Ask a Vet: What Vaccines Do Cats Need?
When you bring your kitten to their first vet visit, you are presented with an often overwhelming amount of vaccine information making it hard to determine exactly what vaccines your cat needs. Unfortunately, with the limited time available during your pet’s appointment it can be difficult to discuss every recommendation and available options at length. Well, this article will go over cat vaccines in hope to answer any questions you may have, clarify any confusion, and hopefully give you the knowledge to determine what vaccines your specific cat needs. Let’s get started!
What vaccines are available for cats?
The vaccines available for cats include: rabies, FVRCP (feline distemper), and FeLV (feline leukemia virus). Below I will go over what each vaccine is for.
Rabies
The Rabies vaccine is a “core” vaccine, which means the vaccine is recommended for all cats. Some states require that cats be vaccinated for rabies by law.
- Vaccination timeline:
- 1st vaccine: given at 16 weeks of age
- Vaccine boosted: 1 year after initial vaccination
- All remaining vaccine boosters given every 1-3 years
- Cause: Rabies virus
- Spread: Bite from an infected animal (ie, racoons, bats, skunks, and foxes)
- Symptoms:
- Behavior changes
- Drooling
- Muscle spasms
- Progressive paralysis
- Death
- Testing/Diagnosis: testing of brain tissue from the suspected infected animal
- Treatment: no specific treatment exists at this time
Most pet owners are somewhat familiar or have heard about rabies. Rabies is a deadly viral disease that affects the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and can infect all mammals, including humans. Most commonly, rabies is transmitted through a bite of an infected animal; such as racoons, bats, skunks, and foxes. The nearer the bite is to the brain and spinal cord, the quicker the virus can reach the central nervous system. However, symptoms can start anywhere from 10 days to 4 months or even longer after exposure. When symptoms start can also depend on the severity of the bite and how much virus was transmitted.
Therefore, if a cat is bitten by a potentially rabid animal or if a cat bites a human, it is required by law to quarantine the cat for a set number of days to monitor for rabies symptoms. This is for public safety purposes to prevent the spread of rabies.
FVRCP (feline distemper)
The FVRCP vaccine is a “core” vaccine. This means it is recommended for all cats.
- Vaccination timeline:
- 1st vaccine: given at 6-8 weeks of age
- Vaccine boosted: every 2-4 weeks until >16 weeks
- Final kitten booster (once >16 weeks) is good for 1 year
- All remaining vaccine boosters given every 3 years
**If a cat is >16 weeks when he/she gets their first vaccine, it needs to be boosted once in 2-4 weeks and then is good for 1 year. Again, all remaining vaccine boosters are then given every 3 years
**NOTE: The FVRCP vaccine covers not only feline distemper (feline viral rhinotracheitis), but also calicivirus, and parvovirus.
1. Feline viral rhinotracheitis (herpes virus type 1 [FHV-1])
The FVRCP vaccine is recommended for all cats, even carriers of the virus. Routine vaccination of carrier cats helps reduce the occurrence of virus reactivation.
- Cause: Herpes virus type 1 [FHV-1]
- Spread: Direct contact of respiratory (lung) and ocular (eye) secretions
- Symptoms:
- Conjunctivitis (inflammation of the tissue surrounding the eye)
- Squinting
- Nose and/or eye discharge
- Corneal ulcers
- Sneezing/coughing
- Drooling
- Fever
- Decerased energy
- Decreased appetite
- Testing/Diagnosis: testing of nasal (nose) and conjunctiva (eye) swabs
- Treatment: supportive care to help decrease symptums +/- antiviral therapy
Herpes virus type 1 causes feline viral rhinotracheitis and is a component of the FVRCP vaccine. It is a major cause of upper respiratory disease in cats, and It is the most common cause of feline conjunctivitis, which is inflammation of the tissues surrounding the eye.
Like other herpes viruses, this virus is species specific. This means it cannot be spread to people, dogs, etc. However, it is very contagious among cats. The virus is spread via contact with eye/nose secretions or saliva of an infected cat.
Once infected, a cat typically becomes symptomatic within 2-5 days, and the infection typically lasts for 10-20 days. However, it is important to note that all infected cats will become carriers of the virus. Unfortunately, this means the virus can become reactivated in times of stress/illness, and the cat may always be infectious to other cats.
2. Feline Calicivirus
The FVRCP vaccine is recommended for all cats, since it is highly infectious and apparently healthy cats can be carriers.
- Cause: Feline calicivirus (FCV)
- Spread:
- Direct contact with an infected cat
- Aerosolized respiratory droplets (saliva, snot, etc.)
- Contact with contaminated environment (ie. water/food bowls, blankets, etc.)
