All of my cats are indoor only, but still I vaccinate against everything because I’m a stray kitty magnet & the chances of bringing something nasty home is quite high - even with strict quarantine procedures. I just feel safer doing it, & none of my cats have suffered any side effects.
JB–I wasn’t finding YOU reprehensible. You asked the question. I think it’s reprehensible that any breeder or vet would even think of not giving leukemia, especially knowing how bad it used to be. If you have an absolutely indoor cat, have stringent protocol of cleaning, and never have any chance of that cat getting out, maybe it’s OK not to give it after the initial kitten vaccines. I think few people have that sort of situation, and the dangers are so much more from not vaccinating than doing so. And the chances of sarcoma are so minute and can be mitigated by giving it in the leg if you have any fear.
The general protocol is vaccinate at 8 and 11/12 weeks, then a year, then every three years. The age most at risk is from about 6 weeks when the mother’s antibodies start wearing off to about a year.
I find it more reprehensible when people are breeding cats when millions of cats and kittens are murdered in shelters every year in this country. :mad:
Why breed when there are not enough homes for the thousands upon thousands of cats in shelters at this very moment?
No end to the pet over population. Sad.
No not now that we live in the country. Yes, when I lived in town - despite that my cats have always had a large territory including a walkway to a good hill (300m above sea level) beind me.
Why not? We have only a few cats around us, they are mainly outdoors (I see one of my cats about 3x a week at the moment with the new puppy) and, to be frank, there are a lot of cats out there wanting homes.
I would note that my cats generally live to >15 years (and not on any special diet either) - i reckon the outdoor life and exercise does them well. I have noted no difference between vaccinating and not vaccinating … but that is in New Zealand where, to be frank, cats are one of the top predators
No to FIV an leukemia. The ONLY reason he doesn’t get the leukemia vaccine is that he had adverse reactions to it every time and he is an indoor only kitty,
I think that he’s pretty well protected since he is indoor only and at this time I don’t have any exposure to any other cats, nor does he.
[QUOTE=Halter Alter;6027364]
I find it more reprehensible when people are breeding cats when millions of cats and kittens are murdered in shelters every year in this country. :mad:
Why breed when there are not enough homes for the thousands upon thousands of cats in shelters at this very moment?
No end to the pet over population. Sad.[/QUOTE]
Don’t know what the poster you’re responding to breeds, but you generally won’t find papered show-quality in the shelter. If you’re showing, you can’t just go to the county. Those animals are from people who can’t be bothered to cough up $100 to get their random moggy spayed or neutered and will insist on letting it outside where it will inevitably get pregnant or breed if it’s a male and then you have a horde of mongrel kittens. (Unless you live in an area with a lot of coyotes, and even they can only eat so many.)
I have always done so. This year my vet recommended that I not do it anymore. Mr. Kitty is 9 and the vet explained that Felv is much more prevalent in young cats, and he hasn’t seen any cases in years. He also does not recommend over-vaccination especially in older cats.
I went with his advice and did not get Mr K the vax this year.
[QUOTE=Halter Alter;6027364]
I find it more reprehensible when people are breeding cats when millions of cats and kittens are murdered in shelters every year in this country. :mad:
Why breed when there are not enough homes for the thousands upon thousands of cats in shelters at this very moment?
No end to the pet over population. Sad.[/QUOTE]
I find it most reprehensible that people have children and there are MILLIONS of children starving and without homes in this country. I find it reprehensible that people who say this kind of thing breed anything–themselves, horses, dogs, whatever-- and then blanketly condemn someone they know nothing about. As with many horse breeders, I breed a few quality animals a year and raise them in a home and do the most responsible think I can with giving shots and such, unlike those who breed thousands of dogs or cats and raise them in cages.
You want to call me names, be prepared to defend yourself. I ASSUME you did not breed yourself and make any children, right? It’s all about no breeding when there are ANY extras, right? It’s all about no one having any choice in getting a quality raised animal, but rescuing those in existence, right? Of COURSE your horse is a rescue, right? Not bred for purpose?
Ask your vet if you can get the rabies and leukemia vaccines without the aluminum adjuvant. I do not know if the FIV vaccine is available without it though.
[QUOTE=Beentheredonethat;6028733]
I find it most reprehensible that people have children and there are MILLIONS of children starving and without homes in this country. I find it reprehensible that people who say this kind of thing breed anything–themselves, horses, dogs, whatever-- and then blanketly condemn someone they know nothing about. As with many horse breeders, I breed a few quality animals a year and raise them in a home and do the most responsible think I can with giving shots and such, unlike those who breed thousands of dogs or cats and raise them in cages.
You want to call me names, be prepared to defend yourself. I ASSUME you did not breed yourself and make any children, right? It’s all about no breeding when there are ANY extras, right? It’s all about no one having any choice in getting a quality raised animal, but rescuing those in existence, right? Of COURSE your horse is a rescue, right? Not bred for purpose?[/QUOTE]
Nope, no children. There are plenty of breed groups who rescue particular breeds of cats and dogs and find homes for them. So there is a choice of breed if one desires.
All my pets are rescues. My horse? No, but I did not breed her.
Not picking on you Beentheredonethat. It simply breaks my heart when I look on Petfinder.com and see thousands of pets without a home. Purebred and mixed breeds. Nevermind reading the stories on here about unwanted pets being dumped off all the time. Just very saddening in my eyes. Again, not picking on you.
Thank you for saying that. I agree with you. It all saddens my heart. I have no children and fight daily to save those who are in this world. There are no easy answers, as evidenced by the slaughter thread.
JB, not sure if someone responded yet to your concern about the cats testing positive.
The test for FIV is currently an antibody test, so it tests for the cat’s body having a reaction to the virus - so it measures exposure, not actual infection, and a vaccinated cat can/will test positive. On the other hand, the FeLV test is an antigen test, so it tests for an actual part of the virus in the cat’s blood. This is helpful because it is testing for actual infection, not just exposure, and a vaccinated cat that is not infected will not test positive.
The university I am at currently recommends that cats get the FeLV vaccine (given in the leg so that in the relatively rare event a fibrosarcoma results, there are more options for treatment), but not usually the FIV vaccine due to efficacy vs. risk of exposure and also the testing issue.
Thank you liza 
