Kelly writes:
Hello! I have two beautiful Maine coon siblings that I have had since they were babies. They are indoor only cats and have no exposure to other animals of any kind.
My regular veterinarian is not happy that I have not been following her protocol for vaccines, including rabies. They had their initial shots when they were young, but since they have been a year old, I have not had them vaccinated.
The home I live in does not have a chimney or a basement or an attic and there is nothing that would allow another animal into the home to cause a problem. I live alone and rarely have other people even in the house.
I have strong concerns about vaccines, and over vaccinating in general, causing health problems and shortening our pet lives. is there a concern with me not choosing to vaccinate them at all?
Hi Kelly,
Great question!
Let’s start with the rabies vaccine. Most holistic vets recommend getting at least one rabies vaccine during kittenhood at a minimum. I generally recommend one at 16 weeks, and another at a year old. After that, it depends on a lot of things: the animal’s overall health, whether they had a bad reaction in the past, the animal’s lifestyle, how widespread rabies is in your area, etc.
Rabies is almost always fatal, and can be spread to humans, which is why we work so hard to prevent it with vaccines. Most vets these days recommend rabies vaccines every three years for adult cats. It’s pretty likely that the rabies vaccine provides immunity for longer than that, but it’s also a fatal disease, so it’s a balance between making sure our animals are protected without vaccinating them too much.
If you don’t want to vaccinate every three years, what you could do to make sure that your cats are still protected–and also make your vet feel better about your choice–is request a rabies titer. This is a blood test that checks for antibodies in your cat’s blood. If the titer is low, then you may want to vaccinate them again.
You might also ask your vet if they carry the reduced volume Purevax vaccine. It’s half the volume of a regular rabies vaccine, and it has no adjuvants in it (substances that cause inflammation to increase the immune response to the vaccine), so it is less likely to cause a reaction.
With respect to your kitties only being indoors, they are still at some risk—bats have an uncanny way of sneaking into houses, and if I had a dollar for every person who found a bat inside after swearing they couldn’t possibly get in, I’d be rich! Really! My own geriatric kitty once brought me a bat IN HER MOUTH in the middle of the night. The point being that bat exposure happens often enough with indoor kitties that your vet is right to be concerned about it.
Then there’s the issue of local laws. Most places have a legal requirement that your pet be vaccinated for rabies, so keep that in mind as well.
Bottom line: There are a lot of variables, but in most cases I want to see kitties vaccinated for rabies at least once or twice, and then titer regularly after that, keeping in mind local laws.
The other vaccine that vets routinely give to cats is a combo vaccine for feline viral rhinotracheitis, feline calicivirus, and feline panleukopenia. It’s also typically given every three years, although it’s pretty likely that the immunity this vaccine provides lasts much longer. Indoor cats with no exposure to other cats have a really low risk of contracting any of these diseases, and if they do, they aren’t necessarily fatal. There is usually not any legal requirement that you vaccinate for these, either.
I usually recommend the initial series of this vaccine for kittens, but after that it depends on a lot of the same things as above–health, lifestyle, etc. For kitties who live only indoors, I personally wouldn’t be upset if one of my clients chose not to give this vaccine.
Hope that helps!
