If you own a cat or are going to adopt one, as a responsible owner, you should inform yourself of many things. One of the most important is prevention against many serious diseases for them. We will achieve this prevention with adequate vaccination.
What is really important is that depending on where we live, some vaccines or others will be mandatory and the frequency will also vary. Keep reading this new article on our site to learn about the cat vaccination scheduleThis will ensure that your feline's he alth is stronger.
What is a vaccine and what is it for?
Vaccines are substances created to help the body fight certain diseases These substances are usually administered subcutaneously and contain the antigens needed to create antibodies in our cat's body. Depending on the disease we intend to combat, vaccines contain virus fractions, attenuated microorganisms, etc. It is with this slight contact of the disease, when the immune system of our feline will create the necessary defenses to fight against that disease if it occurs.
The vaccinations that must be carried out on our cats may change in compulsory nature and frequency depending on the geographical area in which we live, as it may be, for example, that there are specific endemic diseases in that area and that others have been eradicated. Therefore, it is our obligation as citizens of that area and as responsible owners of our pet, inform ourselves of which vaccines are mandatory and how often we should give them to our cat It is as simple as going to our veterinarian and asking him to inform us about the vaccination schedule that we must follow, since in addition to those required by law, he may recommend some other voluntary vaccine because it is really important for the he alth of our companion.
It is necessary that before vaccinating our kitten we make sure that it is dewormed, in good he alth and that its immune system is sufficiently mature, since this is the only way for a vaccine to act and be effective.
As we can see it is really important to vaccinate our pets and for this reason from our site we recommend that they be vaccinated every year although it may seem like unnecessary, because in reality it is something very basic and vital for the he alth of both our feline and ours, as there are some zoonoses which we can avoid with simple vaccination.
From what age should we vaccinate our kitten?
The most important thing is to know that you have to wait more or less until weaning age, since it is vital that our kitten already have a somewhat mature immune system, although not necessarily completely. While the kittens are in the mother's womb and while they are lactating, part of the mother's immune defenses is passed on to the kittens and they are thus protected for a time while their own defense system is created. This immunity that passes through the mother begins to disappear between 5 and 7 weeks of life. For this reason, the ideal time to vaccinate our kitten for the first time is when it is 2 months old
It is very important that while our kitten does not have the first complete vaccination, it does not go outside or interact with cats that are passing through our garden. This is because we cannot be sure of the level of defenses that they may have in that period of time between when the immunity acquired from their mother is exhausted and when the first vaccination takes full effect.
What vaccination schedule for cats should we follow in Spain?
In Spain there are no compulsory vaccines by law for domestic felines. Therefore, the vaccination schedule that we must follow is the one recommended by our trusted veterinarian according to the area in which we live and some aspects of our cat's he alth.
It is vital that before being vaccinated our cat undergoes a test for diseases such as feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency.
In any case, here we present a basic calendar that is usually followed in Spain for the vaccination of cats:
1, 5 months: we must deworm our kitten so that the Primary vaccination is possible later
2 months: leukemia and immunodeficiency test. First dose of trivalent, this vaccine contains the vaccine against panleukopenia, calicivirus and rhinotracheitis
2, 5 months: First dose of feline leukemia vaccine
3 months: Revaccination of the trivalent
3, 5 months: Revaccination for leukemia
4 months: First rabies vaccination
Annually: From now on, an annual vaccine of each of the previously administered will be carried out, since the effects must remain active since they diminish and are lost over time. Therefore, once a year we will vaccinate our cat with the trivalent vaccine, the leukemia vaccine and the rabies vaccine
Something else good to know about cat vaccines
It is very important for the he alth of our cats that they be vaccinated annually, but it is especially so for cats that go outdoors and they contact other cats, whose state of he alth is often unknown.
The trivalent vaccine protects against two of the most common respiratory diseases in cats, feline rhinotracheitis and feline calicivirosis, in addition the trivalent also contains the vaccine against one of the diseases that attack the digestive system and blood in a more severe form, feline panleukopenia. The leukemia vaccine is vital for the he alth of our kitten because if they contract this disease it is very complicated and often leads to death.
The rabies vaccine may seem unnecessary to us since it has been eradicated in Spain for decades, but since it is a very serious zoonosis, that is to say that this disease is also transmitted to humans, it really is very It is advisable that cats that go outside be vaccinated against rabies.
There are other vaccines for domestic felines such as the feline infectious peritonitis vaccine and the chlamydiosis vaccine.
Finally, if we are going to travel with our cat to another part of the world, it is very important that we find out if there are compulsory vaccinations for cats in the country to which we are traveling, as is usually the case with the for rabies, in addition to informing us of the vaccinable diseases that are endemic to the area.
