![]() ![]() Adult cats that are overdue for vaccinations should receive booster vaccines, regardless of the interval since the previous vaccination. Adult cats with unknown vaccination status should be treated as unvaccinated, and should receive the full series of vaccines outlined for kittens. The antibodies ingested by a kitten while nursing last only a few weeks, so it is critical to vaccinate kittens at the appropriate time to ensure that they are still protected after the maternal antibodies wane.ĭecisions regarding which vaccines to give adult cats and how often they should be administered are based upon multiple factors, including the risk of a cat’s exposure to various infectious agents, the duration of protection of a given vaccine, the risk of cats passing diseases to humans, and the rather minimal risks inherent to vaccination (primarily allergic reactions in the short term and the development of feline injection site sarcomas in the long term). Earlier vaccinations are not effective because kittens ingest beneficial protective antibodies in their mother’s milk during the first few hours after birth, but these antibodies also interfere with their responses to vaccines. Kittens receive a series of vaccines over a 12 to 16-week period beginning at between 6 and 8 weeks of age. Vaccination at the appropriate time and minimizing exposure to infectious agents are thus very important, particularly in kittens for which the history of adequate nursing from the mother is unknown. Kittens are susceptible to a variety of infections due to their immature immune systems. For this reason, exposure of even vaccinated cats to other cats or environments in which infectious agents may be found should still be minimized. While vaccines represent one of the greatest achievements in preventive medicine, no vaccine is 100 percent effective and they don’t induce the same degree of protection in every cat. When a vaccinated cat encounters these agents in the future, it rapidly generates antibodies and activates the cells that recognize the agents, producing an “immune response” that results in the elimination of the invading agent. When administered to an animal, they train the immune system to protect against these infectious agents.Īfter vaccination, the immune system is “trained” to recognize infectious agents by producing proteins called antibodies or activating specific cells to kill the agents. Vaccines are preparations that resemble infectious agents like bacteria or viruses but are not pathogenic (disease causing). ![]() Need for Rabies Vaccination for Indoor Cats ![]()
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