Thread: Vaccination and Re-Vaccination - your thoughts?

Recently I have come across a number of articles suggesting that some vaccinations can be harmful (e.g. our breeder does not routinely vaccinate her kittens against Feline Leukaemia Virus as she is unhappy about loading their systems with it at a vulnerable age), and that booster vaccinations are unnecessary.

Now, we have always ensured that the booster vaccinations are kept up to date and indeed, had we not done so, then when Gabby, Spike and Whisper went down with Cat Flu, Petplan would not have paid out! The fact that the Cat Flu vaccine doesn't protect against all strains of the virus is immaterial - so long as you have vaccinated against whatever they have developed, in theory the Insurance should cover the illness.

There is a lot of conflicting information out there - for instance, one site states that FIE, FCV and FVR are "compulsory", with Chlamydia and FeLV recommended and boosters every year. Our vet gives boosters to our "oldsters" of FIE, FCV and FVR but not FeLV and has recommended vaccinating Hobbes against FeLV as he wasn't vaccinated as a kitten and the others in the household are no longer given the booster.

I am obviously concerned at this point, because Hobbes may be at risk from developing FIP and the older ones don't need any stress either. Our cats do not go outside and they stay home with a sitter if we ever go away.

I will be checking with our veterinary practice but would like to get your "take" on this subject.