Getting a new kitten is exciting. Your veterinarian wants to ensure a healthy start for your new family member, and so a vaccine regimen should be started almost as soon as you get the new little one home.
How often do my kittens need vaccines?
Kittens receive three rounds of vaccinations. The first should be given as early as six to eight weeks of age. For their first six weeks of life, kittens are protected from infection by antibodies that they received from their mother’s milk. But between 6 – 8 weeks of age, that protection begins to disappear. The first round of vaccines prepares your kitten’s immune system to fight off invading organisms on its own. Once your kitten has received their first vaccinations, an appointment should be made for their booster vaccines. The veterinarian will tell you when the kitten needs to be vaccinated. The next vaccine needs to be given at the right time to ensure that the immune response is boosted before it begins to fade. In total, three rounds of vaccinations are given to a kitten, one at 6 to 8 weeks, the next at 12 weeks and the final at 16 weeks. This vaccine schedule ensures that your kitten’s immune system does not have a chance to drop and leave the kitten vulnerable to infection.
Does my kitten need only core vaccines?
When deciding which vaccines your kitten will need, you must consider whether your kitten will be an indoor or indoor/outdoor cat as an adult. Although you may plan on keeping your adult cat inside, cats are tricky creatures and may decide that they want to explore the great outdoors. If they wish to do so, they’ll find some way to make that happen. If they are not fully vaccinated, that puts them at risk for infection from another cat that they may encounter. This is why it is good practice for kittens to be fully vaccinated against all diseases. We can stop giving a vaccine in a few years if it is not needed, but a missed vaccine can mean that your cat could get a preventable disease.