Why Keeping Up with Your Cat’s Vaccinations in Pasadena, CA is Important
Cats and dogs alike need to be vaccinated as puppies and kittens to protect them from various illnesses and diseases that could be deadly to them and other animals around them. Dog and cat vaccinations are something most pet owners are aware of and are quite willing to undertake to provide their pets with proper care. Once an animal gets older, however, some people wonder if there is any need to keep vaccinating their pet against these illnesses.
While there are unique situations that might impact your choice to vaccinate your pet for certain diseases, such as a severe allergic reaction to a vaccine, you will need to consider vaccination a necessity. The benefits of vaccines wane over time, and leaving your cat unprotected could open them up to a deadly illness. Even indoor cats can be exposed to disease, whether through the addition of a new pet to your home or because they have escaped through an open door and gone roaming.
Why are Cat Vaccinations Needed?
If you are ready to learn more about keeping up with your cat’s vaccinations, you need to keep reading.
1. Prevention of Disease
The obvious reason that everyone vaccinates their pets is to prevent their pet from getting illnesses that might prove to be deadly. Young animals, in particular, are vulnerable to these diseases and can catch them quite readily from adults. However, the other factor that is often overlooked when considering whether to continue vaccinating your pets is that your animals might expose to other pets who are too young to be fully vaccinated. This means that your unvaccinated pet could expose a younger animal to a deadly disease.
Prevention of disease throughout the entire cat population is important and can only be done reliably if all cats are vaccinated on a regular schedule. There are already many stray animals that live in neighborhoods and near people’s apartments and homes that are not vaccinated. When your indoor cat is unprotected, they are contributing to the problem and not the solution.
2. Licensing Laws
In some states, vaccinations of certain kinds are required. You will need to be able to show proof that your cat was vaccinated by a veterinarian properly in order to license your pet to be in the state. This is a means by which the state helps prevent communicable diseases from making animals sick. You will almost always have to provide this information to get a license for your pet, no matter what state you live in.
Make sure if you are moving that you look into the licensing laws in your new county or state. Your pet might need to be vaccinated for different diseases when you move.
3. Travel or Boarding
If you have to board your cat or you are planning to travel, and your cat is coming along, vaccinations will be required to drop your cat off at the border or to move across state lines. You will need to be able to show that your cat is properly vaccinated when it is traveling or when it will be staying with a large group of other animals at a boarding location.
Vaccinations in these situations are good for your pet as well as others that might come into contact with you or your cat. Animals of all kinds that are brought into contact with large groups of other animals or that are traveling across state lines will have to be properly vaccinated or kept current on their original vaccinations. If your pet is caught up on their vaccines, you will be able to keep your travel plans in place, which can be very helpful.
4. In Case Your Pet Gets Out
Even if your cat is a totally indoor cat and lives alone, you need to keep them vaccinated just in case they escape and are roaming for a time. As mentioned before, most cities have lots of stray cats that your cat might interact with when they get out of the house. These animals are almost certainly not vaccinated, and your pet might contract various illnesses from them if they are not current on their own vaccines. Cats are not always easy to keep indoors, and an escaped cat can come back home quite sick.
Keeping your cat up to date on their vaccines is a good policy just in case your cat decides to go on an unplanned adventure. You will be doing your cat a favor by protecting them from disease, and you will also be making sure that your cat does not bring back an illness that will impact all of the pets in your home at the same time. There are many illnesses that can be prevented easily through vaccination, and this is a much kinder and more affordable option than treating a major illness caused when your cat makes a run for it one day.
Cat Vaccinations are Critical for their Health
Even if you have a cat that lives fully indoors, you should keep them up to date on their vaccinations. There are so many illnesses that can negatively impact your cat’s health over the long term, and many of them can be vaccinated against on a regular basis. Keeping your cat up to date on vaccines can help them to live a happier and healthier life, and you will be protecting your other pets from illness as well.
Vaccinations are most effective when all pet owners utilize them, and you can help provide herd immunity to all the cats in your community when you vaccinate your cat. Additionally, if your cat needs to travel or is going to be sent to the boarder while you are out of town, it will need to be vaccinated. Being on top of your cat’s vaccines will mean that you will not have to change your travel plans or find alternate solutions for care while you are away. No matter what age your pet is, cat vaccinations are a key part of providing effective care for their needs.
Is your cat due for vaccinations? Call Altadena Pet Hospital at (626) 798-0738 or book an appointment online today!