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Pre-Surgical Information
Spaying or neutering your pet is a big step! There is a lot to consider
when we are planning your pet’s surgery. Here is some information to help
you make wise decisions.
Click here . . .
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Special LibraryOur Special Library
is a collection of informative articles on a variety of health topics.
Click here . . .
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Discharge InstructionsClick here for
information on how to care for your pet at home.
Click here . . .
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Kitten Visit One
A new kitten needs three things:
Protection from infectious diseases, such as Feline
Leukemia and Distemper,
protection for them and your family from the
internal parasites, and help to have appropriate
interactions with members of your family, friends, and
other pets.
Overview of Vaccinations
Just like children, kittens are highly susceptible to
many dangerous diseases. To us, in America in the
twenty-first century, words like polio or smallpox don't
mean nearly as much as they used to. In our
grandparents' and even parents' generation, these words
struck fear into the hearts of parents. These days,
however, such childhood diseases are nearly a thing of
the past, and this blessing is due to vaccination. Our
kittens are not nearly so lucky, however. While almost
all children are vaccinated against deadly diseases,
many kittens are not, and this provides for a reservoir
of infection that allows the kitten-hood diseases to
proliferate. This makes it vitally important to see that
your kitten is properly vaccinated.
We follow the New Guidelines published by the American
Animal Hospital Association. For kittens, the
timing of the vaccinations has not changed.
However, it is important to use the newer,
non-adjuvanted vaccines to avoid the cancer risk that is
associated with adjuvanted vaccines in cats.
Click here for a link with more information. One of the worst disease that kittens can get is
called Feline Distemper. Distemper is a
deadly virus that is very common. Kittens catch
Distemper from other cats and kittens that have the
disease. "This is easy!" you are saying. "All I have to
do is keep my kitten away from sick kittens and he'll
never get distemper!" Unfortunately, it is not that
simple as many kittens do get the disease even when the
source of the infection is not known. Kittens need
to be vaccinated for distemper every 4 weeks until they
turn 16 weeks old.
Feline Leukemia is another common deadly disease. Feline
Leukemia is another viral disease. While the virus
itself isn't all that closely related to the AIDS virus
in people, the symptoms it causes can be quite similar.
Feline Leukemia damages the immune system, leading to
high susceptibility to other diseases. And like
AIDS, Feline Leukemia is not curable. Kittens need
to be vaccinated for Feline Leukemia every 4 weeks until
they turn 16 weeks old.
There are other diseases kittens get that are not as
serious as Feline Leukemia or Distemper.
That doesn't mean they are fun, though, and it is a good
idea to vaccinate your new kitten against them.
Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis is very common these days,
as is Calici Virus. These two viruses cause upper
respiratory disease in kittens. Kittens need at
least two vaccinations for Viral Rhinotracheits and
Calici Virus.
Immunity to all these diseases doesn't happen at once.
It takes a series of booster shots to get good immunity
to all these diseases. Although the specifics are
complicated, and are best evaluated on an individual
basis, in general kittens need to be vaccinated every
three to four weeks, starting at eight weeks of age, and
not ending until they are at least 16 weeks old.
It is also important to minimize your kitten's exposure
to other kittens and cats until the vaccination series
is completed. Because you can carry the diseases home to
your kitten on your hands or clothing, this means that
you will also have to minimize your contact with other
kittens and cats as well.
Parasite Control
Far from a favorite topic of conversation, internal
parasites, or "worms," as they are commonly called, are
nonetheless a major problem. The problem is two-fold:
"Worms" not only infect your kitten, they can infect
your children as well! Most kittens have worms.
Young kittens are very susceptible to worms, and have
little ability to fight off the infection. Young
children are also very susceptible to these same worms,
and can catch them from kittens. Kitten worm infections
in children can be very serious. Adult humans are at
very minimal risk of acquiring a kitten worm infection
unless they have an immunosuppressive condition.
Kitten worms are not very smart. Kitten worms like to
live in kittens best, but they can infect a child
thinking the child is a kitten, and then migrate and
travel all over the child looking for a kitten to live
in. The migration can cause serious damage. Of
particular concern is Ocular Larva Migrans, a condition
where parasite lavra migrate into a child's eye,
seriously damaging it. Just in case you think I am
kidding, take a look at what the Center for Disease
Control, the CDC, has to say on this topic.
Click here to go to the CDC website article.
For these reasons it is very important to de-worm all
kittens. Two doses of an appropriate medication usually
does the job. It is advisable to deworm the kitten again
at about six months of age, and yearly after that.
Vaccine Reactions
It is important to watch for vaccine reactions.
While rare, they do happen, and it is good to be
prepared. By following the new
AAFP Feline Vaccination Guidelines, we avoid
over-vaccinating and adjuvanted vaccines and minimize
the chances of a vaccine reaction happening, but we
still see the occasional reaction. There are three
main types of vaccine reactions. Although they
have fancier names, we will call them the Same Day
Reaction, the Day After Reaction, and the
Lump
Reaction. The Same Day Reaction happens the same
day as the vaccination, often within a few hours.
It is vanishingly rare in cats, and generally does not
result in the facial swelling so commonly seen in dogs.
If you notice unusual behavior in your cat the same day
as vaccination, , please call the clinic number at
523-2513 immediately.
The Day After Reaction happens, well, the day after
usually. With the Day After Reaction, your cat
will feel sluggish, lethargic, etc. He may vomit
once or twice. He may have a fever. Or, your
cat may feel fine but there may be some swelling or pain
at the injection site. The Day After Reaction is
not a serious problem, generally. My youngest
daughter gets this when she gets her vaccinations.
We think of it more as a day of rest. If your cat
does not feel better in 24 hours, then please call us
the next business day.
The Lump Reaction can happen right away or it can take a
while. You may notice that your cat has some pain
and a lump at the injection site shortly after the
vaccination. Or you may notice a painless lump
days or weeks later. Most of the time, these lumps
resolve without consequence over the next few weeks.
I can still recall the last tetanus vaccination I had.
I was sore for several weeks. If you notice a lump
at the injection site, we will be happy to check it for
you at no cost during regular business hours.
That wraps it up for your first Kitten Wellness Visit.
If you have any questions, be sure and ask. We
need to see you and you and your new kitten in about 4
weeks for the next set of boosters.
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