Shots for indoor cats.....NEED HELP GETTING HER INTO THE CARRIER!!!!!

[MrsDuck]

Our indoor cats have gotten vaccinations!

[SaraJayne]

Our cats have all been strictly indoor and beyond the routine kitten shots have never gotten another.

[clm10308]

Ma y municipalities do have ordinances on the books requiring cats to be licensed and have rabies shots, but Ihave never heard of anyone ever getting ticked for not having cats licensed.

[trip]

For those that don't vaccinate, don't you have to provide proof of current vaccination and a licensing fee to get your yearly county tags?

[Coconut36]

Originally Posted by trip

For those that don't vaccinate, don't you have to provide proof of current vaccination and a licensing fee to get your yearly county tags?

What county tags? That might be the difference. Cats are not required to be licensed and there is no "leash law" for them or tags here.

Dogs you do and the only vaccine required and the only tag you get is rabies.

[kldmom2000]

In our state, it's the law that all cats have to get vaccinated against rabies. If something should arise and the cat needed medical treatment, the vet can refuse to treat the cat if there's no documented proof of vaccination.

That being said, I highly recommend the annual rabies vaccine when possible. The 3 year vaccine contains a preservative that can cause FVAC (Feline Vaccine Accelerated Sarcoma) in a cat.... there's a 1 in 10,000 chance of this, but guess what?!?!? Our cat happened to be the unlucky 1 Thankfully, our vet removed the tumor in it's entirety and she didn't have to amputate her hind leg. No traces of cancer left and it's been 7 years now

[minniecarousel]

I highly recommend rabies vaccines for indoor-only cats and here's why:

We had 2 indoor-only cats. We got new windows this summer and didn't realize that the slider in the living room had the scrren open - we thought just the glass slider was open. Both of our cats went out sometime in the evening. We didn't realize until the morning that they had been outside all night. Our normal cat was sitting calmly waiting for me to opent he door. He came in just fine. His brother, who was a;ways very skittish (the Vet asked that we not bring him back to their office as he went "feral" the last time we took him in there).

It took me 2 hours to discover that scaredy-cat was under our shed - just a few inches of clearance. He wouldn't come out. We finally resorted to using the leaf blower to scare him out. He came flying out from under the shed. We had left the slider open, thinking he would go back into the house. Nope - he ran around the back yard. We had him cornered - I reached for him, using a blanket. He didn't like that and bit and scratched me. I wasn't willing to let go, because I thought I could still get him into the hosue. He bit me really bad - I knew I'd need anti-biotics (he ran back under the shed.)

When I went to Urgent Care the next day, I got the anti-biotics and was told that I should consider getting rabies treatments since the cat had been out for over 24 hours and we don't know if he'd come in contact with any rabid animals. (We live in a hilly, suburban area that has small foxes, raccoons and other animals.)

I saw my own doctor a few days later, she consulted with an infectious disease doctor and they sent me to the ER for the full rabies treatment. I had follow-up shots for 3 more weeks.

We never thought they'd get outside. Our scaredy-cat was afraid of everything, spent most of his time under a bed or behind a couch. He wouldn't let me pick him up.

We borrowed live traps to try and catch him, with no success. We spotted him a few times. The HVAC guy had to get into the crawl space under our house and saw him under there. We called back the guys who were supposed to have shored up all the access for critters and they shooed him out and covered up the hole again. We haven't seen him in at least 6 weeks now.

So, my point is - lesson learned. Never use a leaf blower on a scared cat. Get all recommended shots for all pets. You have to have faith in your Vet - or get a new Vet if you don't.

[SaraJayne]

Originally Posted by trip

For those that don't vaccinate, don't you have to provide proof of current vaccination and a licensing fee to get your yearly county tags?

Tags for what?

[torinsmom]

Originally Posted by kldmom2000

In our state, it's the law that all cats have to get vaccinated against rabies. If something should arise and the cat needed medical treatment, the vet can refuse to treat the cat if there's no documented proof of vaccination.

That being said, I highly recommend the annual rabies vaccine when possible. The 3 year vaccine contains a preservative that can cause FVAC (Feline Vaccine Accelerated Sarcoma) in a cat.... there's a 1 in 10,000 chance of this, but guess what?!?!? Our cat happened to be the unlucky 1 Thankfully, our vet removed the tumor in it's entirety and she didn't have to amputate her hind leg. No traces of cancer left and it's been 7 years now

Cats here also are required to have the rabies vaccine. Our vet and even the low cost rabies clinics around here only do the one year vaccines now because of the risk of side effects and FVAS possibility. My mom's cat was just put to sleep a few weeks ago after three surgeries to remove recurrent tumors.

All my cats are indoors and I only do rabies.

[SpecialK]

Originally Posted by Coconut36

What county tags? That might be the difference. Cats are not required to be licensed and there is no "leash law" for them or tags here.

Dogs you do and the only vaccine required and the only tag you get is rabies.

Our cats have to have rabies tags.

[MichelleVW]

My cats are all indoors and never go out, but I always get them rabies shots. I wasn't going to, and my friend who works for Animal Control said that bats carry rabies all the time and they can get in your house...so I ALWAYS get them shots now!

[Coconut36]

Originally Posted by SpecialK

Our cats have to have rabies tags.

Clearly varies from state to state. In mine the only animal required to have a rabies tag/license is dogs. Cats do not and the vaccine is optional.

It's interesting how many say indoor cats must have rabies..all the stuff I was reading about indoor cats and shots..rabies was the one most frequently mentioned (by vets or animal experts) as being completely unneeded.

[luvwinnie]

My 16 yr old cat has not been to a vet since she was 2 due to the extreme stress it causes her. Her sister died of kidney disease at 14. We've been blessed so far with her good health. With our dogs we have always done titers due to the dangers of over vaccinating.

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Originally Posted by Coconut36

I was just reading an article and have seen other references that indicate that a cat that is truly indoors really doesn't need regular vaccinations and that many times in cats they cause more harm than good (kidney problems, seizures, tumors..etc).

My first cat was fully and 100% vaccinated for everything and she did spend time outside (supervised..I never let her roam unattended). She was also offspring of a feral cat and spent her first year or so outdoors (before adoption) so we felt it was important.

We have had our current cat for several years now and beyond the initial kitten vaccines he has not been vaccinated since. He is completely and totally indoors..he does not even go outside supervised, no contact with other with cats (that is something to keep in mind if you choose not to vaccinate..some of those illnesses are highly contagious cat to cat so if your cat goes to a groomer or is sometimes exposed to other cats you might want to factor that into your decision) so we really didn't see the value in vaccinating as there is nothing for him to be exposed to or at risk from.

The vet possibly will inquire about vaccines but to me a good vet will discuss the pros and cons with you in a non biased way so you can make a decision (our vet is awesome and seriously very respectful in regards to treatment, vaccinating..etc choices..they are not ones to push a procedure on you every time you visit).

- to the bolded red

I agree and so does the vet I work for.

He is VERY conservative with vacciantions.

There are side effects and you(general) have to know what they are and way to pros and cons.



*I* personally, feel that rabies is not a bad idea. Like PPs have said, bats, squirrels etc can get in anyone's home.

[goofinoff]

Thank everyone! Now I just have to wrangle her into her cat carrier to go! THAT ought to be interesting!!