Marie: There's lost of info out there now about over-vaccination, so it's something to look into. You can google that term as it is related to cats and you will find a ton of info. If the cat is healthy, then "generally" vaccinations are safe. However, it's important to realize that a vaccination triggers an immune response in the body. In a cat with a defective immune system due to Felv, this can definitely cause additional problems. Vaccines are stressful even for a healthy cat and many people are getting away from doing them. The frequent "adverse reactions" that a completely healthy cat will have to a Rabies and/or an FVRCP shot I believe is evidence of the fact that they are stressful to the cat's body and immune system. A lot of vets- with homeopathic/holistic mostly leading the charge, but conventional vets are doing it now too- now recommend running "titers" to detect any antibodies in the blood first before doing any vaccs. If there are antibodies present in the blood already, there really isn't a need for that vacc. I recommend asking your vet merely to check for titers first before considering any additional vaccs. As to the Rabies shot, there is new evidence out there now that appears to demonstrate that one Rabies shot should be sufficient, especially for an indoor cat, for the lenght of the cat's life. Another thing to google is the incidence of rabies in felines in your area....I bet you it's non-existent. Because rabies is not the problem it used to be and one shot appears to protect a cat for life, a lot of people are moving away from having rabies done again. There is a waiver form your vet can fill out and you submit that allows you to get out of having a rabies done. My holistic vet has mentioned doing this many times. I personally haven't done this yet, but I know a lot of people on the FIP support group who are doing this now. Many of them feel that vaccines are one of the triggers for a cat who mutates the coronavirus into FIP. Many of them had perfectly healthy cats until just after first shots and/or boosters were done, so they are on the cutting edge of the anti-vaccine movement currently and most of the information I am passing on to you I have gotten from them and also my holistic vet. Since I feel that Brumley most likely had FIP, I also wonder if the vaccs he was given when already stressed from being at Animal Control as a baby, not being nursed long enough, if at all, being neutered immediately at 2 lbs, suffering from reoccurring URIs and being vaccinated on top of all that, could definitely have been the trigger for that poor little guy's body inappropriate mutation of the coronavirus into FIP. So I am myself taking a serious look at the vaccine issue and plan to go the titer route when it comes to my cats needed boosters, etc. I will try to get more direct info from the FIP group (website links with info, etc.) and pass it on to this site. caroline
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2008 14:36:44 -0800From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: spooked about vaccinationsTo: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Hello, I haven't been posting in a while. A year ago, I had a cat who died within several weeks of being dx with feline leukemia. Other than ocassionally sneezing, Cakooie seemed like a healthy kitty. He was my first cat, so there was a lot i didn't know about feline dieases. But he ate well and was playful. Then three weeks after he had his vaccinations, he went down quickly. His sister, Chica, has tested negative twice within 90 days. I think she will be okay. It's time to have her vaccinations again, and I'm just scared because of what happened to my other cat. I know the vaccinations didn't cause him to get leukemia. I think they did make him worse. He was vaccinated for rabies and distemper. Chica is an indoor cat, so I don't know what vaccinations she really needs. Rabies is required. She probably should get a booster for distemper. Do you think after two negative tests and a good checkup that it is safe to assume she's felv free? Are vaccinations generally safe? Thanks for your input. Marie Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. _________________________________________________________________ Climb to the top of the charts! Play the word scramble challenge with star power. http://club.live.com/star_shuffle.aspx?icid=starshuffle_wlmailtextlink_jan
