The Vaccination Argument / Controversy

Many of us are from two schools of thought, both of which are "old school", so to speak. The first group of us come from the generation of doing practically nothing in the way of preventative care for our pets. Growing up in the '60s and '70s, our parents and grandparents hardly kept up with rabies vaccines much less worried about whether or not a pet should be outdoors. Most pets, in fact, were indoor - outdoor. Many of my cats growing up were indoor - outdoor. In fact, one of my cats died from Feline Leukemia when I was a child. Not much thought was given to those sort of things. I still, unfortunately, know of many people who I argue with today who let their cats roam outdoors. Unless the "outdoors" is limited to a screened-in patio or balcony or your own backyard, with your constant supervision, I do not advocate such a practice. More on that subject can be found under another post covering indoor or outdoor cats.

The other school of thought concerning vaccinations, which is also "old school", is vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate. Some of us in the past have kept longstanding annual appointments with the vet for all of our pets to get vaccinated and revaccinated each and every year for every disease imaginable. We never even questioned it. However, in recent years, many are questioning this practice, and the questions originated from veterinary specialists.

There is hard medical evidence to suggest that beyond "childhood" vaccinations for our cats - unless they are outdoor cats - we should not repeatedly subject our pets' immune systems to vaccines. Some of you may be gasping at this. But I challenge you to think carefully while you cling to your tradition of annual vaccinations.

Things to consider:

Do humans go year after year for the same vaccinations/immunizations? No. Why? Because it would represent overkill, literally. It presents too much of a load and shock to the immune system.

If you choose to have your cat outdoors, you have no other choice but to vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate.

What has been the average age of your pets when they passed away? Consider the age at the passing of childhood pets versus the ones you have had as an adult. Some of you may notice that your pets from childhood actually lived longer. It may be due to the fact that the cat was strictly indoors and wasn't dragged to the vet annually for repeated vaccines.

The longest lived cat that I have ever had, however, is Gemini. Her picture can be found on this site. She is 17 years old and has enjoyed perfect health all of those years. The only difference between her and any other of my pets is that I have loved her so much that I became overprotective of her. She is a strictly indoor cat and lives with no other cats. I have never boarded her, and I won't. Too many health hazards in a boarding facility. She also comes into contact with no other cats. She also has not had one, not a single one vaccine since 2001. It is only two years ago that I put her on "top shelf", organic, no-filler foods. Coincidence her age and health? I highly doubt it. If I were to have another cat, I wouldn't do anything different.

But don't just listen to me. I will let you be the judge.

A study and project was begun by The Feline Veterinary Medical Association, and they reset policy of recommending revaccination no more than once every 3 years. Studies conducted that measured titer showed some vaccine antibodies lasting 7 years! Vaccinations are designed to help the immune system build up antibodies against a virus. Antibody titer tests measure the antibodies to determine if the body has built up adequate antibodies to it. One can certainly see why it would be unnecessary and even harmful to repeatedly overload the immune system with a virus that the body has already built up a protective level of antibodies against. This practice could absolutely lead to a tired and, therefore, weakened immune system, and the consequences of that could be dire. One of the concerns is cancer.

For 30 years, The Feline Veterinary Medical Association has made the statement that cats do not need vaccinations over and over again. They sustain that vaccinations at 9 and 11 weeks with Killed 3-Way vaccine (rhinotracheitis, calici, panleukopenia), and 3 Year Rabies at 3 months is adequate. Even healthy. And once your kitten or cat has tested negative for all of the "biggies" (FIV, Feline Leukemia, FIP), no further vaccinations or tests are necessary for the health and safety of an indoor cat.

Clinical trials and studies actually show that repeated vaccines may cause disease in a significant percentage of vaccinates, and are therefore more harmful than the treatment of treatable diseases. FeLV, FIV vaccines are not recommended for cats that have tested negative - including kittens whose parents have tested negative - who are indoor-only cats. Feline leukemia vaccines that were given early in life had only a 30% immune response.

At the 2002 Florida Cat Conference held at the University of Gainesville, Dr July Levy found that the testing of 1876 free roaming, unowned cats in Florida and North Carolina revealed that the rate of FeLV and FIV was around 4%. I don't know about you, but this is a great surprise to me.

The other surprise is concerning the Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) vaccine. It can actually induce disease in corona virus positive cats. Corona is a benign virus found in many cats until it is combined with the FIP virus. Corona virus titer tests are considered worthless by all FIP researchers. By the way, in case you are wondering, FIP cannot be determined on a test. There is no FIP test. Worse yet is that the FIP vaccine has a wicked history of poor immune response (so the vaccine's goal of increasing immuno response fails). Even worse, the FIP often induces the disease.

Dr Susan Little, Diplomate ABVP Feline has said, "Since 1991, the rate of fibrosarcomas in cats has increased in association with some vaccines (especially rabies and feline leukemia). It is extremely difficult to remove these tumors completely with surgery and many chemotherapy drugs are ineffective. Even with radiation, the cure rate is very low."

An article found in the Wall Street Journal: "Are Annual Shots Overkill?"
"Evidence is building annual vaccination of dogs and cats performed for diseases like rabies, distemper and parvovirus may not be necessary and could even be harmful. Recent and continuing studies at several universities suggest protection from vaccines may last for years, which would make annual shots for some diseases a waste of money--at the very least. A sharp increase during the past decade in cancerous tumors among cats, between the shoulder blades where vaccines typically are injected, has spurred studies. Studies have found a higher than expected incidence of side effects. We see an epidemic of hyperthyroidism in cats today, which we suspect is happening because we're over-vaccinating our pets."

In a study conducted at Purdue University Vet School on dogs, Dr. Larry Glick and his colleagues came to the conclusion that repeated vaccination results in dogs producing antibodies against their own tissue. The result: Autoimmune problems. You take your pet in for annual vaccines to protect their health, not jeopardize it.

The American Veterinary Medical Association has said that the practice of annual vaccinations is based on "historical precedent" and "not on scientific data." Again, here we see the "old school" of thought that I mentioned above at work.

The Chairman of the University of Wisconsin of Pathological Sciences, Dr. Ronald Schultz, has even admitted to the fact that "My own pets are vaccinated once or twice as pups and kittens, then never again except for rabies."

A major drug company and manufacturer of animal vaccines, Pfizer, Inc., has tested its 1-year rabies vaccine on live animals and discovered it lasted at least 3 years. State laws stand in the way of a pet owner's ability to do the right thing for their pet. Therefore, Pfizer, Inc., now sells the identical formula packaged under different labels--1 year and 3 year vaccinations -- only to satisfy different state vaccination requirements.
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Annual, repeated vaccinations has been studied, and the studies have reflected stress, impair, and damage to the immune system. Studies indicate that repeated vaccines can cause major health problems. Those problems range from allergies and skin problems, to cancerous tumors.

Do some research on your own, and make your own decision. Your loyal companion depends on you to make the right decisions for him/her.