At Christmas time, your cat may be heading to a cattery, staying with a friend or going with you to the crib. These situations are going to increase their risk of coming in contact with certain diseases and this is a great opportunity to check their vaccination status to ensure they are up to date.

Catteries will insist on your cat being protected from the core viruses to allow them to stay. A three yearly vaccination in adult cats is usually sufficient to provide protection, but at peak times like January and Easter the catteries are full and this can be a stressful environment. Stress reduces immunity and as a result we see a number of cats becoming sick. In order to reduce this risk we recommend any cat going into a cattery (especially at peak times) should have a respiratory virus booster within 6-12 months to improve their protection.

• Check you can find your vaccination certificate and it is up to date (you need this for a kennel/cattery).
• Core vaccines: Your animal should have had a course when a kitten and then a booster at one year of age. Thereafter vaccination is done every 3 years.
• Respiratory viruses in cats need to be done every 3 years but we recommend vaccination within the last 10-12 months if going into a cattery especially at peak times.
• All vaccinations take at least 5-7 days to provide good protection.
• Due to the Christmas rush we recommend you consider vaccinating sooner rather than later.
• If you are uncertain about your cat’s vaccine status don’t hesitate to give us a call.