Vaccination is the inoculation of dead or weakened viruses or bacteria to activate the body's natural defences or antibodies and thus strengthen the immune system.
Vaccinations are vitally important because they help to prevent serious infectious diseases that can be fatal and for which there is no treatment in some cases.
From 7 weeks of age, after weaning, the maternal antibodies that the mother transfers to the kittens with her milk diminish, so this is the ideal time to start vaccinating. If we vaccinate too late, our pet will be all that period without immunity against possible diseases.
However, we must bear in mind that it will always be our vet who will indicate the guidelines we should follow. He will be the one to decide which vaccinations to inoculate the kittens and according to which schedule, after knowing aspects of their health and the environment in which they live.
Before vaccinating the cat, it is necessary to deworm it, as intestinal parasites cause the kitten to have low defences and it does not generate the antibodies correctly with the vaccines.
In addition, it will be necessary to carry out a feline leukaemia and immunodeficiency test to rule out that before being vaccinated the cat already suffers from these diseases, and that, therefore, the vaccine will have the desired effect.
What is the vaccination schedule for a cat?
As we have already mentioned, a veterinarian will decide the vaccination schedule for each kitten, but a basic vaccination schedule for cats in Spain could be the following:
- 8 weeks (2 months): First dose of the trivalent feline vaccine, which acts against panleukopenia, calicivirus and rhinotracheitis.
- 10 weeks (2.5 months): First dose of feline leukaemia vaccine.
- 12 weeks (3 months): Second dose of trivalent feline vaccine.
- 14 weeks (3 and a half months): Second dose of leukaemia vaccine.
- 16 weeks (4 months): Rabies vaccine.
After vaccinating our kitten for the first time with these 3 vaccines, the feline trivalent, the vaccine against leukaemia and rabies, in successive years an annual dose of the same vaccines will be administered in order to maintain the antibodies against these diseases activated.
Consult our vets about your kitten's vaccination schedule and protect it from the age of 7 weeks against serious diseases. We look forward to seeing you!