The importance of vaccinations for your pet

The importance of vaccinations for your pet

One crucial aspect of being a responsible pet parent is ensuring that your fur baby is up to date on all of its vaccinations. A lapse in vaccines can lead to serious illness, expensive hospital bills, death or even legal consequence in some cases. There are several different vaccines available for dogs and cats; some are required by law, some can prevent highly contagious diseases that all pets will be exposed to at some point in life andsome are considered “lifestyle” vaccines. Most of the illnesses that we vaccinate for have NO cure and can only be treated with supportive care. Determining which vaccines are important for your pet can be overwhelming so hopefully this helps break down the vaccines we provide at 4 Paws and why we feel they are important.

Rabies:

Rabies vaccination is by far the most important vaccine for pets. This viral infection is transmitted through saliva (bites and scratches)of infected animals and can be spread to other animals and even people. Once contracted, this illness is nearly 100% fatal (to date, only two people are documented to have survived it). For this reason, the vaccine is required bylaw in the United States and failure to vaccinated to lead to fines for the owner and quarantine of pets in some circumstances. This vaccine is usuallydone around 16 weeks of age in puppies and kittens.

DAPP:

For puppies, there is a critical time period where we must vaccinate them for certain viruses and bacteria multiple times until they areat least 16 weeks old. One of the most important vaccines we do in young puppies is the DAPP vaccine. This protects again Distemper (a viralneurological infection with a high fatality rate), Parvovirus (a viral infection that infects the intestines of young puppies and leads to severe dehydration and death in 50% of cases), Adenovirus (infectious hepatitis that can lead to liver failure), and parainfluenza (a viral respiratory infection that can lead to coughing and pneumonia).

Bordetella:

Bordetella vaccine is also very important for all dogs asthis protects against a highly contagious respiratory illness that can lead to pneumonia in some cases. This infection is often referred to as Kennel Cough but involves a variety of different respiratory viruses and bacteria. This infection is common. Even if your pet does not frequent dog parks, groomers, etc, they are still at risk of contracting this infection if they just happen to be in a room or area where an infected dog was just present.

Influenza:

We have also seen multiple cases of Influenza in dogs in this area which is a similar concept to the flu virus in humans. It can spread rapidly in boarding kennels, grooming facilities, dog parks, etc so we dostrongly recommend this vaccine. This infection can cause respiratory signs, high fever, lethargy, low appetite and pneumonia. Some dogs have to behospitalized for days to support them through the infection.

Leptospirosis:

An additional vaccine that we strongly recommend in dogs is Leptospirosis. This is a bacterialinfection that affects the liver and kidneys. It is spread through the urine of infected animals and can be contracted from drinking out of puddles of water outside. We will sometimes see an increase in cases after hurricanes and flooding, especially in unvaccinated animals. This infection can cause liver and kidney failure and is transmittable to humans after contacting their pet’s infected urine which is why we strongly encourage this vaccine to keep our patients and clients safe.

FVRCP:

A very important vaccine for kittens to start getting at a young age is FVRCP. This vaccine protects against Feline Rhinotracheitis (an upper respiratory viral infectionthat can lead to severe lethargy, fever and weight loss in young kittens), Panleukopenia (aka “Kitty Parvo” which leads to severe immuno suppression with a high fatality rate), and Calicivirus (a viral infection that causes upper respiratory signs but can also lead to painful oral ulcerations).

Feline Leukemia Virus:

Another vaccine that is strongly recommended by the American Association of Feline Practitioners is the Feline Leukemia Vaccine (FeLV). This is a viral infection that is spread among infected cats through close mutual contact. It leads to severe immunocompromise and cats with this infection generally it is the second leading cause of death in cats and claims the life of 85% ofinfected cats within 3 years. It is recommended to vaccinate kittens for this illness and then once again as an adult. If, as an adult, the cat never goes outside and is not exposed to other cats that are infected, then it is safe to discontinue this vaccine.

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