Kitten Vaccinations: Types of Vaccinations

Cats can be extremely good companions. They are sensitive, private creatures, and they do not need constant attention from their owners in order to be happy. Cats do not require much supervised exercise and, consequently, they are excellent pets for the elderly and for people with busy lives.

Although cats are friendly and emotional by nature, they are noted for being unfaithful. Many cats have two or more homes and may develop a routine where they spend part of each day with different people. It is common for a cat to breakfast at one houses, lunch at a second and dine at a third; this can lead to obesity on what appears to be a normal diet.

Taking care of your cat means providing it with the lifestyle that suits its needs. Ideally, cats should be allowed to roam freely outdoors. This enables they get adequate exercise, and can satisfy their natural curiosity and develop their hunting instincts all at the same time. In urban areas, if you live in an apartment, it may be safer to house your cat indoors permanently. In this case, you will need to provide plenty of opportunity for play. Cats become bored easily, and a lack of stimulation may encourage the onset of listlessness and ill health.

In the household the cat will need a place of its own to rest and sleep,its own food and water, and a litter tray for hygiene purposes. If you want the cat to be house-trained, you will also need to make sure it can get in and out of the building easily. This may mean installing a cat flap.

In recent years, the vaccination of cats has become more popular. The three most common vaccines give protection against feline infectious enteritis (FIE), feline influenza (cat flu) and feline leukemia (FeLV). An initial course of two injections, the first at nine weeks are usually given, and yearly boosters are recommended thereafter.

FIE causes vomiting and diarrhea, and the cat develops a very high temperature. Before the vaccine was introduced, it killed a great many cats by dehydration due to the bowel symptoms. Cat flu is caused by two viruses: the feline rhinotracheitis (FCV). FVR is the more severe of the two, causing coughing, sneezing, and nasal and eye discharges.

FVC has milder discharges but more gum inflammation and mouth ulcers. Neither FCV nor FVR is usually deadly but the infection can linger on in the form of snuffles, and some cats become symptomless carriers of the disease. When stressed, these cats develop mild symptoms and spread the virus.

FeLV suppresses the activity of the cat's immune system, allowing a wide range of symptoms to develop. It often results in the death of the cat after several months of illness. The virus is spread mainly in the cat's saliva. It is a disease of cats that fight a lot, and of cats in large colonies, who share the same food and water bowls. It should not be a threat in a well-run boarding cattery, where the feeding and grooming utensils are properly cleaned, and the cats do not mix with each other.

A vaccine exists against the chlamydia organism, which can cause not only mild eye and nasal symptoms, but more importantly, infertility and abortion. This vaccine is used mainly in breeding colonies to protect against infertility.