Reptile & Amphibian Forums

just wanted to know what people though...
i love my vet, but i feel like she's not always up to new techniques... it makes me cringe she still does the 3 way shot in the scruff. and they say never get a shot there...

where do your cats get there shot? and do you get one every year?

and do you make sure it's a killed virus shot?

oh and rigby and izzy wish everyone a happy holiday!!!

First...that Christmas card is adorable...

I just had all of their rabies done...apparently they weren't due for anything else...but I'm pretty sure it was in the back side leg area...except with Bentley our resident "needle bender" he's aiming for that area but wherever really he can get it in...

I can't honestly remember if placement on their other shots was any different...I'm going to say though, that they didn't get them in the scruff, because I'm pretty sure the tech ususally is holding the wiggling squirming growling cats by it when the shots are given...

hope this helped...
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Lisa, owned by Bentley,Alastair, Finster, & Trysta (greyhound)

It does seen weird to give a vaccine in the scruff of the neck, but it won't be any less effective. As long as it gets into their blood stream they will develop immunities.

Core vaccines (which is typically feline herpesvirus, calicivirus (FCV), panleukopenia are usually given in the shoulder. They are made up of modified live viruses, rather than a killed virus. (Basically they take a virus and copy its genetics, but in such a way that it won't be harmful to the animal like the original virus was.) I think most of the reasoning behind doing it in the shoulder is in case of vaccine reactions. Sometimes they will get a little fluid bump for a few days after the injection, or sometimes hair loss or discoloration (this is called alopecia- unfortunately it is permanent, but not harmful). Soreness is pretty common too. Very rarely, a tumor can develop months or even years later. I think for your pets sake, its better to have a sore shoulder, or (heaven forbid) a tumor there, than in their neck.

Rabies vaccines are a little different. They are always a killed virus, because that is what the law requires. Killed virus vaccines run a higher risk of complications than modified live vaccines. Injection site tumors are far more common in rabies vaccines, but they are still very rare. Typically, vets give this in their right, rear leg (hip). Because reactions are so much more common with this vaccine vets are usually more religious about giving it in this specific area- that way if there is a weird reaction in that area they will automatically think about the vaccine being the cause.

As to frequency of vaccination- it will to a certain extent, depend upon your vet. Rabies are standardized- there is a 1 year form, or a 3 year form. For core vaccines some vets will recommend every year, some less frequently than that. My personal vet (who actually used to be the state vet- so you know he's not a quack) has always tailored to our animals specific needs. Indoor-only kitties have very low exposure risk, so they don't need boosters very often. In the case of my 15 year old cat (who has since pasted on at the age of 18), he recommended that at her age the risk of reaction to the vaccine was far greater than of her contracting anything, so we didn't vaccinate her at all.

Hope this helps!

thanks that does help.