The Importance of Vaccinating Your Cat or Dog

Simply put, vaccinations are an essential tool for keeping your pets safe and healthy as they grow. Read this month’s blog post to learn about the importance of vaccinating your furry baby so that they and other pets in your community are protected from life-threatening​ diseases. 

Why should cats and dogs be vaccinated?

A large number of viruses that pets are susceptible to are present in the environment and perpetuated in our wildlife populations.  The only way to keep your pets safe as they interact with the world is to prepare their immune system to fight the viruses they will encounter in everyday life.

Are vaccinations all I need to keep my pet healthy?

No. Vaccinations are one tool that we can use to increase and protect the health of your pet.  Other preventative care measures such as flea/tick and heartworm preventatives must be used to support good health.

What are the core vaccinations for my pets?

Puppies/Adult Dogs

• Distemper
• Parvovirus
• Adenovirus-2 types (a and b)
• Parainfluenza
• Leptospirosis (4 different strains)
• Rabies

Kittens/Adult Cats

• Indoor Only:
  • Feline panleukopenia
  • Feline herpesvirus-1
  • Feline calicivirus
  • Rabies
• Indoor /Outdoor or Outdoor Only:
  • Feline panleukopenia
  • Feline herpesvirus-1
  • Feline calicivirus
  • Feline Leukemia
  • Rabies

Please keep in mind that core vaccinations will vary by location and risk of exposure of pets while kept in certain areas.  

For example, at Carrollton Animal Hospital, we consider Leptospirosis a core vaccination for dogs which means we routinely give the vaccination to every puppy and dog unless the owner specifically requests that we do not.

However, if you look up core canine vaccines on the American Animal Hospital Association website, it is not considered a core canine vaccination.

Are there optional vaccines? Or are they all mandatory?

The only truly mandatory vaccine is the Canine Rabies vaccine.  It is illegal for you to not vaccinate your dog for Rabies.

Technically, all other vaccinations are optional, but in reference to which vaccines would be best for your animal beyond the recommended core vaccinations will depend on conversations with your veterinarian about your individual pet’s lifestyle and exposure risk.

When should puppies and kittens start vaccinations?

Puppies and kittens should start vaccinations sometime between 6 and 8 weeks of age, depending on exposure risk.

Are there any side effects associated with these vaccinations? Do some of your pets have more severe reactions than others when it comes to vaccination?

Anytime you pierce the animal’s skin with a needle, there is always the possibility of a reaction or side effect.  The most common side effects seen after vaccination include soreness right at the injection site and drowsiness.  Most are very mild and with our newer vaccines, they are very rare.  Additional severe side effects are possible, but it would most likely be the result of an allergic reaction to some component of the vaccine that was given.

Certain animals do have more severe reactions to vaccinations than others, but there does not appear to be an individual breed of dog that is more prone to severe anaphylactic vaccine reactions than others.  A correlation between severity of reaction and size of pet has been found with smaller dogs tending to have more severe vaccine reactions than larger pets.  The other correlation that has been made in reference to vaccination reactions is the number of needle sticks the animal experiences in one day.  

This is not the same as the number of vaccines given to the animal as many vaccinations come in combination vaccines, and therefore, they only require one needle stick.  If you are concerned about vaccine reactions, my recommendation is to do as many vaccines as possible in a combination vaccine so that you can minimize the number of needle sticks.

Can you vaccinate a pregnant cat or dog?

Pregnant dogs and cats can receive vaccinations safely.  Most vaccinations are modified-live vaccinations that would not be safe to give pregnant animals.  The only killed vaccine that we carry at the clinic is our Rabies vaccine which we do give routinely to pregnant cats and dogs without issue.

If you have any questions about vaccinations for your pet, or you’d like to schedule an appointment, feel free to call our fur-riendly team members at Carrollton Animal Hospital at (330) 627-4898 or send us an email at hospital@carrolltonanimal.com.