Vaccinating - Its
important for Your Cat
The money spent on
vaccinating your cat could save you
a lot of money later on. Many diseases vaccinated for can cause your
pet prolonged suffering, which need not happen.
What Diseases Do The
Vaccines Cover?
They allow your cats
immune system to recognize specific diseases and build up antibodies
that will combat that particular disease.
Diseases
vaccinated for, via a 3 way vaccine are:
ALWAYS USE KILLED
VACCINATIONS ON YOUR EXOTIC CATS
Without
immunization, any one of these diseases could lead to the premature
death of your cat. Additional vaccinations are available optionally
for Chlamydia, Pneumonitis, and Feline Leukemia. But they are NOT
recommended.
What do The
Immunizations do?
The only way a cat can
be immune to these conditions is if it is immunised or has
contracted and survived the disease. Essentially, the cat is
inoculated with an inert (killed) form of these diseases,
this trains the immune system to recognise the infection and resist
it before it gains a foothold.
When Should I
Immunize my Kitten?
During the first few
weeks of life, they usually gain immunity from their mothers first
milk called colostrum. If the mother cat has been vaccinated this
immunity is then passed on to her kittens. Kittens should be
vaccinated at 8 weeks with a booster at 12 weeks. Then again at 1
year of age. The every 3 years thereafter.
If however, your kitten
is an orphan or was unable to receive its mothers first milk for
some reason; your veterinarian may recommend immunizing your kitten
sooner.
After this initial eight
week period, immunity begins to taper off, vaccinations and yearly
boosters take over providing continued protection against these
diseases.
Why give two
vaccinations only 4 weeks apart?
The first vaccination is
used to "kick-start" the cats immune system in preparation for the
second vaccine.
The second vaccination
brings the cats'
immune system up to a level that will protect them from the diseases
vaccinated for.
It must be understood,
once immunized, this disease protection does not become active right
away. It usually takes 7 to 14 days after administering the vaccine
for the immunization to become fully effective.
In the interim, it is
best to keep the vaccinated kitten away from other cats to avoid the
potential risk of infection.
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