- Symptoms:
- Oral ulcers
- Nasal and/or eye discharge
- Corneal ulcers
- Sneezing/coughing
- Drooling
- Fever
- Decreased energy
- Decreased appetite
- Testing/Diagnosis: Testing nasal (nose) and conjunctiva (eye) swabs
- Treatment: supportive care to help decrease symptoms +/- antiviral therapy
Calicivirus is another component of the FVRCP vaccine. This virus is highly contagious and a common cause of upper respiratory infections and oral disease in cats. It causes similar symptoms as feline viral rhinotracheitis (see above), but it can also cause oral ulcers as well. Symptoms typically develop 2-6 days following exposure and can last up to 2-3 weeks. In addition, infected cats can become carriers of the virus. However, unlike feline rhinotracheitis, most cats are only latent carriers for a few months, but a small portion of cats will remain carriers of the virus for life.
As stated earlier, calicivirus is highly contagious. To make matters worse, the virus is can survive for up to a week in a contaminated environment. In addition, since calicivirus is highly infectious and apparently healthy cats can be carriers it is difficult to prevent exposure. Preventing direct contact of your cat with other cats will help minimize their risk of becoming infected, but vaccination is ideal.
3. Panleukopenia (a.k.a feline distemper or feline parvovirus)
The FVRCP vaccine is recommended for all cats because despite treatment, the prognosis for panleukopenia is poor.
- Cause: Feline panleukopenia virus (a virus of the parvovirus family)
- Spread:
- Direct contact with an infected cat
- Contact with a contaminated environment (water, food bowls, litter boxes, etc.)
- Symptoms:
- Weakness
- Decerased energy
- Diarrhea +/- blood
- Vomiting
- Dull/rough haircoat
- Dehydration
- Testing/Diagnosis: Blood testing and a physical exam to make a presumptive (suspected) diagnosis
- Treatment: supportive care (often fluids and antibiotics to address secondary bacterial infections resulting from a poor immune system)
Feline panleukopenia is another component of the FVRCP vaccine. Feline panleukopenia can be confusing because it can also be referred to as feline distemper or feline parvovirus. In dogs, distemper is associated with respiratory (lung) disease, while parvo is associated with GI (gut) disease. Feline panleukopenia is similar to that of parvo in dogs, but unfortunately has a worse prognosis.
Feline panleukopenia is caused by a parvovirus and can cause symptoms, such as depression, bloody diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. However, most infections do not cause symptoms.
If a cat is showing symptoms of possible feline panleukopenia, the vet will recommend blood testing for further evaluation. A presumptive (suspected) diagnosis is made based on symptoms and evidence of low white blood cells (which respond to infection) on blood testing.
After suspected diagnosis, prompt treatment via supportive care is crucial. Supportive care typically starts with hospitalization for IV fluids and antibiotics. Unfortunately, even with prompt supportive care, the prognosis for an infected cat is guarded. This shows why vaccination with the FVRCP vaccine is so important for cats.
FeLV (feline leukemia virus)
The FeLV vaccine is recommended for all cats < 1 year old, and outdoor cats.
- Vaccination timeline:
- 1st vaccine: given at < 16 weeks of age
- Vaccine boosted: 3-4 weeks after the initial vaccine
- All remaining vaccine boosters are given yearly for high risk cats
- Cause: Leukemia virus
- Spread: any close contact with an infected cat (sharing food bowls, sharing litter boxes, bite wounds, mutual grooming, etc.)
- Symptoms:
- Decreased appetite
- Weight loss
- Poor hair coat
- Gingivitis (inflammation of the gums)
- Stomatitis (inflammation of the mouth)
- Urinary tract infections
- Respiratory infections
- Diarrhea
- Seizures
- Eye problems
- Testing/Diagnosis: screen for the presence of viral antigen (protein) in a blood sample and/or look for antibodies to the virus in a blood sample
- Treatment: no cure exists, treatment focuses on treating secondary illnesses (ie. infections)
Feline leukemia virus is once of the most common infectious diseases in cats, but the prevalence has decreased over the years thanks to an effective vaccine and accurate testing. The virus is shed in the saliva, feces, urine, and milk of an infected cat. Therefore, any close contact with an infected cat can spread the virus.
Although some cat’s own immune system can eliminate the virus, 30-40% of cats will become chronic carriers. Chronic carriers with a healthy immune system can typically prevent the virus from replicating and therefore prevent shedding of the virus. However, cats that have a poor immune system due to illness or medications are at a greater risk of shedding the virus and developing clinical signs.
Because there is no cure for FeLV currently available, treatment is focused on addressing secondary issues/illnesses. In addition, the best way to protect a cat from getting FeLV is to prevent their exposure to FeLV infected cats. This includes keeping your cat indoors, routinely testing your cat for FeLV if they do go outside, testing cats prior to introducing them into a home, and housing infected cats away from non-infected cats.
In addition, kittens should be vaccinated against FeLV. Although the vaccine is not 100% effective, it reduces the risk of FeLV infection for cats that are at risk of being exposed to the virus. However, adult cats over 1 year of age are only recommended to get the vaccine if they are at risk of exposure (ie. outdoor cats). Again, since not all vaccinated cats will be completely protected from the virus, it is important to continually focus on preventing exposure.
References
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