MIAMI, Aug. 23, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In honor of Take Your Cat to the Vet Week, petMD.com is encouraging kitten owners to make sure their little ones are up-to-date on core vaccines. People sit on both sides of the fence when it comes to vaccinating their pets, but understanding why certain vaccines are recommended can help them decide what is best for their kitten's health. To help kitten owners learn more about the importance of core vaccines, petMD.com has pulled together a guide to vaccinating your kitten.
Vaccines should be administered to kittens when immunity from the mother begins to wear off. Typically, this begins to occur at 6 weeks of age. Therefore, a multivalent vaccine for feline calicvirus, rhinotracheitis, and panleukopenia should first be administered when a kitten reaches 6 weeks of age. This vaccine must then be injected every three to four weeks until the kitten is 16 weeks old, and then once more one year later. Without these vaccinations, kittens run an increased risk of contracting these infectious diseases that are easily transmitted from cat to cat. As almost all cats are exposed to these viruses at one point in their life, being vaccinated early on in life can help build a kitten's immune system and protect it from these common diseases.
Kittens should also receive the rabies vaccine at either 8 or 12 weeks of age, depending on the brand of vaccine being used, and then repeated again one year later. As rabies is a zoonotic disease, most states in the US require cats to be vaccinated for it. Rabies is a painful disease that affects the grey matter of the brain and the central nervous system and is fatal to any cat that is unvaccinated. Inoculating kittens for this disease is important, especially if they interact with other animals or frequently go outside.
Non-core cat vaccines for feline leukemia, feline AIDS, and other infectious diseases do exist, but are not necessary for all cats. These vaccines are only recommended by veterinarians when a kitten's living situation has high potential for infecting the feline with such a disease.
Intervals for adult feline vaccinations should be discussed with your veterinarian. Depending on the cat's history and the brand of the vaccine, different amounts of time are required between initial injection and subsequent booster shots.
Media Contact: Kelly Lange, 610-234-4114, klange@pet360.com
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