The Importance of Kitten Vaccinations

1. Introduction

You've purchased all the toys and perches and a cozy bed for your new kitten, but there is something else you should invest in, and that is vaccinations. Just as human children need vaccines, kittens also need to be immunized to protect them from getting sick. Vaccines will help your kitten grow into a healthy and hearty adult. In this article, we cover the important aspects of kitten vaccinations. Continue reading to learn all the basics of kitten vaccinations, including:

Vaccines work by stimulating your cat's immune system in a way that prepares it to fight off future infections if it comes into contact with a disease. Vaccines use weakened or inactivated antigens (which are the components of viruses and bacteria that cause sickness) to trigger an immune response in your cat. Then, if your cat is ever exposed to those diseases, their immune system will have already fought off those antigens, so your cat won't get sick. Most vaccinated cats are never infected with the major diseases that the vaccines cover. Kittens are not innately immune to the diseases around them. Although a kitten's mother adds some passive immunity through her milk, that starts to fade around 8 to 12 weeks. Vaccines fill in where a mother's immunity leaves off, so even as young as 6 weeks of age, your kitten can benefit from vaccinations.

2. Common Vaccines for Kittens

Common vaccines protect kittens from serious diseases. Some vaccines are so important that they are recommended for every kitten. These are called core vaccines, and they protect against some of the most dangerous feline viruses. Other vaccines, called non-core vaccines, are recommended based on individual circumstances. For example, kittens that go outside the house are at risk for different diseases than kittens that never leave their owner's property. Your kitten's vaccination schedule will depend on his or her age, risk factors, and your veterinarian's recommendations. Be sure to talk to your veterinarian before vaccinating your kitten. You may want to schedule a physical exam first.

Core vaccines are the vaccines that every kitten should have. They protect against Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis, Calicivirus, and Panleukopenia, synthetic feline leukemia, and can protect against some forms of leukemia in kittens. In the first year of life, these vaccines are given in a series of two to three doses. Then, your kitten will receive a booster vaccine every one to two years. Non-core vaccines are vaccines that are recommended based on an individual kitten's circumstances and environment. For example, kittens that go outside may need vaccines that protect against FeLV and FIV. FeLV can be transmitted between cats, many cats will be exposed to the virus after a certain time, their immune system will eliminate the virus, and they will be able to enjoy a good quality of life.

1.1. Core Vaccines

There are two different types of vaccines generally required by cats: core vaccines and non-core vaccines. Core vaccines are vital to every cat because they protect against highly contagious and severe diseases. In order to help your young kitten’s immune system combat various forms of feline infections, core vaccines are essential for all cats. Non-core vaccines may not be provided to all cats because the danger of contamination may be low. Carefully evaluate your kitten's environment and habitat with your veterinarian to decide which vaccines are required. Below are the necessary core vaccinations for kittens.
* Feline Panleukopenia Virus (FPV): Also known as Feline Distemper, FPV is highly contagious and can be life-threatening, especially for young kittens. Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and dehydration.
* Feline Calicivirus (FCV): This virus is a common cause of feline respiratory infections, leading to symptoms such as sneezing, nasal discharge, mouth ulcers, and high fever.
* Feline Herpesvirus (FHV-1): Like FCV, FHV-1 causes upper respiratory infections and can result in fever, sneezing, nasal discharge, and eye ulcers. Chronic infection may lead to ongoing respiratory issues.
*Rabies is a virus that leads to inflammation of the brain. Its pre-vaccination must be administered by a licensed veterinarian. The schedule has been split into 2-3 month waves. The first vaccinations may be provided at the age of 6-12 weeks, and the next boosters may be given at the age of 1 year. Subsequently, vaccinations will be administered every year or every two years. If the cat comes into touch with additional cats, the last option is frequently suggested.

