How many of you do boosters for your cats ?

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I expect a number of strong responses to this question. How many do yearly boosters after the initial kitten jabs?

All responsible pet owners do. The fact that some pet owners are irresponsible doesn't stop it from being basic care.

I’m in Spain and boosters are every 2 years here - no idea why it’s different. I do get my lot done. They were all insured in England but pet insunce here is rubbish so I didn’t bother when I moved them.

You have a fertile imagination.

My two aren't vaccinated. They are 17 now. They are chipped and neutered though.

Yes, boosters every year.

Every year. I was advised to carry on even though she barely leaves the garden now. She also gets an MOT of heart etc.
My childhood cat never had any vaccinations or vet treatment until she died at 15. We also adopted an indoor cat at a later age and we never did the jabs for her. Dont bother w flea or worming either now.

Catteries need evidence of yearly jabs, but we have a great cat sitter now.

We recently stopped our pet insurance as it had doubled (cat is now 14), we wouldn’t put her through any invasive tests apart from blood or urine. She has a health issue which is managed but I think realistically she has another couple of years at best so when the time comes we won’t let her suffer and pay for PTS if needed.

Yes - he’s due next month, and we get monthly flea/three monthly working treatment from the vet too. They do a health check at the boosters and I like that that can flag eg dental issues or whatever before they become a real problem.

Before he was even in the house we had insurance in place for him. We had to have our previous lovely girl pts aged ten with lymphoma, and the vet bills leading to her diagnosis were absolutely huge. I am so grateful we had good insurance during what was already a really hard time and didn’t have to worry about costs.

I did for awhile but cancelled it a few years ago. My cat was a house cat that only went in the garden. She lived until 16. I imagine most cats don't really need it it's probably a money maker for the vet / pharmacy companies.

Yes, mine has the annual booster and the 6 monthly health check even though there's not a damn thing wrong with her and going to the vet stresses her out so much that she has to be dosed up on gabapentin beforehand. I used to skip the 6 monthly one but annoyingly the vets say that they won't dispense her prescription flea treatment if she doesn't go and the flea stuff you can buy over the counter doesn't work on her. Insurance is a definite thing though, if we hadn't had it for our elderly cat who was PTS last year due to kidney failure and suspected bowel cancer we would have had to shell out thousands for the tests and overnight stay to give IV fluids etc.

Several cats here -

Always vaccinate as cattery won’t accept them without
Dont do insurance
Flea two of them every so often, third one is feral and impossible so I don’t bother

I have 2 female indoor cats. They had their initial injections and I did also have them neutered after living through them being on heat one time, which was hell!

They got fleas once which I think I brought in from the garden, but that was easily treated. Tbh I haven’t got round to having them chipped yet. They never go out so while I know it is the law now, it hasn’t been a priority.

I don’t trust a lot of vets. When I had the first injections done the vet made out she found a flea and wanted me to fork out loads for flea treatment. They 100% did not have fleas (the time they did was 3yrs later) so if they’re going to lie about that, what else will they lie about? They want you to spend the max amount of money.

Edited to add, I never use a cattery, always get a cat sitter in so that’s not a factor for me.

Yes, annually along with a general health check. They are indoor cats and don't go to a cattery (we have a catsitter for holidays).

No insurance but we make sure we have sufficient savings to cover any medical costs. If we didn't think we would be able to do this, we'd insure.

I don't. Two cats both 14 years old. Neutered and chipped. They're not insured and so far we've spent about £1k on vet treatment

I looked into it once, wondering why pets would need boosters when humans don't, and the fact is they don't need them every year. I have a vet friend now who confirmed it. I give my pets the initial ones, then only do boosters every few years. My cat who died last year at almost 20 only ever had about three boosters.

My friend also said they don't need flea and worm treatments as often as is claimed, so I only do those every two or three months. ETA: they are outdoor cats and voracious hunters, otherwise I'd do these treatments even less.

If there were an NHS for pets, you can bet your house there would be no such thing as annual boosters.

You think £76 for a health check and vaccination from a vet is ridiculous?? How much do you think it should be? It's not just a vaccination you're getting, which by the way are not cheap for vets to buy in, you're getting a consultation/health exam and their time. 3 cats at a 20 minute appointment each is an hour of their time. Maybe don't have 3 cats if you think £70 is expensive for health care because I can assure it would be 10 times that and then some if they ever get sick.

Yes because we’re a cat area and I’d be raging if my cat got someone else’s sick and in the same way she’s got a higher chance of getting sick as there’s so many around, including wild cats!

My childhood cat was never boostered and he caught lots of rats daily. I did give boosters to the others but not done it this year for my cat yet. She seems to have a good immune system though. Plus hates going to the vet.

Yes, we do. It is expensive, but it is a pet owner's responsibility.

Yes we do everything but it’s expensive:

1. all the vax the timing of which I don’t fully understand but anyway
2. Credelio at the correct intervals
3. milbevet at the correct intervals

I get the vet to do a prescription (£50 for two) and then I order online. It’s still very expensive.

Mine are done every year and flea and deworming three times a year as they don't catch prey or go out into the neighbourhood so risk is less.

Nope my boy is 15 we adopted him when he was 9 and insurance was eye watering so he’s neither insured or vaccinated. He had diabetes and the cost of his medication monthly is still much cheaper than the insurance premium. I’ve had cats all my adult life and never vaccinated them. All have lived a long, healthy life until well into their teens.

My dog is another matter.

Ive got a petcare plan for my Wilfred which covers his vaccinations, flea and worming treatment, a six monthly check, and 10% off food. I insured him the day he came to live with us and I think it’s a condition of his insurance that his vaccinations are kept up to date.

No. I will get the initial kitten vaccines, but going forward my cats wont have any more. I only ever have one cat at a time, and they have a secure garden they can’t get out of, so the chances of coming into contact with other cats is slim.

He goes for a yearly health check, and a heart scan each year due to his breed, so will still get checked regularly.

I also don’t do any other preventative treatments. I check him for fleas and check his poo for worms. If there’s ever a problem I will treat then. I don’t think treating as a precaution and overloading the body with medicines is good for them.

When I called my pet insurance to clarify, they said he wouldn’t be treated for any illness he got as a result of not being vaccinated, so cat flu, leukaemia, etc. The risk of him getting these due to low contact with other cats is so low, I’m willing to take the risk.

I’m lucky in that my cat is under the vets for pets £99 vaccinations for life scheme that they no longer offer . So he has all his yearly boosters for free . My Cattery wouldn’t take him without , and neither would I want to leave him in one that did accept unvaccinated cats . My cat insurance is also only valid if he has been vaccinated.

On the other side , one of my previous cats had an immune system issue , and the initial vaccination made her very unwell . We were advised not to have boosters done and we could not take out insurance . She lived a happy life and made it to 14 years .

However we now have neighbours who do not look after their cats ( eg fairly constant litters of kittens for the female , shut out overnight ) I assume they have no vaccines and feel I need to protect my cat from anything they might be carrying too now .

No, I don't. I think it's a racket and potentially very harmful.