If you have a cat that lives indoors and never ventures outside your home, you may be wondering whether the expense of vaccinating the cat every year is really necessary. After all, if the cat is always inside, they can't be exposed to disease, right?
Read for a few good reasons why your vet will always recommend that you have your house cat vaccinated.
Vaccinations Recommended for an Indoor Cat
If your cat doesn't usually go outside, your vet might recommend the following vaccinations as a bare minimum:
- cat flu
- feline enteritis
Your cat will need to have booster jabs every year to keep the protection that they provide continuous. If you introduce any new cats to your household, your house cat will need to be vaccinated against feline leukaemia too.
Reasons to Vaccinate Your House Cat
Although you may try to keep your cat indoors, they may sneak out through an open window or door when you're not looking, leaving them exposed to contact with other cats and wildlife. An unvaccinated cat will have no protection from highly infectious diseases that may be carried by stray cats, and one encounter could be all it takes to make your cat seriously ill.
You should have your cat microchipped so that they can be reunited with you if they ever get out and wander off. If your cat does escape and isn't microchipped, they could finish up in a rescue centre with dozens of other strays, many of which won't be vaccinated. The stress of this situation and the exposure to unvaccinated animals could leave your pet open to contracting dangerous diseases such as feline enteritis and even rabies.
Another way in which your house cat could be exposed to infectious diseases is through contact with home invaders. Your neighbours' cats, possums and other wildlife could get into your home through open windows or when tradesmen call, potentially leaving your house cat vulnerable.
If you use a petsitter to look after your cat while you're away on holiday or business, that's great for your pet. But what are you going to do if your usual sitter is unavailable or you have to take a trip at short notice? The obvious alternative would be to place your cat in a cattery. However, no reputable cattery will take an animal that is not fully vaccinated, meaning that you could be stuck.
As you can see, there are many reasons why you should have your house cat vaccinated. For more information and advice on pet vaccination, contact your local vet.
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