1.2. Non-Core Vaccines

Non-core vaccines are not considered essential for every kitten. Their necessity is influenced largely by the individual kitten's environment, habitat, and living conditions, as well as an evaluation of the overall lifestyle of the treated animal. Given that set of assumptions, non-core vaccines may be recommended based on risk assessment due to the likelihood of a given kitten's exposure to one of the following diseases: Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV): Spread through close contact, FeLV can cause cancers, anemia, vomiting, and diarrhea. Vaccination is highly recommended for cats that go outdoors or interact with outdoor cats.
Bordetella bronchiseptica, Chlamydophila felis, and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV).
Bordetella bronchiseptica is a bacterium that causes upper respiratory disease in cats. The vaccine will reduce the severity of the disease. Chlamydophila felis is an agent of feline conjunctivitis. Infections with this pathogen respond well to antibiotic therapy. It's more of a problem in catteries, multi-cat homes, and cats that socialize with others. The vaccine is a non-core vaccine due to this issue. Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is grossly under-diagnosed, making the incidence of infection difficult to ascertain in any given area. Cats that are allowed to roam outdoors or that live in a household with other cats who have outdoor access may benefit from vaccination. Direct control of free-roaming toms and early age castration have been shown to prevent the spread of the disease in a feral population. When in doubt, consult with your veterinarian before having an animal vaccinated with these non-core vaccines. Treatment for these diseases, when necessary, is readily available.
Kitten Vaccination Schedule Your kitten should begin their vaccination schedule as soon as they are old enough, typically at around eight weeks of age. They’ll need two injections spaced three to four weeks apart. After this initial course, booster injections are necessary at regular intervals to maintain immunity.
Here's a general vaccination timeline for kittens: 6–8 weeks: First round of core vaccinations (FPV, FCV, FHV-1) 9–11 weeks: Second round of core vaccinations 12–14 weeks: Third round of core vaccinations (if needed ), FeLV vaccination (if recommended) 16 weeks: Rabies vaccination (if required) Annually or every 1-3 years: Booster vaccinations Always consult your veterinarian to determine the best vaccination schedule for your kitten based on their risk profile and lifestyle.
What to Expect at the Vet During your kitten’s vaccination appointment, the vet will examine them to ensure they are healthy enough for the vaccine. The vaccines are usually administered through an injection, typically at the scruff of the neck, though other sites may be used. Some vaccines may be combined into a single injection, while others require multiple shots.
Do Vaccinations Guarantee Protection?
While vaccines greatly reduce the risk of infection, they cannot provide absolute protection. In cases where a vaccinated cat does contract a disease, the symptoms are usually milder, and the cat is less likely to spread the infection to other pets.

4. Vaccine Side Effects and Risks

Vaccine side effects or adverse outcomes are uncommon and rare, and the benefits of vaccination can easily outweigh the risk of these typically manageable side effects. These following details about the vaccine-related health risks should be noted and well understood by kitten owners and their veterinarians:

- Vaccine injections can cause pain, soreness, and irritation at the injection site simply due to the needling of the skin and injection of the vaccine solution. This pain may lead to localized swelling, the formation of a small lump at the vaccine injection site, and/or the development of a small hairless area on the skin. - Vaccine solutions, because of their pH and/or protein contents, can sometimes be irritating to tissues that they come into contact with, causing the animals some limited discomfort. Licking, scratching, or biting of the injection site may result in significant local irritation, a long-lasting lump, or even a localized infection or tissue abscess. - Vaccine preparations can cause allergic reactions in some cats, but these reactions are often difficult to differentiate from the common and usually mild allergic symptoms (e.g., redness and swelling) that are also caused by the vaccine injections themselves. Very rarely, vaccines can cause generalized allergic reactions, including life-threatening anaphylaxis, but generalized reactions are typically related to those vaccine solutions containing significant amounts of protein. - Finally, vaccines can (infrequently) cause the disease being vaccinated against in some animals, simply due to the biological properties of the vaccine virus in the formulation used. This outcome is actually quite typical of some viral vaccines, which are designed to replicate themselves for a short time inside the cat's body while inducing its immune system to protect against that virus in the future.

