“I have a female cat, she gave birth for the second times. She gave me three beautiful and cute kittens. Time flies quickly, the kittens are 6 weeks old right now. I was really busy so I forgot about their vaccination. But I think that was just fine to postpone the vaccination. Then I missed everything. And now I think they don’t really need it, anyhow they just stay inside my home, they will be just fine. But suddenly the disaster comes, my kittens got sick. The Vet says this could be prevented with vaccinations.”
That is a short story from owners who didn’t vaccinate their cats. So, don’t you ever do that, Pawrents! The vaccination is really needed by our lovely Pets. It is not only the prevention of diseases to our Pets, but it also keeps the zoonosis away from you, Pawrents. All Pet Parents should know the vaccine types and schedules.
Cats and dogs should get their first vaccination when they are 6-8 weeks old. Because in this age, the maternal antibody or known as the antibody the Pets get from their mother is start decreased, and it needs to be boosted. If we do the vaccination too early before that age, it won’t be effective. Why? The vaccine will be eliminated by the maternal antibody, and the vaccine will not give any effect.
The second vaccination is given 1 month after the first as a booster. Then, the third vaccination is also given 1 month after the second vaccination. After that, the vaccinations are given annually, that’s it! It is simple, right?
In every vaccination procedure, the Vet will make sure the Pet’s condition is healthy and there is no problem with the Pet before they get shot. It is done because a vaccine contains causative agents which have been weakened or killed, and Vet will inject it into our Pet to stimulate the body to produce the antibodies against various diseases. If the Pet’s condition is not healthy, the vaccine can’t stimulate proper immune response.
The first vaccine for cats is for three kinds of viruses: Feline Panleukopenia Virus (FPV), Feline Calici Virus (FCV), and Feline Rhinotracheitis. FPV is commonly known as a disease attacks the digestive tracks and it is really deadly, especially for kittens or the cats in the young stage. The Calici Virus or we knew as Cat Flu also often occurs in cats. The second vaccination is contained another one virus, it is Chlamydia, it usually makes a problem on cat’s eyes. And the third vaccination is added one more virus, it is Rabies, you must have been known that virus.
For the dogs, the first vaccine is for four kinds of viruses: Canine Distemper Virus (CDV), Canine Hepatitis (Canine Adenovirus), Canine Parvovirus (CPV), and Canine Parainfluenza Virus. Distemper and Parvo dangerously attack our puppy or young dog’s digestive tracks. The second vaccine is effective for Leptospirosis prevention, or we knew as the disease that’s could be obtained from a mouse’s urine. The third vaccine is also added with the Rabies virus.
After vaccination has been done, the post-vaccine reaction maybe occurs in some Pets. Such as fever, less activity, appetite loss, or even vomit and diarrhea. If those conditions happen for 3 days, immediately contact your Vets!
So, I hope you have been understood how important vaccination is. Please don’t be lazy or doubt again. Before everything is too late.
Drh. Mulya Fitranda. AR
