Vaccinations

Immunity levels do decline over a period of time and therefore it is essential to vaccinate your pets against these life-threatening diseases every year. It is also a requirement of catteries that your pets are up-to-date with their vaccinations & they may refuse them if you can't prove this.

The 3 major diseases we vaccinate against in the UK are cat flu, feline enteritis and feline leukaemia. There are 2 main considerations that decide which vaccinations a cat should receive: the cat's age and the environment they live in.  

We recommend the following vaccination schemes:

Kitten Course

The kitten course involves two injections, given 3 weeks apart. The earliest age for the first vaccination is 9 weeks.

We recommend that all cats be vaccinated against cat flu (calicivirus and rhinotracheitis virus) and enteritis (feline panleukopaenia virus). This also includes indoor cats, since it is possible for owners to transport the viruses inside the house on their clothing/shoes etc.

For cats that go outside, we strongly recommend vaccination against feline leukaemia virus as well. This virus is spread by direct contact between cats, and is the second most common cause of death in young/middle-aged cats after road traffic accidents.

The cat flu, enteritis and leukaemia vaccinations can be given at the same time.

The kitten achieves sufficient protection from the vaccinations 1 week after the second vaccination. At this point, it is safe for the kitten to go outside.

Annual Booster

Cats require an annual booster, which is given up to 15 months after the last vaccination. If the cat has not had a vaccination within the last 15 months, Intervet (the vaccine manufacturer) recommend restarting the vaccination course and giving a course of 2 injections 3 weeks apart (i.e. treating the adult cat as if he were a kitten).

The component of the vaccine is the same each year (cat flu, enteritis +/- leukaemia).

If you require further information on the vaccination process, please contact the clinic or book online today. 

Immunity levels do decline over a period of time and therefore it is essential to vaccinate your pets against these life-threatening diseases every year. It is also a requirement of boarding kennels that your pets are up-to-date with their vaccinations & they may refuse them if you can't prove this.

We recommend the following vaccination schemes:

Puppy Course

The puppy vaccination course involves two injections, given 2 weeks apart.

• The earliest age for the first vaccination is 8 weeks.
• If the puppy has had a first vaccination with a vaccine made by a different manufacturer to our vaccines (Internet, NOBIVAC range), then a repeat vaccination against leptospirosis may be required 2 weeks after the standard second vaccination.
• It is possible to give a parvovirus vaccination at 6 weeks of age, but this is normally only considered if the puppy is thought to be at increased risk.
• The diseases vaccinated against are leptospirosis, parvovirus, parainfluenza virus, distemper virus and canine hepatitis virus.
• The puppy achieves sufficient protection from the vaccinations within 1 week after the second vaccination. At this point, it is safe to take the puppy outside and start mixing him with other dogs.

Following this, vaccinations will be given for each disease on alternate years, with the exception of Leptospirosis, which is given annually.

Annual Booster

• Dogs require an annual booster, which is given up to 15 months after the last vaccination. If the dog has not had a vaccination within the last 15 months, Intervet recommend restarting the vaccination course and giving a course of 2 injections, 2 weeks apart (i.e. treating the adult dog as if he were a puppy).
• The components of the vaccination change in alternate years, due to the differing length of protection achieved. The first year after the puppy course, vaccination against all five diseases is given.

Kennel Cough

• The vaccination can be given from 3 weeks of age, and protection is achieved within 3 days.
• Protection is not thought to last more than about 3 months.
• The vaccination is administered directly into the dog’s nostril.
• There are two forms of virus, responsible for infectious bronchitis (Kennel Cough), Parainfluenza virus and Bordetella Bronchiseptica
• A Vaccination is given against Parainfluenza, routinely as part of our normal vaccination scheme.
• The Vaccination against Bordetella Bronchiseptica, must be given separately. We recommend re-vaccinating against this, when in a high risk environment, such as boarding kennels.