The old adage 'prevention is better than cure' has never been truer than in the field of cat vaccination. Over the past few years there has been intensive research into both the diseases of cats and how to prevent them. This leaflet is intended to inform you about the best ways to protect your cat from some of the more serious diseases it may encounter. If you would like further information, please make an appointment to consult one of our veterinary surgeons.

For many years we were only able to vaccinate your cat against two main diseases.

Cat Flu

Two different types of virus cause this. Cat flu affects the cats' upper airways resulting in severe nasal discharge from the nose and eyes, often leading to pneumonia. It is potentially fatal in young kittens and elderly cats, and is a most unpleasant disease in all age groups. Chronic illnesses, such as bronchitis, rhinitis, and sinusitis can be sequelae to infection. Immunisation should be regarded as essential for all cats. Two injections are given 3 weeks apart; the minimum age to start vaccination is 9 weeks. An annual booster is required.

Feline Infectious Enteritis. (Panleucopaenia)

This is a disease closely related to the better-known Parvovirus disease in dogs. It causes severe diarrhoea and is rapidly fatal in young kittens. Infection of adult cats during pregnancy can cause brain damage to the kittens. Vaccination is absolutely essential. The injections are started at 9 weeks of age, with a second injection at 12 weeks. An annual booster is recommended.

It is now possible to protect your cat against two further diseases: Chlamydia and Feline Leukaemia Virus (FeLV).

Chlamydia

This is a bacterial disease, which affects the eyes and upper airways. Recent research at Bristol University has shown that this disease is surprisingly widespread in the cat population. It causes severe inflammation of the eye with a marked discharge. There is often an unpleasant nasal discharge. In breeding queens it may result in infertility and abortions. Treatment is often prolonged requiring many weeks of antibiotics. Vaccination is considered important in breeding colonies, multi-cat households, or where the cat might have to stay regularly in a boarding cattery. Two injections are given 3 weeks apart, starting at 9 weeks of age. An annual booster is recommended.

Feline Leukaemia Virus (FeLV)

For many years FeLV has been the second most common cause of death in adult cats (after road traffic accidents). It is related to the human AIDS Virus, but is not infectious to humans. FeLV disables the white blood cells, preventing the cat from fighting off infections. As a result FeLV positive cats become constantly ill from all kinds of diseases, and often fail to respond as expected to routine treatments. At present it is estimated that 8.8% of British cats are FeLV positive (Idex survey) i.e. 600,000 cats! Each infected cat is capable of spreading the virus to other healthy cats. There is no effective treatment or cure. Producing a vaccine against this disease has required many years of research and represents a major scientific achievement, yet to be equalled in human medicine. The latest techniques in genetic engineering have been used to ensure that the vaccine is absolutely safe and effective.

One problem with vaccination is that the cat may already be infected with the virus unknown to either its' owner or the Veterinary surgeon. Vaccinating an infected cat will not do any harm, but of course it will not serve any useful purpose either. To avoid this problem many owners opt to have the cat blood tested before commencing a vaccination course. If the cat proves to be positive a further blood test is required after three months to establish whether the infection was transient or permanent. If the second test is also positive then unfortunately the cat is one of the 600,000 FeLV infected cats, your Veterinary surgeon will discuss this with you. We do not recommend blood testing in kittens less than 16 weeks of age, this is because the chances of infection with FeLV at that age are very small, and the test is also less accurate in this age group.

If the blood test is negative, or if you have opted not to test, two vaccinations are administered 15 - 21 days apart, the second of which must be given at or over 12 weeks of age.

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