Diseases We Vaccinate Cats Against

As many of you know, we're considered "holistic" veterinarians by many. But the word "holistic" can mean many different things to many people. But to us, it means that we have a broader view of the world around us (in terms of veterinary medicine) and that we're more attuned the underlying problems that can be the root of many diseases that we see in our pets. But there's simply no two ways about one fact..... viruses and bacteria cause diseases that can injure or even kill our furry friends. 

It wasn't that long ago that even the simple and ubiquitous Streptococcus infection killed hundreds of thousands of people a year. Even President Wilson's son came within a hairs breadth of death from a Strep infection that he got from running across the White House lawn barefoot. The advent of "Sulfa" drugs changed everything (read "The Demon Under the Microscope" for an insightful look at what life was like before this, and the hunt for antibacterial drugs).... and we in the veterinary profession embraced this change.

When we bought Riverside Veterinary Group in 1994, it had been an existing veterinary clinic since 1945. It looked like it hadn't been renovated since 1955, and in the deepest recesses of the basement, in a dimly lit corner, was a closed room, with a sign above it that read "Distemper Ward". I'm happy to say that although I've been practicing for over twenty years in NYC, I've only seen about 3 cases of distemper.....  and that's because almost all dogs today are vaccinated against this viral killer.  When I started my career in the 1980s, we had the Parvovirus epidemic, and thousands of dogs died from this virus that causes hemmorhagic gastroenteritis.  I haven't seen a case of Parvo in over ten years now, thanks to the "miracle" of vaccines.

And although the FeLV vaccine has been shown to be safe and effective in preventing Feline Leukemia, we still see many cats with this disease. The trouble is that although the vaccine is available, it doesn't work unless the owners actually bring their cats to the vet for the innoculation. And sadly, that doesn't happen nearly as regularly with cats as it does with dogs. So we see outdoor cats with Feline Leukemia infecting other cats who may have homes, but go outside occasionally. Even in the cities, it's possible to contract this sort of infectious disease.

So although we're holistic in our thinking, it never made sense to us to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Vaccines work, plain and simple.  We believe in vaccinating to protect our pets, but we believe in vaccinating with extreme caution. We vaccinate whenever possible using the least number of vaccine isolates on any one day. We try to separate vaccines by at least a few days. We premedicate any animal that has shown any sort of vaccine reaction to make sure the next time won't be worse.

We're very comfortable with our vaccine protocols, and we think this accomplishes the goals of protecting our pets, as well as protecting them from the possible side effects of vaccination.

The diseases that we vaccinate our cats against are: (click on the individual disease for more information)

FPV RTC (Feline Panleukopenia Virus, RhinoTracheitis, and Chlamydia)

Rabies

Feline Leukemia