? 8/20 CRYSTAL AMPS 178 +4 196 +7 178+10.5 171 PMPS 166 +4 131 +5.5 121 - injection site query

[suki & crystal (GA)]

yesterday's greens

Crystal surpirsed me yesterday with both preshots being green - typically on a day when I wasn't around in the evening to give her a reduced R dose to try to keep her surfing along, but c'est la vie as they say here.

Today she has been a nice flat blue kitty, would prefer her in the low 100's but after her history anything blue is very welcome.

I asked about annual vaccinations in my last post and @Wendy&Neko very kindly pointed me towards Dr Lisa's article on her Catinfo.org site. Having read it twice, and checked back on all four cats' medical records, I've decided that I'm not going to take them for an annual vaccination. My understanding is that the only really dangerous one they need protection from (apart from Rabies, which is a different vaccination entirely) is for panleukopenia (enteritis) and in all probability the vaccinations they received for this as kittens, together with the boosters, should give them a very long duration of immunity, if not lifelong. All four cats have have been receiving this vaccination annually throughout their lives. Another point Dr Lisa makes is that nothing should be injected into the scruff as this area is prone to sarcomas from inflammation caused by repeated injections - this is where Crystal receives her twice daily R dose, and I usually shoot the Lev either side, so not great news on that aspect. I'm going to do some research on this, I do remember my vet mentioning this possibility when we talked about using the R insulin and I remember thinking at the time its a calculated risk which is going to kill her first, the acromegaly or possible sarcoma. Her scruff/shoulder area does look enlarged, like it has fluid under it (which I suppose is the Lev depot?). Any thoughts from members appreciated.

Vines and wishes to all in need today.

 

[Tricia Cinco(GA) & Harvey]

My cats no longer get vaccinated, but that is because they have all had/have cancer, and my vet will not vaccinate cats that have/had cancer. Sasha's cancer, as you may know, was an injection-site sarcoma. As long as your cats are indoors only and you don't board them anywhere (all facilities require proof of vaccination), I think your decision is fine.

I try to vary where I give any shot as much as I can, due to the risk. I worry about Minka and her twice-daily fluids, but what can you do? As you say, it's one or the other.

Suki looks good!

 

[Grayson & Lu]

My tribe gets the minimum number of shots... most of the time. Rabies is mandated here, despite almost all being inside kitties. Everyone gets the yrly vaccine (I think it's the one you referenced). In addition, my two innie/outies get the leukemia vaccine. I do not do the FIV vaccine, despite having 2 FIV+ boys. Everyone is neutered/tutored, so there isn't fighting; and the FIV guys interact with the others. I have heard about the overlap - vaccines are designed to have a duration longer than a year. I also met someone at CSU who had an amputation due to an injection-site sarcoma. The mindset of that, is that you can remove a limb and the animal lives. If vaccines are given in the body, it can become an issue.

Grayson and Spartacus both have/have had thickened skin around the scruff. 3 yrs of shots and fluids will do that. With Spartacus I use longer needles than I did w/ G. But this is a means to keeping them with us. And yes, we do what we must to sustain them. If my guys were completely indoor and not interacting with other animals, I would probably prefer to opt out of the vaccines. However, one of my fosters, and one of my "garage cats" had feline leukemia. If there's ANY way to get that into an outdoor kitty, I would encourage it. Unfortunately, Blackie had to be released from a trap the first time he was caught, so it took over a year to get him trapped again, then vaccinated and neutered. In that short of time, he had already been exposed.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Some lovely numbers from Crystal lately Suki.
Sorry you have this worry about the vaccinations and sites now Suki.
I haven't had Sheba vaccinated for years. She is an indoor cat but I do take her outside sometimes, but only into our garden.

 

[Suzanne & Cobb(GA)]

The only vaccine we did regularly was rabies. Cobb was indoor only, but he could be a biter. I didn't want him to bite a guest and us not be able to prove he had been vaccinated against rabies. It was also a "mandatory" vaccination where we live and we had to have a record of it to license him - mind you I never paid to license my cat, I thought that was insane. It's a cat, not a horse! But that's the only one we did regularly, especially after he was diagnosed with diabetes.

 

[suki & crystal (GA)]

As long as your cats are indoors only and you don't board them anywhere (all facilities require proof of vaccination), I think your decision is fine.

Actually Tricia all our cats are all innies/outies and do occasionally need to be boarded so obviously this will be a problem, although a friend has just told me she will pet sit whenever required. I didn't know about Sasha's sarcoma being caused by injection site - how did you find out? what were the symptoms?

I have heard about the overlap - vaccines are designed to have a duration longer than a year.

According to Dr Lisa research was done by CSU approximately 18 years and the panleukopenia vaccine was shown to last longer than 7 years, when the research ended. The recommendation was to advise vets that the FVRCP combination vaccine "should not be given more frequently than every 3 years", rather than annually, but it hasn't proved very successful getting them on board. I have contacted Merial, the manufacturer of the vaccine Crystal has been receiving since she was a kitten, and asked them to confirm the long duration of immunity (DOI). I'll post their reply when I receive it.

Thanks @Suzanne & Cobb(GA) and @Bron and Sheba for your comments, I think I'm certainly going to delay vaccinating our cats, and may well not bother at all based on what I've read recently. We don't have a feral/stray problem where we live just a couple of other pet cats locally and ours are safely indoors overnight. Rabies isn't mandatory here yet although there is the odd case every year, but nothing in our region. Interesting topic, thank you all for your comments.

Crystal continues her blue surf coming down nicely, her bedtime +5.5 was 121, I expect she might well be green at AMPS in 5 hours' time. night all.

 

[Suzanne & Cobb(GA)]

I will say my mom's cat developed cancer which was an injection site sarcoma as well. That's roughly when we started being a little more hesitant in which vaccines to give.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

My vet said Sheba only needed vaccination every 3 to 5 years because she was an indoor cat......but I have opted for no more vaccinations and he is OK with that.

 

[suki & crystal (GA)]

149 @ AMPS, going the wrong way Crystal but okay still.

Morning Suzanne @Suzanne & Cobb(GA) , I've been meaning to ask you how you are doing lately, not long now until baby is due, do you have a date? Hope you haven't been too exhausted with the heat, that's the only trouble with a summer arrival, bet you just want her to arrive now.