Confused About Booster Shots

[sara729]

So I adopted a kitten a little over a week ago, the people at the shelter explained the shots to me but I was still pretty confused (plus the kitten crying in his box was distracting lol). They said he received some shots then will need boosters every few weeks. So if he was 2 months when I adopted him, when will he need booster shots again? How often do I keep having to take him to get shots? For those who have/had kittens, how many times in total did you have to take them to get shots and how expensive was it? Thanks in advance! Everyone here is so helpful

 

[Kieka]

It varies depending on which shot, your vets vaccine opinion and sometimes even the specific brand. There are some general guidelines but those depends on which vaccine you are talking about.

With one of my cats it was about every other week for a month, the other my vet spread out her shots so it was once a week for nearly two months and she only got one shot at a time.

I'd recommend calling the adoption center and asking the specific questions. Or if you have a vet you will be using long term contact them. With my cats I've always done a health check with their vet right after adoption just to establish a baseline and set up all their kitten appointments.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

You might find this interesting and generally informative, as well

Cat Vaccinations: A Quick & Useful Guide

 

[Daisy6]

The rabies shot cannot be given to kittens under 4 months old. Then it is annual the rest of the cat's life.

For the FVRCP vaccine (aka combo shot) immunizes cats against three diseases. A booster can be given no earlier than two weeks after the first. It immunizes a kitten or cat against three viruses and is probably the one you are confused about.

 

[catwoman707]

Kittens need what is called their "core" vaccines. This means an FVRCP vaccine is given 3 times, 3 weeks apart. Usually start about 8 weeks but coming from the shelter then likely sooner due to high risk of exposure.
At the vet it costs about $25.00 each time, shelter is cheaper, maybe 10-15.
So kitten needs 2 more of the core vacs.
Around 6 months get a rabies vaccine but only if it is required FOR CATS in the state where you live.
Is kitten spayed/neutered?

 

[catwoman707]

You might find this interesting and generally informative, as well

Cat Vaccinations: A Quick & Useful Guide

Wow this vet is really in to overvaccinating......
I am a firm believer that this is connected to the oh-so-common kidney disease that nearly all cats get as seniors. Because vaccines are very hard on the tiny immature kidneys of kittens.
He also states that vaccine reactions are rare, certainly not the case with rabies and felv given at a very young age.

 

[kashmir64]

Every one of my kittens got boosters every two weeks for a total of 4 shots. All mine were/are indoor only so I don't bother with rabies.

 

[Willowy]

I'm far more casual about kitten shots than puppy shots. I frequently don't get them vaccinated at all until they're 4 or 5 months old . Purely out of procrastination, not any particular beliefs on the subject. If they don't go outside they probably won't be exposed to anything nasty. I've never had one contract a vaccine-preventable illness. But if you have a lot of strays in your area, so that you have a high chance of walking through infectious substances, that would make it more important to get it done earlier.

Anyway, the main reason to give multiple vaccines to kittens is that their maternal antibodies interfere with the vaccines, and you don't know exactly when their immune systems are ready to develop long-lasting immunity. It's generally assumed that the maternal antibodies are gone after 16 weeks, although some are recommending waiting 18 weeks to be sure. So no matter how many baby shots they got, you want the last one to be after 16-18 weeks, to make sure it confers long-lasting immunity. You also want the rabies vaccine and the FeLV vaccine to be given after that age.

There's no special reason that kittens are given multiple shots. It's all about trying to guess when the maternal antibodies have worn off, and trying to protect them until then.

 

[jen]

Are vets really giving vaccines every week or every 2 weeks? That seems excessive to me. The clinics I have worked at and literally EVERY shelter I have worked for did kittens FVRCP combo vaccines at 8 weeks, 12 weeks, and 16 weeks with the addition of Rabies vaccine at 16 weeks also. I thought this was pretty standard.

The only exception would be an abandoned kitten or litter with no mother in a shelter environment that is under 8 weeks may start vaccines at 6 or 7 weeks instead if a foster wasn't immediately found.

