Cat Vaccination – Are Your Condemning Your Pet to Death?

Unfortunately there’s no getting away from that fact that vaccinating your cat is going to cost you money.

But your cat’s not sick or in pain, so why should you bother booking an appointment to see your vet and paying out for something that, on the face of it, your cat doesn’t need?

Death, is the reason. Painful death and the heartbreak it will bring to you and your family should your cat catch one of the preventable diseases that will needlessly end her life.

In all conscience, can you willfully ignore the lifelong protection from these diseases that vaccination will give your cat?

So, why vaccinate your cat?

To make sure that she is protected from the most dangerous viruses .

To do all you can to give her a healthy life.

To ensure that other cats aren’t exposed to infection.

To save having to face the decision to put her to sleep.

And as a bonus, keep future vet’s bills to a minimum!

There are three main diseases to vaccinate against:

Feline Influenza or Cat ‘Flu

As with human ‘flu, cat ‘flu is highly contagious but, unlike human ‘flu, accounts for a very high animal death rate.

Should your unvaccinated pet catch cat ‘flu, you can expect to see inflammation of the eyes, nose and windpipe. Your lovely cat will experience unpleasant discharges and will feel very unwell. She’ll also be running a fever and will have no interest in anything going on around her. Her appetite will disappear and she may suffer painful tongue ulcers. Your poor cat will be salivating, losing weight and condition, sneezing and struggling to breathe.

Every time your cat, sneezes or coughes, every droplet of mucus will carry the infection and the virus can spread through cat communities like wildfire.

So, if an infected cat is taken into an environment where there are many other animals, such as into a boarding cattery or to a cat show, all other cats will be exposed to the infection. Even a trip to the vets will put other patients at risk.

However, some cats are fortunate enough to recover from cat ‘flu but even so, they can remain a carrier of the virus for the rest of their lives, continuing to pose an infection threat to every unprotected cat they comes across.

Feline Infectious Enteritis (Distemper) – Feline Panleucopenia

Unborn or newborn kittens are particularly susceptible to this disease and it is not uncommon for it to prove fatal within a very short time after the symptoms appear – it’ really is that severe!

The cells of the gut wall, spleen, bone marrow, liver, lymph nodes and even sometimes, the brain will typically become affected and the incubation period is generally between two and nine days long.

Typical symptoms of distemper include vomiting, diarrhoea, apathy, a distinctive hunched posture and pitiful crying when handled. A sick cat is unlikely to recover.

This highly infectious disease can be transmitted by direct or indirect contact and even fleas can carry the virus from one cat to another.

Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) The cat form of AIDS

Whilst being harmless to humans, there is no cure for cats. Feline AIDS is easily spread by direct contact in animals and once infected, will certainly result in the eventual death of your pet.

The main symptoms of this disease are vomiting, weakness, diarrhoea, breathing problems and loss of weight. As your cat’s immune system is damaged by this virus, any infection will quickly spread and overcome your cat’s defences.

Sadly, any cat found to be infected will need to be put to sleep immediately as they pose too great an infection risk to other cats. Thankfully, vaccination will give your pet the protection she needs against contracting FeLV in the first place, thereby removing any future threat to her life or the lives of other cats.

So, there really is no choice if you truly care for your pet. Vaccination is the only course of action to follow, not only for the protection of your own cat but also for the cat population as a whole. Be sensible – get your cat protected today!