What You Need to Know About Dog and Cat Vaccinations in Homewood
Dog and cat vaccinations protect pets from highly contagious diseases that can greatly reduce their quality of life. In extreme cases, the diseases dog and cat vaccinations defend against can even shorten their lives and affect us, as people, in more ways than one. Rabies vaccination for cats and dogs is required by law due to its prevalence in wildlife and the danger it poses to pets and people. At Nall Daniels Animal Hospital in Homewood, we care for all our patients and never want to see lives cut short unnecessarily. We recommend standard "core" vaccines for all our patients and customize vaccine plans according to individual needs and lifestyles.
Standard Cat Vaccines
The same as human vaccines have greatly reduced debilitating diseases, dog and cat vaccinations have similarly increased the quality of life for animal populations. Today, diseases such as feline panleukopenia only affect cats in small numbers due to vaccinations. Standard, "core", vaccines we recommend for our feline friends include:
- Kittens should be vaccinated against rabies with a booster one year later and updates every three years. *we do a 1 year rabies, not 3 year*
- The feline distemper combo shot can be administered as early as six weeks old with boosters to follow. Upon final booster, revaccination is every three years. *we do 1 year, not 3 year*
- Feline leukemia is administered to all kittens and updated in only outdoor adult cats.
Standard Dog Vaccines
Dogs should be administered a series of vaccinations starting as early as six weeks old with a succession of booster shots to further increase disease resistance. The first puppy shots create an immune response but they are not entirely protected until a booster series is complete. Once we prescribe a vaccine plan for your dog, please do your best to visit us at the recommended times. "Core" vaccines we recommend for all dogs include:
- Rabies can be administered to dogs as early as 12 weeks old and should be followed by a booster one year later. *we give rabies at 16 weeks*
- After initial vaccination, the distemper-parvo combo shot has one to two boosters spaced three to four weeks apart with a final booster given a year from the date of the last. *we give this vax at 8, 10, 13, and 16 weeks*
Lifestyle Dog and Cat Vaccines
Dog and cat vaccines, like so many other medical services, are not one-size-fits-all. When you visit with your cat or dog for a comprehensive examination, we carefully assess their needs. We look at your pet's travel tendencies and exposure to other possibly unvaccinated animals when determining vaccine plans. If your dog frequents dog parks, which are highly recommended for socialization, they will likely benefit from vaccination against canine influenza. Boarded dogs must be protected against Bordetella, an upper respiratory bacterial infection. If your dog travels with you to other parts of the country with higher incidences of Lyme disease, we may recommend the Lyme vaccine. For barn cats or others that are frequently outdoors, we may recommend additional vaccines to keep them healthy. Please schedule an exam for your cat or dog today to talk more in-depth on pet vaccinations. *we don’t do the canine influenza vaccine*