Innoculations

Hello everybody! I have a female cat, Pookie, who adopted me on
January 5, 2011. She was probably dropped off in our small community
in a box full of kittens, and she managed to squeeze through two
fences and get onto my enclosed porch.

In March of last year, I had her spayed, and in April, she had a
series of four innoculations - that's four visits at $20.00 per visit.

Now my vet is telling me that she needs to get them again. I am
skeptical - especially considering that she is strictly a house cat
and does not go outside.

You know, something akin to asking the fox if he will take care of the
hens; asking the vet if the cat needs shots?

Your advice will be appreciated. I'm certain you've talked about this
before, so excuse me for not searching the archives.
--

Mack A. Damia mybaconbutty hotmail.com wrote:

Now my vet is telling me that she needs to get them again. I am
skeptical - especially considering that she is strictly a house
cat and does not go outside.

That's good. Consider saving the money a reward for keeping your
adopted stray from the not-so-great outdoors.

Not everybody can do these things, but especially if someone is
not always there to keep it company...

Use an infant room monitor to bring the outside sounds in. Not
easy to tell by looking, but it's kind of obvious that cats enjoy
listening to the outside sounds.

Of course allow it to sit near a window. If it's used to being
inside, keep the screened window open when convenient. They love
the breeze, the smells, and (no doubt) the natural sounds.

Build stuff for it to climb on. They need exercise.

DO NOT DECLAW IT. Claws are the essence of a cat. You can clip
them, but do not remove them.

Good luck and have fun.





--
Any replies to this post go to an unmonitored location...

Mack A. Damia wrote:
Hello everybody! I have a female cat, Pookie, who adopted me on
January 5, 2011. She was probably dropped off in our small community
in a box full of kittens, and she managed to squeeze through two
fences and get onto my enclosed porch.

In March of last year, I had her spayed, and in April, she had a
series of four innoculations - that's four visits at $20.00 per visit.

Now my vet is telling me that she needs to get them again. I am
skeptical - especially considering that she is strictly a house cat
and does not go outside.

You know, something akin to asking the fox if he will take care of the
hens; asking the vet if the cat needs shots?

Your advice will be appreciated. I'm certain you've talked about this
before, so excuse me for not searching the archives.

Why did the vet say she needed her shots again? Are they booster shots? How
long has it been since the first time? Ours get a checkup and shots about
once a year. If you want cheap, then bring her to the vet yourself, Our vet
is a roving vet, and she comes to the house, but it is expensive, so I
wouldn't recommend it if your strapped for cash.

On Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:32:39 -0700, "Bill Graham"
wrote:

Mack A. Damia wrote:
Hello everybody! I have a female cat, Pookie, who adopted me on
January 5, 2011. She was probably dropped off in our small community
in a box full of kittens, and she managed to squeeze through two
fences and get onto my enclosed porch.

In March of last year, I had her spayed, and in April, she had a
series of four innoculations - that's four visits at $20.00 per visit.

Now my vet is telling me that she needs to get them again. I am
skeptical - especially considering that she is strictly a house cat
and does not go outside.

You know, something akin to asking the fox if he will take care of the
hens; asking the vet if the cat needs shots?

Your advice will be appreciated. I'm certain you've talked about this
before, so excuse me for not searching the archives.

Why did the vet say she needed her shots again? Are they booster shots? How
long has it been since the first time? Ours get a checkup and shots about
once a year. If you want cheap, then bring her to the vet yourself, Our vet
is a roving vet, and she comes to the house, but it is expensive, so I
wouldn't recommend it if your strapped for cash.

I suppose they are booster shots; she got the initial ones in April of
last year, but I question them because she is strictly a house cat and
does not come into any contact with other cats.

I have done research on the Internet, and the results seem to be
mixed. Some sites say they are not necessary if the cat doesn't go
outside; other websites say get them every year regardless.

I'm elderly, and we had cats all the time when I was growing up. I
just don't remember all this fuss every year.

Cost isn't really a factor, but the bother is. I live in Mexico, and
I think there are more vets than Carters has liver pills. I just
don't like getting ripped off.
--

On Tue, 24 Apr 2012 02:14:13 +0000 (UTC), John Doe
wrote:


Good luck and have fun.

She was only a few months old when she adopted me last year; I have
had her for well over a year, so she is no longer a stray.
--

Hi Mack--

First, kudos to you for adopting this cat. IMO, I would not get the
vaccines this year. The standards for vaccine frequency has changed.
Most vaccines can last for three years or more. I found this article
that explains the frequency nicely: http://www.2ndchance.info/vaccat.htm

Rene

On Tue, 24 Apr 2012 06:27:02 -0700 (PDT), Rene
wrote:

Hi Mack--

First, kudos to you for adopting this cat. IMO, I would not get the
vaccines this year. The standards for vaccine frequency has changed.
Most vaccines can last for three years or more. I found this article
that explains the frequency nicely: http://www.2ndchance.info/vaccat.htm

Hi Rene, thanks for your reply. I have a friend in San Diego, and he
has had cats all his life. His twenty-four year old feral cat who
stayed under his bed all the time just died last year, but he told me
not to get the shots except for the first year which has already been
taken care of last year. All of his cats are house cats, too.