 

[kashmir64]

Are vets really giving vaccines every week or every 2 weeks? That seems excessive to me. The clinics I have worked at and literally EVERY shelter I have worked for did kittens FVRCP combo vaccines at 8 weeks, 12 weeks, and 16 weeks with the addition of Rabies vaccine at 16 weeks also. I thought this was pretty standard.

The only exception would be an abandoned kitten or litter with no mother in a shelter environment that is under 8 weeks may start vaccines at 6 or 7 weeks instead if a foster wasn't immediately found.

That's a good point. Almost all my kittens were either shelter or abandoned. I know the shelter wanted to start the shots before people adopted them. My kittens now, I fostered until they were 11 weeks before I could adopt.

 

[orange&white]

I haven't adopted a young kitten from a shelter in....????...decades I guess. Tangent and Cosine were foster cats turned into "my cats" from the Humane Society, but they were already 8 months old, so I waited for their 1-year shots and didn't do any boosters since they are indoor-only.

With Farrell, the failed TNR (I socialized her as an indoor cat instead of releasing her) I didn't give her kitten vax because I didn't want to undo the progress on socialization. She got a 1-year checkup and all the 1-year old vax.

Dr. Jean Dodds is working on research to prove that vaccines (particularly rabies) have lasting effect probably for life after the 1-year injection. She is also concerned about organ-damage from life-long yearly boosters.

If I were to adopt a young kitten, I would follow her conservative protocol.

I followed her canine protocol when I got my Corgi as a puppy.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

He also states that vaccine reactions are rare, certainly not the case with rabies and felv given at a very young age.

I am constantly reminding people to require that their vet gives NON-adjuvanant vaccines.

 

[Daisy6]

Every one of my kittens got boosters every two weeks for a total of 4 shots. All mine were/are indoor only so I don't bother with rabies.

The adoption counselor told me "Aspen" (Daisy's first name) would have received a second FVRCP shot in two days if she had to wait that long to get a home, but they could not do it for a kitten who had only been there 13 days. (She was admitted on December 31 and joined my family on January 12.) When I told the vet that at her first appointment, he said no, she does not need it. She was 6.5 months old, so her booster shots were done.

If only there was a law requiring people to keep all cats indoors instead of getting a completely useless rabies shot! Once I talked to my vet about it and he said it's OK unless she bites someone, and then there is a 10-day quarantine. Stupid.

 

[Tashanasha]

Marx has gotten the FVRCP vacation when he was 2 months old, a booster 20 days after that and then again a booster 20 days later when we came to pick him up. He got the rabies shot then as well and we were told that he needs to get the boosters once a year for both.

 

[Daisy6]

I assume you mean vaccine, not vacation.

 

[Tashanasha]

Yes, autocorrect changed it, sorry.

 

[jen]

Marx has gotten the FVRCP vacation when he was 2 months old, a booster 20 days after that and then again a booster 20 days later when we came to pick him up. He got the rabies shot then as well and we were told that he needs to get the boosters once a year for both.

Yep I think that is pretty standard for the first part, however many vaccines become 3 year vaccines after that first year booster. If you find a cat that is older with unknown history some vets will require you to come back in a year for another and then it is 3 years AFTER that.

 

[Daisy6]

Yes, autocorrect changed it, sorry.

You need a new phone or tablet.

 

[Daisy6]

Yep I think that is pretty standard for the first part, however many vaccines become 3 year vaccines after that first year booster. If you find a cat that is older with unknown history some vets will require you to come back in a year for another and then it is 3 years AFTER that.

I asked several vets about the 1 year vs. 3 year rabies shots. All of them prefer the annual shot. They say the 3-year shot came first. What I don't understand is with a 3-year shot the risk of an injection site tumor (vaccine associated sarcoma) is higher than the 1-year shot. Can somebody explain this to me?

 

[jen]

So the yearly or every 3 year shots are FVRCP and Rabies. There is also FeLV which is only necessary for outdoor cats. So if they do FVRCP and Rabies every single year the likelihood of reaction would be higher I would think. Plus most cats carry the immunity for years well beyond the 3 years even. Plus does a YEARLY vaccine for any disease, for any living thing, even human sound right to you?