Extremely rare and severe vaccine side effects are possible in some individuals or in general:

- Certain vaccines can trigger particular chronic or systemic illnesses that are not typically recognized as side effects of vaccine preparation or that have only rarely been reported in the veterinary literature to be caused by vaccines. Because vaccines frequently provoke an immune response in the animals that receive them, it is therefore possible that they may exacerbate these conditions if they exist or "unmask" the future occurrence of these diseases in animals that are already in the early stages of developing them. - Vaccines injected under the skin can sometimes induce a persistent injection-site inflammation and/or an immune-mediated reaction at the injection site, which may lead to the appearance of a small, raised scar. This scar may appear as a lump or a nodule or as a blister-like fluid-filled spontaneous, painful blister. This lump or the appearance of a blister is generally thought to be benign but can generally be removed if found to be more severe in any single case. A more severe form in rare cases known as "vaccine-associated with the development of fibrosarcomas (cancerous growths with a likelihood of rapid spread to surrounding body tissues) has been associated with the vaccination of some cats with some killed vaccines, living vaccines, bacterial vaccines, and adjuvanted vaccines.

Although the risk of vaccination-related side effects like those listed above is real, the actual probabilities of their occurring are very low, and generally well-accepted, scientific vaccination protocols and ready access to veterinary care can easily handle and safely manage any resulting problems. Given the comparatively mild nature of 99.99 percent of the adverse events caused by vaccination, their relative causal rarity, and the sometimes very high risk for some animals of not being vaccinated, the potential benefits of vaccinating pets usually outweigh the possible severe or long-term vaccination-related health risks.

5. Conclusion and Importance of Regular Vaccinations

The vaccination schedule for kittens is not only cost-effective, but these vaccines are also good and necessary for the kittens. They reduce the risk of cats catching some of the most severe health symptoms, pain, and potential disfigurement from the disease symptoms associated with these conditions. These vaccinations require a series of "boosters" when the immunological system is immature and to have lifelong clinical protection and should be updated in uninterrupted or near-uninterrupted intervals depending on the disease to which the immunity is aimed. In the case of rabies vaccination required by law, it is lifetime if the animal is vaccinated according to the manufacturer's indication and law.

Vaccines are given to kittens to prevent them from acquiring contagious diseases that would impact their quality of life. Many of these contagious diseases currently have no cures and may have many future "ups and downs" that cannot be predicted. Keeping these issues in the backyard population and protecting not only the physical health of kittens, but within services by providing boarding, grooming, and feline training services to the rest of the cat population, saving time, effort, psychological burden, and, of course, money - spending on diagnostics, treatment, and supportive care. Many at the heart of fostering kittens, and doing the best they can for them, know the gift of health that comes with regular vaccines, at least as important as feeding a nutritious diet and providing proper housing and socialization, love, and care. (Goericke-Pesch & Packeiser2022)(Hartmann et al.2022)(Pereira et al.2022)(Dodds, 2021)

References:

Goericke-Pesch, S. and Packeiser, E.M., 2022. Reproductive management in catteries: optimising health and wellbeing through veterinarian-breeder collaboration. Journal of feline medicine and surgery, 24(9), pp.881-904. sagepub.com

Hartmann, K., Möstl, K., Lloret, A., Thiry, E., Addie, D.D., Belák, S., Boucraut-Baralon, C., Egberink, H., Frymus, T., Hofmann-Lehmann, R. and Lutz, H., 2022. Vaccination of immunocompromised cats. Viruses, 14(5), p.923. mdpi.com

Pereira, K.H.N.P., Fuchs, K.D.M., Corrêa, J.V., Chiacchio, S.B. and Lourenço, M.L.G., 2022. Neonatology: Topics on puppies and kittens neonatal management to improve neonatal outcome. Animals, 12(23), p.3426. mdpi.com

Dodds, W. J., 2021. Early life vaccination of companion animal pets. Vaccines. mdpi.com