I'm not going to get them for Pookie.
--

Mack A. Damia wrote:
On Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:32:39 -0700, "Bill Graham"
wrote:

Mack A. Damia wrote:
Hello everybody! I have a female cat, Pookie, who adopted me on
January 5, 2011. She was probably dropped off in our small
community in a box full of kittens, and she managed to squeeze
through two fences and get onto my enclosed porch.

In March of last year, I had her spayed, and in April, she had a
series of four innoculations - that's four visits at $20.00 per
visit.

Now my vet is telling me that she needs to get them again. I am
skeptical - especially considering that she is strictly a house cat
and does not go outside.

You know, something akin to asking the fox if he will take care of
the hens; asking the vet if the cat needs shots?

Your advice will be appreciated. I'm certain you've talked about
this before, so excuse me for not searching the archives.

Why did the vet say she needed her shots again? Are they booster
shots? How long has it been since the first time? Ours get a checkup
and shots about once a year. If you want cheap, then bring her to
the vet yourself, Our vet is a roving vet, and she comes to the
house, but it is expensive, so I wouldn't recommend it if your
strapped for cash.

I suppose they are booster shots; she got the initial ones in April of
last year, but I question them because she is strictly a house cat and
does not come into any contact with other cats.

I have done research on the Internet, and the results seem to be
mixed. Some sites say they are not necessary if the cat doesn't go
outside; other websites say get them every year regardless.

I'm elderly, and we had cats all the time when I was growing up. I
just don't remember all this fuss every year.

Cost isn't really a factor, but the bother is. I live in Mexico, and
I think there are more vets than Carters has liver pills. I just
don't like getting ripped off.

I agree. (about getting ripped off) But your cat could escape. Or, you could
die, and she might become an "outside" cat. So it probably would be a goodf
idea to keep its shots up to date. Also, I don't know much about Mexican cat
diseases. It may be that there are disease carrying insects common only to
Mexico, that may come into your home and bite your cat. and one or more of
the shots may protect against this. Perhaps a Mexican vet who monitors this
list may tell us.

On Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:56:16 -0700, "Bill Graham"
wrote:

Mack A. Damia wrote:
On Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:32:39 -0700, "Bill Graham"
wrote:

Mack A. Damia wrote:
Hello everybody! I have a female cat, Pookie, who adopted me on
January 5, 2011. She was probably dropped off in our small
community in a box full of kittens, and she managed to squeeze
through two fences and get onto my enclosed porch.

In March of last year, I had her spayed, and in April, she had a
series of four innoculations - that's four visits at $20.00 per
visit.

Now my vet is telling me that she needs to get them again. I am
skeptical - especially considering that she is strictly a house cat
and does not go outside.

You know, something akin to asking the fox if he will take care of
the hens; asking the vet if the cat needs shots?

Your advice will be appreciated. I'm certain you've talked about
this before, so excuse me for not searching the archives.

Why did the vet say she needed her shots again? Are they booster
shots? How long has it been since the first time? Ours get a checkup
and shots about once a year. If you want cheap, then bring her to
the vet yourself, Our vet is a roving vet, and she comes to the
house, but it is expensive, so I wouldn't recommend it if your
strapped for cash.

I suppose they are booster shots; she got the initial ones in April of
last year, but I question them because she is strictly a house cat and
does not come into any contact with other cats.

I have done research on the Internet, and the results seem to be
mixed. Some sites say they are not necessary if the cat doesn't go
outside; other websites say get them every year regardless.

I'm elderly, and we had cats all the time when I was growing up. I
just don't remember all this fuss every year.

Cost isn't really a factor, but the bother is. I live in Mexico, and
I think there are more vets than Carters has liver pills. I just
don't like getting ripped off.

I agree. (about getting ripped off) But your cat could escape. Or, you could
die, and she might become an "outside" cat. So it probably would be a goodf
idea to keep its shots up to date. Also, I don't know much about Mexican cat
diseases. It may be that there are disease carrying insects common only to
Mexico, that may come into your home and bite your cat. and one or more of
the shots may protect against this. Perhaps a Mexican vet who monitors this
list may tell us.

She's gotten out; it's more of a game with her, though. I'll chase
her from the front to the back and then lose sight of her. When I
come back into the house, she's laying there innocent and wide-eyed as
if nothing has happened!

She was given four shots last year. Leukemia, rabies and two shots
that covered three conditions each. They were given two weeks apart.
I wouldn't mind so much if they were given all at once - or even two
times, but I dislike having to go through all the mess of taking her
four times.

My friend believes in getting them the initial shots and then letting
their own immune systems build up. Sounds like a good idea to me. Of
course I wouldn't be talking this way if she was an outdoor cat.
--

My friend believes in getting them the initial shots and then letting
their own immune systems build up. *Sounds like a good idea to me. *Of
course I wouldn't be talking this way if she was an outdoor cat.
--

What you could do in a year or two is have a titer panel done (it's a
blood test), and it will show her immunity to diseases. I had one done
on our oldest a few years ago, and even after no vaccines for 7+
years, he still had immunity to the basic diseases. Just something to
keep in mind.

Rene