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Original poster

I've stopped yearly immunisations of my cat - am I bad?

32 replies

morningpaper · 09/05/2008 12:53

I haven't had my cat immunised for a couple of years. She is pretty feral and it's too stressful. She is pretty ancient now and I feel bad putting her through it.

MY question is:
WHY do they need yearly immunisations? Why do the immunisations only work for 12 months?

OP posts:
fluffyanimal · 09/05/2008 12:57

I've no idea why they need yearly boosters but it must be something to do with the effectiveness of the vaccines compared to the diseases they vaccinate for. If she's old and it's very stressful and you're not going to put her in a cattery whilst on holiday, then i wouldn't lose too much sleep over it. Put it this way: if she got cat flu, would you spend 100s of quid in vet bills getting her treated, or would you let nature take its course?

Original poster
morningpaper · 09/05/2008 13:06

Yes she is past the age where I would spend any money on her I'm afraid (and EVERYONE is allergic to her, and she scratches at will) - but I feel guilty about herd immunisations. But I don't understand why they last 12 months. So maybe I am over thinking...

OP posts:
lululemonrefuser · 09/05/2008 13:10

I think most vaccinations last longer. When we lived abroad (North America) our vet could not believe that the cat had been jabbed every year. They do it every 2-3 there (depending on the vaccine).

I too have stopped having my cat done, at the age of 12. He is old and grumpy and has a heart murmur, and the whole process of going to the vet is just too stressful for him now.

DumbledoresGirl · 09/05/2008 13:13

My much loved (inseparable friend and constant childhood companion) died of cat flu in the days before annual vaccinations. The agony of her illness will stay with me forever (impressionable age!) and I will always get my cats vaccinated just so I don't have to live through that again. But I can understand your reasons for not doing it.

Original poster
morningpaper · 09/05/2008 13:15

I would hate to pass on anything DG but the last couple of times have been cat foaming at mouth (MN pitchfork styleeee ), pissing everywhere and scratching the vet to pieces (has to wear HUMUNGO golves)

can't face it anymore

OP posts:
tink123 · 09/05/2008 13:15

I have not had my cats done for about 2 yrs. I read as prev poster said that USA do it every 2-3 yrs.

Brangelina · 09/05/2008 13:22

I get my cats done every 2-3 years, on my vet's advice. Apparently if your cat has been regularly vaccinated since kittendom, then once they reach senior age you can vaccinate less frequently, mainly because the cat will already have a good antibody base, some vaccines (such as leukemia) actually last for 3 years, and also because frequent vaccination can give rise to tumours from the pinpricks.

Here's a link

DumbledoresGirl · 09/05/2008 13:29

MP, have you considered asking the vet to come out to you so it is less stressful or would that

a) be too expensive

b) still give the cat too much stress, ie it is contact with the vet the cat hates as opposed to the strange environment

c) not possible because the vet doesn't do home visits (though I think most will come as long as you pay them enough!)

Can you tell I took years to get over my poor cat's unnecessary death?

Fennel · 09/05/2008 13:31

We have never taken any of our 4 cats for an immunisation. None of them has been ill either, though some of them have been run over but you can't inject against that. The only ailments any of them have had have been old age or car accidents.

OatcakeCravings · 09/05/2008 16:59

I've stopped getting mine immunised. Last time I took him he was really really ill for about a week afterwards and I think he had a reaction to one of the jabs.

OrmIrian · 09/05/2008 17:01

I must admit we haven't had ours done for ages. She never goes to a cattery. She has never been ill in her life and rarely associates willingly with any other cats.

roquefort · 09/05/2008 17:06

I have stopped for our elderly cats (15ish) too, for similar reasons.

hennipenni · 09/05/2008 19:48

We too have stopped having our 17 yr old cat immunised, he hasn't been into a cattery for the last 4 yrs as he finds it too stressful.

hippipotami · 09/05/2008 19:57

Another old cat here, we think she is 17 (was an RSPCA rescue, we think she was 9 when we got her and we have had her just over 8 years)
We have not had her annual vaccinations done for the past 4 years. She is semi-feral, and finds the whole going-in-a-basket-sitting-in-the-waiting-room-before-getting-poked-and-prodded procedure very stressful.

