Las Vegas Cat Vaccinations Protect Your Cat’s Health

Did you know that vaccinations are just as important for indoor cats as they are for outdoor cats? Here at our Las Vegas cat clinic, our cat veterinarian is committed to keeping your felines healthy throughout their lives. Vaccinations protect against commonly transmitted diseases and help reduce the risk for serious illness or even death.

A Cat Hospital Recommends Cat Vaccinations as Part of Your Pet's Health

Our Las Vegas cat hospital offers comprehensive cat vaccinations, including the core vaccination series (FVRCP), rabies, feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). Our cat hospital recommends that all cats, including indoor cats, receive vaccinations as part of routine kitten, adult, and senior cat care.

Lack of vaccination can also put cats at risk for feline leukemia virus. This highly contagious virus is easily spread between cats through casual contact, such as sharing the same water or food bowl. Feline leukemia virus can be difficult to detect and treat since many cats show no symptoms until the disease enters an advanced stage. Our cat clinic screens for this illness during annual wellness exams. However, vaccinating cats is the best way to prevent the spread of this illness. Vaccination against the feline leukemia virus is especially important if you adopt multiple cats or regularly board your cat.

Additionally, many kittens are exposed to the feline herpesvirus at a young age. Cats can remain carriers throughout their lives. During times of stress, the illness may resurface. Vaccinated cats will exhibit minimal symptoms. In unvaccinated cats, however, the reemergence of this illness can seriously jeopardize the cat’s health.

If you have recently adopted a kitten, our animal hospital offers the kitten shot series. This series of vaccinations is administered every three to four weeks after a kitten is weaned from her mother. When a young kitten feeds on her mother’s milk, he or she receives immunization protection. Once kittens are weaned, however, they are at risk for illness as their immune systems develop. Our veterinarians recommend that your kitten receive vaccinations starting at 8-10 weeks and continuing until 16-18 weeks of age. At this point, a cat’s immune system will have matured and annual vaccinations will be sufficient to keep the cat protected against illness.

As cat owners ourselves, we recognize that the decision to vaccinate cats is not without controversy. However, the benefits to vaccination far outweigh any potential risks. This is especially true for annual rabies vaccinations. Even indoor cats may encounter a rabid bat on the patio or in the backyard grass. If the cat is not up to date on rabies vaccine and comes into contact with the animal, then the cat may have to be euthanized. This is a tragic loss of life that can be easily avoided by vaccination. Additionally, the risk of an allergic reaction to vaccines is extremely low. There is a far greater chance that a cat will become ill from a preventable disease rather than suffer an allergic reaction.