoor cats don't require any other vaccines per my vet. I do give them Revolution monthly though because we take them back and forth to our cottage. Never know when that one pesky infected mosquito will get in the house.

I was going to write the same thing. Where I live it is required to have cats and dogs receive rabies vaccines. My cats receive the rabies vaccine every 3 years and receive a certificate and little hang tag for their collar. Although my cats are indoor kitties, I comply with this law.

It may be required, but no one knows if a person does or doesn't. If an animal lives inside, it could not acquire rabies. My cats all lived to be senior citizens.

You'd be surprised. I used to work at a wildlife rescue center, and we received many bats from people who'd found them inside their home. Far more than were found outdoors. If there was any chance the bat may have bitten a person or pet, the bat was euthanized and tested for rabies. If the people didn't know how long the bat had been inside, their pets were considered at risk.

esmerelda · ‎03-10-2010

On 7/20/2014 Sabatini2 said:
IMO, no, she/he doesn't. Even my vet feels that animals are over-vaccinated.

I agree. A friend had a cat whose stress over vet visits outweighed the need for vaccines. She never went outside, she never saw the vet. She had a long and happy life inside.

*********************
Keepin' it real.

kittymomNC · ‎08-09-2012

I have my indoor cats vaccinated because, if they should ever get out, they would be totally unprotected from other diseased animals. I had this happen years ago when my cat slipped through a door that had not latched properly. We spent every minute we could looking for her, putting out flyers, and following up leads. We found her after 15 days, but I was so glad she was protected during that time.

Yesterday, I was at my vet's office when a girl came running in asking for help--she had started to bring her cat in and something happened to the carrier and the cat got away. Every spare person in the vet hospital went running outside to try and find it, but when I left about 15 minutes later, they had been unsuccessful. My vet's office is on a busy four-lane road with wooded areas on one side, a housing development on the other, and woods across the road - it could have gone anywhere. I still don't know if they found it, and it has upset me ever since.

Accidents do happen when we least expect it...and unless it is an extremely good reason, I would never let mine be unprotected.