Yearly Exam: What to Expect?

[lisahe]

There are other risks that need to be calculated, more likely in my case than your example: like when a cat bites his human, or what’s worse, some other human - as unlikely as it is, it still can happen and the consequences for unvaccinated cat can be horrible. I’m aware of that. In my case the easiest and most likely scenario is moving to the rabies free country or the one when rabies shot are not legally required and any risk is close to zero (like in most European countries). That’s what I meant when I said about skipping this vaccine.

Yes, moving to a rabies-free country is the best option! You're so right about those other risks and I know you are very cautious about your cats as well as public health (it sounds like the others commenting on this thread are, too).

But... I've seen enough posts on the site about not getting rabies shots (plus remember being lax about lateness in the past, in part because I knew immunity can last longer than the vaccine's labeled use so just slacked) that whenever the topic comes up, I always mention the worst-case stuff. Our two situations -- the first of which even involved getting rabies shots for us since there had been cat scratches and even a small nip/bite when the cat had a seizure -- really brought out the seriousness of it all, even for indoor cats.

 

[banana queen]

Generally when it comes to an annual vet visit, unless you mention any concerns, they will give the cat a feel all over to check for any lumps or anything, listen to their chest with a stethoscope, weigh them, look in their eyes, ears and mouth and vaccinate them.

May I ask what exactly your concerns about vaccinations are?

 

[lucicat]

Yes, moving to a rabies-free country is the best option! You're so right about those other risks and I know you are very cautious about your cats as well as public health (it sounds like the others commenting on this thread are, too).

But... I've seen enough posts on the site about not getting rabies shots (plus remember being lax about lateness in the past, in part because I knew immunity can last longer than the vaccine's labeled use so just slacked) that whenever the topic comes up, I always mention the worst-case stuff. Our two situations -- the first of which even involved getting rabies shots for us since there had been cat scratches and even a small nip/bite when the cat had a seizure -- really brought out the seriousness of it all, even for indoor cats.

(I'm not OP but very interested in this conversation)
Rabies is one that I know I will do. .. legally required and we do have bats in our area.. .BUT I still have concerns with risks of being vaccinated yearly. So I will choose the 3y rabies shot and hope that this mitigates the risk of vaccine injury.

So if a cat has a seizure they start thinking it might be rabies??

 

[lisahe]

(I'm not OP but very interested in this conversation)
Rabies is one that I know I will do. .. legally required and we do have bats in our area.. .BUT I still have concerns with risks of being vaccinated yearly. So I will choose the 3y rabies shot and hope that this mitigates the risk of vaccine injury.

So if a cat has a seizure they start thinking it might be rabies??

I'm the same way: we get the three-year rabies shot. A friend lost a cat to injection-site sarcoma so I, too, try to avoid as many shots as possible!

As for the other cat, she had a combination of symptoms (including very poor neurological function), much more than just the seizure, and the vets weren't sure what was wrong. As I said, her overall condition was very poor: she'd been to emergency vets twice (including an overnight visit) and made multiple visits to the regular vet during the month she was with us. Rabies only came into things as a (distant) possibility because her previous people had let her outside and either she hadn't been vaccinated or there was no record. This was nearly 20 years ago so I don't remember all the details, though I do remember that I thought (and still think) peritonitis was the most likely cause; the prognosis for that was not good, particularly given how sick she was, which is why we had her put to sleep. I'm just glad that at least she was taken care of in her last weeks.

 

[Anoxia]

Hello, everyone! Life got a bit busy for a while there, so I really appreciate coming back to so many informative replies! One of my cats is fearful, so I think it will be helpful for us both to have an idea of what to expect going in! Last time we went to the vet, I saved my follow-up questions for the end, which unfortunately meant they kept taking her out and putting her back into her carrier and it caused a lot of stress. This time, I feel a lot more confident about coming in prepared and having most of my questions ready prior to the visit so we can avoid repeating the incident!

(Regarding my concerns about vaccines, it was uncertainty between getting them yearly or every three years, since I had grown up being told the former but had read up about the latter. Thankfully this topic was addressed in a few posts! )

Thank you so much, everyone!