What Exactly Are Vaccines?
Vaccines help prepare the body's immune system to fight the invasion of disease-causing organisms. Vaccines contain antigens, which look like the disease-causing organism to the immune system but don't actually cause disease. When the vaccine is introduced to the body, the immune system is mildly stimulated. If a cat is ever exposed to the real disease, his immune system is now prepared to recognise and fight it off entirely or reduce its severity.
Vaccines are very important in managing the health of your cats. That said, not every cat needs to be vaccinated against every disease. It is very important to discuss with your veterinarian a vaccination protocol that’s right for your cat. Factors that should be examined include age, medical history, environment and lifestyle. Most vets highly recommend administering core vaccines to healthy cats.
These core vaccines are usually to protect against panleukopenia (feline distemper), feline calici virus, feline herpes virus type I (rhinotracheitis) and rabies. Non-core vaccines are given depending on the cat's lifestyle; these include vaccines for feline leukemia virus, Bordetella, Chylamydophila felis and feline immunodeficiency virus. Your veterinarian can determine what vaccines are best for your cat.
Some vaccines have to be given yearly others every three years. Your vet is the best person to speak to about your particular cat and his needs.
Kittens automatically receive antibodies in the milk their mother produces if their mother has a healthy immune system. These antibodies help protect against infectious disease until the kitten's own immune system develops. When the kitten is around six to eight weeks of age, your vet can begin to administer a series of vaccines at three- or four-week intervals until the kitten reaches 16 weeks of age.
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