In my defense, she never leaves the garden, and other cats don't come into our garden as we have a dog, so the chances of the cat passing anyting on to other cats are minimal.
And if she fell ill we would gently put her to sleep rather than treat as she is so old and has had a good life.

hippipotami · 09/05/2008 19:58

And she never goes into a cattery, MIL looks after her when we go away.

motherinferior · 09/05/2008 19:59

Don't think the cat-loving Mr Inferior gets ours done. I certainly don't.

I kind of feel I have enough in life to contend with without schlepping the furry buggers around to the vet. And paying for the privilege.

Indith · 09/05/2008 20:03

Cat flu is horrible and catching, it will weep through all the local cats if one of them gets it. If you take on a pet you take on the expense of vaccinations IMO.

LynetteScavo · 09/05/2008 20:06

i'm very interested in this thread, I as was considering not haing our cats vaccinated this year (they are due this month) They are nearly 11, but in very good health. They never go to a cattery (good 'ol MIL)

In the past when thier vaccinations have been late (6 months or so late) we have had to start again from the beggining, so to speak, and ended up paying lots more money.

brrrrmmmm · 09/05/2008 20:07

I got a rescue cat when he was about 7 years old, and my vet told me as the cat had had a hard life and been pretty feral before we got him, also wasn't sociable with other cats, that it probably wasn't worth vaccinating as he was probably immune - don't know how true this is, but I can't imagine why a vet would turn down 30 quid for a couple of minutes work if he could get away with it? My vet is very unusual though! Cat is now 16 and still in fine fettle (still not sociable with other animals though)

iamdingdong · 09/05/2008 20:08

haven't had ours done for about 6 years, he's fine [bad mother]

hippipotami · 09/05/2008 20:36

The thing is that the cat flu vaccine is NOT effective for all strains of cat flu. So even a vaccinated cat could pass the virus on.
Also, cat flu is most commonly passed on from a mother cat to her litter, and in catteries. My cat has been neutered and will not be having litters and she does not go to catteries, does not even venture out of the garden so has no contact with other cats to pass the virus on to.

So I think the chances of our cat to a) contract and b) pass on cat flu are minimal.

Hence my decision not to vaccinate. I think it is a MUST to vaccinate if you are going to breed from your cat and / or use a cattery. But a solitary, non sociable cat is not much of a risk.

DumbledoresGirl · 09/05/2008 20:46

I can understand that you might not want to put your cat through the stress of a visit to the vet if they are semi-feral, but I really don't get this argument, used by several people here that the cat is getting on in age/never been ill and therefore you have stopped bothering with vaccinations. My cat was 12 and in good health when she caught cat flu from another of our cats. He was young and fought the illness off easily, but my beloved cat died after 9 days of dreadful illness. Our other older cat managed to survive but was touch and go for a while.

It is when cats are older that they need the vaccination as they lack the strength of a younger cat to fight off the virus by themselves. Or are you implying that your cat is old and you are not bothered if they are killed off?

DumbledoresGirl · 09/05/2008 20:49

I also don't think much of the argument that your cat does not come into contact with other cats. Unless your cat never goes outside, or you live right out in the country miles from any other people, I think it is fairly likely your cat is meeting other cats every day. Cats' territories usually extend to the boundaries of another cat's territory.

hippipotami · 09/05/2008 20:51

No, that is not what I am saying. But I think it is about realistically looking at the risk. You had other cats, and one of them brought the virus home (were they vaccinated, if so how come they still got it?)
My old cat detests other cats and will hide if she so much as smells one.
So it is a very minimal risk.
I don't want to put her through the risk of vaccinations for a vaccine that is not proven to be 100 percent effective, and that is only useful if the cat socialises.

She is either asleep on our patio furniture or inside the house. At night she is locked in. She does not roam, does not go anywhere, does not see/meet/mix with other cats.

But of course if circumstances were different I may well feel different. It is all about weighing up each individual circumstance.

And no, of course I would not be happy if she were ill, and am you would imply that.

So on that note I am leaving this thread.

hippipotami · 09/05/2008 20:53

My cat does not have a territory. She never leave the garden (can no longer climb over the fence)
Other cats don't come in the garden during the day as our dog is a good deterrent.
At night our cat is locked in, and as far as I am aware I do not have hordes of neighbourhood moggies running amock in my house.

So much for leaving the thread...

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