I was so convinced indoor cats didnt need to be vaccinated how wrong could i be!! 8 of my cats who are currently indoors have contracted the calcivirussneezing,snotty nose,fever)(its been a bl**dy nightmare,the vet said if they were vaccinated they still would have got it but maybe not so bad,and it wouldnt have gone round them twice!,Its cost hundreds for the antibiotics,eye drops etc but its my own fault and i would have paid double.Several people i have spoken to who have had their cats vaccinated wasnt offered the swab to make sure they were not a carrier first.If you vaccinate a carrier cat,they will still be a carrier cat and can shed the virus to othersthey look perfectly healthy and often show no symptoms.ive pushed my luck for several years and this has been a real kick up the a***the calcivirus is apparently the biggest cause of fading kitten syndrome.my lot were fairly lucky in that it was detected and treated quickly,but unvaccinated pets can suffer quite badly from this,and it can be fatal.

Yes and just looking at it from a breeders point of view...I think thats why it is important to get cats checked before you breed (whether they are pets/studs/queens etc)...or if you bring any new kittens into the home find out their history before hand etc.

Cat Flu can be fatal and if you have kittens being born or babies this could be a bad situation which to a degree can be controlled before hand.

When I say that what I'm thinking in my mind is that I'm fortunate to have a great start in breeding...I have a mentor with all of his own bloodlines etc therefore I have full knowledge and history of all cats...hence reducing the chances of anything like this happening.

One of my friends recently was purchasing a bengal - she has other cats in the house. I was speaking to her on the phone and asked about the kittens parents in regards to felv/fiv tested etc (wasnt mentioned on the website) and she didnt know.

She phoned the breeder who said it was 2years ago when they were tested and then the breeder also booked in to the vets to have tests redone. All come back negative (was good of the breeder as was closed stud aswel) and my friend will get them done anyway as she wont take risks with her other cats.

I have had my moggie cat for 3years and I have my 3 siamese...my bluepoint is going to be my queen. Although my moggie is an indoor cat now she will be going to live my friend soon as Im not taking any chances with potential kittens being born in 6months or so...my moggie could be a carrier or anything with her being an outdoor cat for best part of 3 years and Im just not prepared to take any chances having kittens born. Im going to start as I mean to go on and thats reducing all risks and ensuring injections/worming etc is upto date at all times.

I know that sounds quite extreme but I want to do this properly - I also had my moggie done so she has been being picked on by the 2 other girls so it makes sense for a few reasons.

I hope all your cats get well soon you must be having a nightmare right now.

Keep us posted. xx

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Bralex

mine have all ben fip/flv snap tested,but i didnt know about the swab for detecting fcv virusas soon as everyone has fully recovered they will all have to be tested to see if anyone has been left a carrier.when ive had cats vaccinated before i was definatley not offered this.needless to say i will always be vaccinating now!cats4eva,not extreme at all,just rightly careful
Remember folks this thread is meant as a warning for others,and to save them the potential problems i am having,i will not be going into a debate on my breeding practices

OMG Clare, I'm so sorry you are gaving such an awful time, I hope all the little ones get well soon. Don't beat yourself up, it wont help, just keep your chin up & take care.

Sorry to hear your news Clare. Hope you get them sorted soon.

Have you sent any kittens to new homes recently? Maybe you should check with their owners that they are ok???
It also might be worth advising the new owners of your news and getting them to take their cats to the vets for a check up just to be sure.

All my indoor cats are vaccinated - just in case! They are also all microchipped even though they dont go out. There is always that slight risk that it could happen. I and would rather pay to save it done than save a bit of extra money and have that risk - but thats just me. Everyone has different ideas and opnions.

Also you yourself can bring the germs in on your clothing and footwear from outside - hence the indoor cats contracting the virus. I assume you didnt realise this could happen?

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Breeders of Burmese & Siamese Cats
www.purrfactor.com

Also clare - are the queens not meant to have vaccinations up to date when they go to stud??????????

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Breeders of Burmese & Siamese Cats
www.purrfactor.com

No don't blame you ClareBut agree with Cats4Eva-thankyou for being honest and posting this ClareGreat point Saffron-did you not make sure the stud was tested Clare?

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Dogs have owners, Cats have slaves

Burnthwaites Siamese

I take it you are no longer willing to comment on this thread that you posted Clare?
We were interested to see the outcome and answers to our questions

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Breeders of Burmese & Siamese Cats
www.purrfactor.com

You should also bear in mind though that even if your cats are vaccinated they could still get flu as the vaccines only cover the basic cat flu strains. As with the human form there are many different strains out there that will not yet be covered.

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Thats right i think they are in the process of developing new up to date ones which cover the newest strains.like i said before i did not have the mouth swab done to detect the flu virus as i did not know about it,i have never been offered this before,i also do not use a stud away from home,i have my own.my point is how many of you were actually offered this test before vaccinating to ensure your cat wasnt already a carrier??or did you ask for it??things are starting to quieten down here now,the antibiotics have finished so now i will wait a while to make sure there are no relapses then start the process of testing and vaccinating accordingly.I have had no official diagnosis of calcivirus as yet,but the symptons showing matched the virus named.Also no kittens have left here since the arrival of my suspect cat.