Please help me with some much needed advice.

I have a beautiful cat Polly who's about 12 yrs old. I have always had her vaccinated until 2 yrs ago where I decided to get her injections every 2 years, she's due this year. The vet I have has basically said I am a bad mother for not keeping up with the injections, I love Polly to bits and it is not a matter I have taken lightly. Money isn't the object, I questioned why she was having boosters every year. The vet said he'll only do the injections if I have the booster first followed by the annual injection.

I recently took on a stray cat Oliver, have had him neutered, tested for FIV, wormed and he has had his injections. He has tried to get into loads of scraps with other cats, but has got better. Polly hardly ever goes out and her only real contact is with Oliver. I don't know what to do, have her done every year, or every 2, but then if she has to have 2 injections again it defeats the object of going every year as she is going 4 wks apart. I hope this makes sense???? I was hoping I could have her done every 2 yrs, but only 1 injection, not 2 like the vet says.

I don't want to put Polly at risk, but i question injections every year. I keep thinking i'll just have her done every year for peace of mine. I'd be devastated if anything happened to because of me.

Oliver is 6. He was clearly a stray and his tests came back negative and he'd never had injections before he came to me yet he was fine and had been a street cat for many years. What do I do? Any honest advice appreciated I'm very confused

It annoys me how vets over here force you to have boosters every year when it's fairly well accepted nowadays that the vaccine lasts for up to 3 years.

I'm afraid you're going to need to work this out with your vet, or get a new vet, though.

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Our darling Foxy is now at Rainbow Bridge. R.I.P. little one, you'll always be loved.

By the time a cat is an adult, they have acquired all the immunity they need. Vaccinations are generally not required after the age of about 5. Your 12-year-old no longer has a need for yearly vaccinations. I think you should find a more sympathetic and up to date vet...

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I agree about over-vaccination

However, cateries insist on a certificate if you need to board a cat while you are on holiday and insurance companies also 'insist' i.e. if you don't then you are not covered for illnesses associated with the vaccintation

I don't vaccinate my cat, so he's only had his kitten vaccines from the breeder. This is because I believe the risk of him getting sick from the vaccines/injections is bigger than him actually getting sick from any of the illnesses they're supposed to protect against.

My cat is an only cat, who never meets other cats. He's inside and in a secure garden. He never goes to shows, or to catteries. I use a cat sitter if I need to, and they're more relaxed about vaccinations.

It'll be different for every cat. In some cases you have to vaccinate, for showing or catteries for example. In the US, rabies vaccine is mandatory.

There's a lot of interesting reading to be found on vaccinations, and until there's been more research and new developments I won't be vaccinating at all. This is a good starting point if you want to read more: Vaccination Information from Blakkatz

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I think the best thing to do is have them neutured and keep an eye on them My mum had her cat vaccinated every year and it was'nt any fitter than my cat??

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We will be getting Ginny vaccinated in a week or two (she is 8 weeks old now) but Cindy hasn't been vaccinated in about 7 years - mainly because she is now 17 and spends most of the time indoors, and if she does go outside it is only in our back garden. For 17 she is a very healthy cat (touch wood!) and we have never had to take her to the vet in the 8 years we have had her.
I do have a question though, if Ginny is vaccinated and meets a non-vaccinated cat could she then pass a disease onto Cindy?

this is a question we asked ourselves last year when our healthy (apart from asthma well controlled on inhalers) 8 year old BSH/Persian cross cats were due their annual boosters. Also due for booster was a 2 year old rescue who is as happy and healthy as anything. I did extensive research (to name a few Vaccination for Cats: Helpful or Harmful? and http://www.blakkatz.com/vaccination.pdf) and we decided not to. They are all allowed out but are home for long periods during the day sleeping/playing etc and are all shut in at suppertime and not alowed out until morning. With the exception of the odd claw problem when one was hit by a car and eye stickiness, they are in really good form, affectionate, loving and regularly treated for fleas/worms/ticks etc. The white one has factor 50 sunscreen on his ears and nose every day to prevent against skin cancer.


Our white boy has recently lost a significant amount of weight (from 6.2kg to 4.7kg) and had a blood test yesterday showing low platelet count. Off for sedation and xrays/scans tomorrow. Now I am stressing that the insurers will try and say he has a preventable disease and will not cough up. Would treatment of HPV cervical cancer be refused in a female human who did not want the vaccine? No. Is treatment for lung cancer refused in smokers? No. Vaccination is a very personal choice, and it is not because we are tight, we didn't feel, having done the research that it was necessary - we made an informed choice. I just hope it doesn't come back to bite me on the arse!

Has his coronavirus titer been tested? There are lots of things it could be, you should probably have a full blood panel done.

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Our darling Foxy is now at Rainbow Bridge. R.I.P. little one, you'll always be loved.