QUESTION:

Does my indoor cat need to be vaccinated?

ANSWER:

Yes. If your cat leads a totally sheltered life with no exposure to other cats or no chance that you might bring infection from your hands/clothes from other cats directly or indirectly from fomites, some vaccines may not be needed.

Both the American Association of Feline Practitioners and the American Animal Hospital Association have published guidelines for vaccination. Vaccines are divided into “core vaccines” that every pet should have, and “non-core vaccines” that a pet should have depending on exposure risk.

For cats, core vaccines are the combination distemper virus/respiratory disease group (FVRCP) and rabies vaccine. Pet owners are often surprised that rabies is a core vaccine. It is a core vaccine because of the lethal health consequences of rabies exposure (which can and unexpectedly happen to indoor pets) and the legal consequences of owning a pet that has bitten (what happens to the pet generally is dependent on its vaccine status). In Toronto, the rabies vaccine is a bylaw (Regulation 567, Health Protection and Promotion Act). Rabies is a detrimental disease not only to our pets, but also to people in contact with them.

Your veterinarian should discuss a vaccine protocol for your pet that ensures he/she remains healthy, but also ensures that safe ownership is practiced for the benefit of you and the rest of society.