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Tips for Cat Vaccination
When your kitten is more than nine weeks old, it is time for vaccinations to boost its immunity. Just as your baby gets vaccines to protect her from diseases like polio and tuberculosis, so your cat too needs certain protective measures. In order to know what vaccines do for your kitten, perhaps it would be best if we took a brief look at what actually happens within the feline immune system.
Right after birth
Just after the cat gives birth to her kittens, her milk is sufficient to protect them from most diseases. As in human babies, mother’s milk provides the best immunity initially. After a certain period, a kitten develops its own antibodies that act as its protective shield. But in the long run, a kitten will need a helping hand to boost its immunity, and this is where vaccines come in.
Major diseases that your cat needs protection from
- Feline leukemia: This is an infectious viral disorder in cats but can easily be kept at bay if your kitten has received early vaccination. Even if your cat mingles with an infected cat, it is well protected.
- Rabies: All of us know how dangerous this is. Basically, it is a viral disease that can be fatal and is extremely contagious as well, spreading easily from an infected cat to a healthy one, and thence to humans. Vaccination against rabies is mandatory even for street cats and the federal and state governments take all possible care to make sure strays are vaccinated.
- Calcivirus: Another serious viral disease in cats is Calcivirus infection. This is a respiratory disease and highly infectious too. If a cat is once affected, it will become a carrier later and infect other cats as well.
- Chalmydia: This is a common cat disorder caused by bacterial infection and is related to the cat’s respiratory system. In this disorder, the cat is affected in the nose, lungs and even sometimes the eyes. As we are afflicted by cough and cold, so are cats by chalmydia. And only vaccination can protect your cat from this.
Had cats been human beings, they could have walked down to the hospital on their own and got vaccinated. As it is, it is our duty to protect our beloved pets from these life-threatening diseases and make sure they don't suffer untold agony.