Misha is a indoor kitten who is not in contact with any other animals. Is the Rabies vaccine really necessary? I've heard bad things about this vaccine and REALLY don't want to get it. Thank you!
Originally Posted by Lyrajean
The rabies vaccine can cause a fibrosarcoma at the injection site. Please talk to your Vet if you're concerned about vaccine side effects and what to look for.
That said please vacinate your cat against rabies. Rabies is 100 percent fatal to animals and humans. The risk of vaccine caused cancer in cats is somewhere between 1/1000 to 1/10000 according to websites I've read.
Rabies vaccination is also required in 41 out of 50 States. If your cat ever comes down with a illness that could be rabies and you cannot prove vaccination, your pet can be quarrantined, PTS, have its head chopped off and shipped to a State pathology lab for testing. This happened once to someone's cat when I was working at an Animal hospital in the US. The owners did not have any choice in the matter, was my understanding.
Ultimately its your choice, but weigh this against the very small risk of cancer.
I agree with both you that rabies is a scary disease and accidents happen even for indoor animals they can go outside...Originally Posted by farleyv
It does not matter if your animal goes out or not. My vet told me the story of a man who had indoor cats and did not get them vaccinated. Two bats got into his chimney and ended up in the basement where the cats came into contact with them. The bats were rabid, and the two cats had to be put down. Its not worth it! Rabies is always fatal and nothing to fool around with. It's the law in New York State and many others. Don't be over protective and worry about cancer and such. What if your cat gets outside by mistake? Do you want to have to worry about rabid animals coming into contact with it? Don't be foolish. Get the animal vaccinated. We are not talking FIV or FLV here.
Wow that's scary. Good thing I know now so that if it ever happens to me I can lie to the dr. and say it was a random stray cat that bit me and ran away. Yes I'm breaking the law but the law is stupid.Originally Posted by AlleyGirl
Also, if someone is visiting your home and the cat bites them, animal control will want proof of vaccination. If you don't have it, they can and will take your cat and put it in quarantine for 10 days. This happened to a member on this site last year and it was his own cat. Doctors are required by law to report all animal bites to animal control.
ETA: My boys get the Purevax rabies vaccine, which is supposed to be safer. http://www.vas-awareness.org/vaxreccs.htm
This for the most areas is true ... here they only have to report DOG bites as no other animals are required to have any shotsOriginally Posted by AlleyGirl
Also, if someone is visiting your home and the cat bites them, animal control will want proof of vaccination. If you don't have it, they can and will take your cat and put it in quarantine for 10 days. This happened to a member on this site last year and it was his own cat. Doctors are required by law to report all animal bites to animal control.
ETA: My boys get the Purevax rabies vaccine, which is supposed to be safer. http://www.vas-awareness.org/vaxreccs.htm
So, what about the kitties who take SubQ every day, or insulin shots? Does that mean every time the get a shot, they have the risk of cancer? I never heard of this risk with anything but vaccines??Originally Posted by ut0pia
And when it comes to fibrosarcoma, the irritation from the needle is what causes it, not the actual vaccination. Meaning, it doesn't matter what vaccine you're giving them, as long as they are getting it injected many times they are at risk. So it doesn't matter if it's rabies or distemper.
My kitties also get these for both Rabies and RCCPOriginally Posted by AlleyGirl
ETA: My boys get the Purevax rabies vaccine, which is supposed to be safer. http://www.vas-awareness.org/vaxreccs.htm
true thought ... a group of scientists gave a rat a shot of PURE water rat got cancer at site ... any foreign body or substance put in the body risk s a tumorOriginally Posted by carolinalima
So, what about the kitties who take SubQ every day, or insulin shots? Does that mean every time the get a shot, they have the risk of cancer? I never heard of this risk with anything but vaccines??
I'm pretty sure those who take subq's and insulin shots are also at a higher risk of cancer but no one looks at those things because they are absolutely necessary to keep the cat alive...I mean, obviously we'd choose to give them to the cat and take whatever small risk of cancer there is. When it comes to a shot that isn't going to do much for a cat who doesn't have a lot of exposure anyway, that's when we start to consider is it worth taking the risk. The best thing to do to be 100% safe is probably to do the internasal version but I don't think they have that for all shots.Originally Posted by carolinalima
So, what about the kitties who take SubQ every day, or insulin shots? Does that mean every time the get a shot, they have the risk of cancer? I never heard of this risk with anything but vaccines??
I don't get it.... So then how come the 1yr vaccine is safer than the 3yr? They are both injections... I think there is more to it than simply giving them an injection.Originally Posted by sharky
true thought ... a group of scientists gave a rat a shot of PURE water rat got cancer at site ... any foreign body or substance put in the body risk s a tumor
There's the reaction to the vaccine but that doesn't cause cancer it can just make the cat sick and possibly kill the cat very fast. I think they are separate issues, reaction and cancer when it comes to vaccines.Originally Posted by carolinalima
I don't get it.... So then how come the 1yr vaccine is safer than the 3yr? They are both injections... I think there is more to it than simply giving them an injection.