What vaccinations and when do cats?

The need to vaccinate your pets can be talked about endlessly, since the positive aspects of vaccination are much more than the negative ones. Most cat owners follow all the rules of maintenance, because it guarantees their pet a long and happy life.

The need for vaccinations for domestic cats

Many owners of domestic cats are of the opinion that cats living exclusively in an apartment and not leaving its limits cannot get sick with dangerous infectious diseases. This point of view is fundamentally wrong, because home insulation does not guarantee the animal a lack of contact withpathogens.

The main sources of infection for cats living in an apartment are:

• pathogens on people’s street clothes;
• contact with the open door, which could rub or mark street cats;
• visiting veterinary clinics;
• the touch of the hands of the owners unwashed after the street;
• Purchase grass from a pet shop to remove hairballs from a cat's stomach.

If we recall that many infectious diseases of cats end in the death of a pet, the need for vaccination of a pet becomes unequivocal.

What infections should be used to vaccinate adult animals and kittens

The most commonly recommended vaccines are for the following infections:

• Calcivirus;
• feline herpes virus in the form of rhinotracheitis;
• panleukopenia (better known as feline distemper);
• rabies (a deadly disease that can even infect a person);
• Chlamydia (a very contagious disease affecting the eyes of an animal);
• infectious peritonitis (practically incurable in cats);
• from parasites in the form of ticks, fleas - as prevention;
• mushrooms trichophytosis and microsporia (ringworm).

For vaccinations, there are a huge variety of drugs. Most of them are complex, containing three to four components. Usually, an animal is vaccinated annually with multicomponent drugs when rabies vaccine is added to it. Thus, revaccination is done once a year by two injections. In general, from rabies, you can use drugs with a longer duration of action - up to three years.

At what age are cats vaccinated?

Until the kitten has reached the age of 10 weeks, it is undesirable to put vaccines on the animal. This is because its passive immunity can block the production of antibodies when a vaccine is given. The second reason for the undesirability of vaccination at an early age is the immaturity of the lymphoid structures in a small kitten, which are not yet able to produce antibodies effectively.

In case of danger of infection, a kitten is vaccinated in a period of 6 to 16 weeks, when the immunity of his mother no longer protects him, and his own immune protection is not yet developed.

Vaccine segregation by animal age

Determination of the timing and type of vaccines should be made strictly by a specialist, since all animals are individual. However, there is a general recommended vaccination schedule for adult animals and young kittens:

1. At 9-12 weeks - vaccination against rhinotracheitis, calcivirosis and panleukopenia - diseases transmitted by respiratory infections, and the second vaccine against these viruses is placed after 2-4 weeks.
2. Simultaneously with the vaccine against respiratory diseases, vaccination from chlamydia is done.
3. At 12 weeks, the animal must be vaccinated against rabies.
4. When reaching 16 and 20 weeks, young cats can be given a vaccine against infectious peritonitis (subject to local prevalence of the disease).

Further revaccination is carried out with an interval of 11-12 months.

Please note that the instructions attached to the vaccine contain a complete list of recommended vaccination periods, requirements for preparing for it, a list of adverse reactions and a description of actions in case of complications after vaccination.

Preparation of the animal for vaccination

For successful vaccination, you must first ensure that there are no worms, and if necessary, be sure to get rid of worms. 10 days before vaccination, you need to give a cure for worms and make sure that the animal has swallowed it. De-worming must be carried out regardless of the time elapsed from the previous prophylaxis. It is no longer necessary to give a cat before re-vaccination.

Approximately 7 days before the introduction of the vaccine, apply parasite drops (fleas, ticks) to adult cats and wash the babies with flea shampoo.

Before the injection, the doctor should examine the animal, make sure the mucous is healthy, check the eyes, ears, nose, teeth and stomach. Temperature suitable for vaccination of a pet is in the range from 38 to 39 degrees. At the slightest signs of illness, vaccination should be postponed. Owners should pay attention to the health of the animal on the day of vaccination, its appetite and lack of lethargy.

What types of vaccines are used for cats

According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, it is forbidden to vaccinate, not certified by domestic veterinary supervision.The vaccination must be accompanied by instructions in Russian.

Currently, the most popular drugs are:

1. "Nobivak Triket" - a three-component Dutch vaccine against respiratory infections and panleukopenia. It is done in 2 doses with a period of 20-30 days. The beginning of injections is not earlier than 60 days of life.
2. Similar in composition - "Nobivak Forcat", supplemented with chlamydia vaccine. The periodicity and limitations coincide with the "Nobivac Triket".
3. "Quadricat" - French Merial vaccine. Vaccination consists of paired components - inactivated and live virus. Before the introduction of the vaccine connect. The drug protects against herpesvirus and calcivirosis, as well as from rabies and panleukopenia.
4. "Leukorifelin" (from the same manufacturer). The vaccine contains “Korifelin” against calcivirosis and herpes virus, as well as a live vaccine against panleukopenia.
5. Purevax is three live vaccines from French manufacturer Merial. “Purevax RCP” protects against panleukopenia, rhinotracheitis and calcivirosis, and “Purevax RCPCh” is supplemented with chlamydia. “PUREVAX FeLV” is a vaccine aimed at combating animal leukemia.
6. Multifel-4 is a drug produced by the domestic manufacturer Narvak.This inactivated vaccine acts against rhinotracheitis, calcivirus infection, panleukopenia and chlamydia. Vaccination is done at intervals of 20-30 days.
7. American vaccine "Fel-O-Wax" provides protection against the same infections as the domestic "Multifel-4". Vaccination can begin with 8 weeks. Vaccination is carried out twice.
8. Nobivac Rabies is a rabies vaccine valid for up to 3 years. This drug is manufactured by Intervet and requires a single injection.
9. "Primutsel FIP" - an American vaccine to protect cats from viral peritonitis with a live strain. It is placed twice, not earlier than 16 weeks of age. The gap between the injections is 3 weeks.
10. Live vaccines against microsporia and trochophythia include the property Microderm, Vacderm and Polivak TM for cats — they treat ringworm 20 days after the start of vaccination. To put this vaccine is permissible from six weeks of age.

Required vaccinations

There is a certain list of vaccinations, the presence of which is strictly controlled for entry into foreign countries. The list of vaccines should be recognized each time the end point is selected - in each country, its requirements for this list.But there is a specific list of vaccines required in each country: rabies, panleukopenia, and respiratory diseases. In the EU countries, the requirement for an animal is a mandatory requirement. Enter the chip cat can be a vet.

If you need to leave your pet in overexposure, you should familiarize yourself with the requirements for vaccination of a particular nursery. But the rabies vaccine must certainly be delivered according to the rules of all good nurseries. If you are worried about the health of your animal during overexposure, it is much safer to inculcate it from four diseases a month before the transfer to the nursery.

Vaccination of breeding animals

• chlamydia;
• panleukopenia;
• rabies;
• rhinotracheitis;
• Calcivirosis.

Vaccination of future mothers should be carried out at least 30 days before the intended conception. It is extremely undesirable to bear kittens who are carrying kittens for stabbing live vaccines.The decision on this step is taken from the supervising doctor.

Summarizing the above, I would like to note that the main thing is not the brand of vaccination and the country of origin of the selected drug, but timeliness and regularity. It is important to start protecting your pet's health at the time of 8-12 weeks, to follow the doctors' recommendations on the timing of vaccination and to receive the required vaccinations every year - this is the key to good pet health.

Video: when and what vaccinations do cats and kittens?