Does anyone not get their cats vaccinated?

[thexmasstockingmonsterofdoom]

I have just booked mine in and dh is not going to be amused as it is £88. Is it absolutley needed?

like i said.... i'm all for vaccinations and most of the cats i've had in my life have been vaccinated but in certain circumstances it's not as cut and dry as some people would like to believe.

the tom cat i mentioned simply could not be brought to a vet, he was alot healthier and better of for the care we gave him for 4 years though than if i had seen him eating out of the bins and ignored him like most people did.... am i really a bad carer for him just because he isn't vaccinated? his life would be alot worse if i hadn't taken him in at all.

shitehawk... interesting about your cat and the jabs not preventing her outbreaks..... that's what i'm worried baout with my kitten, he had cat flu from about 2 weeks old til 8 weeks or so.... he's healthy now at 21 weeks and hasn't had any outbreaks but i'm concerned about the effect of the vac on him as he's already been infected.

PinkPoinsettia I don't think your situation is typical. You are not really the owner of "your' tomcat, just a good port of call for him - a case of a cat adopting an owner rather than the other way around (we have had this too). I guess a rescue society would try and use a humane trap on him to bring him in to be neutered, but lots of feral cats never really settle to being pets, and I don't think should be treated as such. In the same way that farm cats wouldn't be vaccinated, again because they aren't really pets, and live independent lives. Likewise your worries about the best thing to do for your kitten, show that you are concerned and trying to make sure you are doing the right thing. It is people who don't vaccinate because they can't be bothered, or they just don't want the expense (rather than truly can't afford it) that should think twice. I feel ashamed as well as sad that we didn't vaccinate our first cat against flu, and I wish our vet had not been so blase about the risk of FLV. We lost three loved cats, to really quite unpleasant deaths, and it is not something I would wish on anyone.

Can I just make sure I say for te record that they are having their vaccinations, I was just shocked at the price, a lot of people will not be able to afford it and that doesnt mean they shouldnt have the animal as they may have been able to afford it a year ago.

Our cats and dogs have always had their first vaccination but no more.

Two cats died last year at around 15years of age and were fit and healthy all their lives.

One of our dogs was euthanased last Christmas at age of 13. Never had any illnesses that vaccinations would have prevented.

It's a personal choice dependant on your own situation.

Not all vaccinations are needed every year though. Each different vaccine (sometimes even against the same condition, but by a different pharmaceutical company) is rated for a different period. So you don't necessarily need to give boosters every year. My cat, now old and tired, mostly has jabs rated at 2-3 year boosters, so although he goes for frequent checkups it minimises the distress (and expense). If your cat gets stressed out by vet visits, ask your vet for a mild sedative that you can give beforehand.

It's just not worth not doing it ...

Woolf, to posts like yours I would point out that people who say "I didn't vaccinate mine and they're OK" are proving nothing. Other than that their pets are lucky and everyone else's time and money spent on vaccinating the rest of the population has protected them.

I took the advice of my vet.
We live in a very rural location and were advised that it would be sensible to give them the first jabs, but then tbh they probably wouldn't bother with the boosters.

We've had dogs, cats, ferrets, ponies, horses and chickens and agree that we have been lucky in that we've never had any problems.

We rather wish we hadn't taken our vets advice, two dead cats later Our big fluffy bagpuss was only about seven, so potentially had many years ahead of him. But I think city life is more dangerous full stop for cats. I'll be interested to see what our new vet recommends for our new cats now we live in a much more rural area, where cats seem generally to be kept in (not that we intend to do that - as I think cats need freedom despite the risks)

I've had my cat since she was 5 and haven't bothered

My vet only charges £28 abs that includes the health check. Had one of mine done atva post op check at a veterinary hospital and that was only £57

Never vaccinated mine.

I have a plan that's £10 a month and includes the flea and worm treatments.

Check if your vet runs a yearly plan. They include all the vaccinations and things like flea and worm treatments and some include health check ups as well for a monthly fee, which spreads it all a bit better. I think it's worth getting the vaccines done but it is a bit alarming to get the bill in one go!

But to be fair - with cats I don't really think you can guilt trip people into vaccinating with the herd immunity argument. They aren't people, they are animals, they'll come into contact with all kinds of wild unvaccinated animals. Vaccinating your own animals is a purely selfish yes/no decision, it's not selfless or community focused like vaccinating kids (unless we're talking things like a rabies vaccine for dogs, but that's not even necessary unless you're planning to take them out of the country.)

Indoor cat. Of course I bloody vaccinate. Apart from it being cruel not to, you are going to struggle to find a cattery that would ever take an unvaccinated cat.

Mine is indoor and never goes to a cattery so I don't bother. Don't see the need. Only use flea treatment every couple months too

Mine have never been vaccinated and are 10. But the live inside I a flat no other cars in the block so presume they are pretty safe. I never thought about the insurance though. I suppose if they got cat flu insurance might not pay out. Will have to read small print.

Vets for pets do a vaca for life for £100 one off fee! My cat is 2 years old so I've already got my money's worth!

If you have a pet then you should be responsible for its welfare! Why would you put a price on your pets life?????

pink;can you get in touch with a reduce centre to find out if you can get the female neutered? Looking after them is great but they need to be neutered. Keeping on having litters is no good either.

Rescue, not reduce

Our cats were vaccinated regularly, however one of them used to get problems with his lymph nodes afterwards every time. For years we tried to counteract it with our vet's help - spacing out the vaccines, medicating him etc. But nothing ever worked and he was so stressed out by all the visits. Eventually, after long discussions about the risks, the vet suggested stopping the vaccines. Our lovely boy was much happier without the swollen lymph nodes, but sadly he became very ill with cancer and renal failure and died 2 years ago - about 3 years after stopping the vaccinations.
Our other cat - his brother - died suddenly yesterday due to either poisoning or a heart attack, but was perfectly healthy otherwise.
I don't think we could've made any other decision with regards to what was best for them. Talk to your vet.

When we lived in the middle of nowhere the cats weren't vaccinated, they would have had to travel a long way to meet another cat, now cats are vaccinated as they come into contact with other cats.
No pet insurance just pay as required. The other option is to put the amount pet insurance would cost you in a savings account every month to cover any vets bills.

I haven't had mine vaccinated for about 10 years now (she's 15) as I haven't needed to use a cattery thanks to having lovely neighbours who were happy to feed her. It was the same with my other cat who lived until she was 17. We have recently moved but it's fair to say that more cats lost their lives being hit by cars where we were than from cat flu. I did consider getting my cat vaccinated when we moved recently as I didn't want to ask the new neighbours and we were going on holiday a week after the move but I used Pawshake to find a local cat feeder who was lovely.

Probably won't be that much next year. For first / missed vaccinations they have a double dose. For a booster as long as it's done within the time frame it's just one set so I would expect to be around £50

I had a kitten that was ill,the first vet said it was cat flu,,when i asked about cat flu,the vet could not give me any answer,,but lots of tests costing lots and lots of money,i asked about 9 of my friends ,if they had their cats vaccinated,all said no.i then took my kitten to a different vet,and she said the kitten had a liver shunt,told me to go find a friend on benifits and get them to take it to the PDSA.i managed to get 2000 together,booked the kitten in to the vets,but he died.I was so sad,but my daughter said ,mum the kitten would of died and you would of waisted your money