Time for Testing!
Depending on what health concerns you’re questioning, you may need testing! There’s testing for just about anything, and the same goes for cats. Although most cats would rather die than visit the vet, keeping them up to date on vaccines and testing is highly important for their overall health. On the top of my recommendation list for testing, I suggest the titer test.
A titer test is a blood test that checks the antibodies in your cat’s blood to see if they’re still protected from the diseases or bacteria they were vaccinated for originally. You may be asking, “Why?”
I find that more often than not, pets are over vaccinated. Our animals definitely need vaccines, but I’d lean on the side of caution and not overdo it. If more and more vaccines are given that aren’t needful, it can lead to over vaccination.
Over vaccination is a concern as it causes blood problems, digestion problems, skin issues, as well as autoimmune disease. Obviously, we don’t want any of that happening to our fur babies!
Once your feline has received their vaccines, there are certain symptoms to look out for. Firstly, watch for swelling near the injection site. If this persists more than three weeks or begins to grow, please contact your vet immediately. This could be a sign of a type of cancer called feline injection site sarcoma (FISS for short). These tumors are rare and are believed to be the result from inflammation associated with vaccines. Additionally, they can occur up to ten years after a vaccination in some cats. Just another reason why a head to tail assessment on your cat every week is so important!
A rabies vaccine is mandatory but instead of getting a one year vaccine, I recommend getting a three year vaccine. The only difference is the label as it is the same amount of medicine.
Through reading this, I hope you are well informed and understanding the need for different vaccines as well as a titer test! Every cat should be vaccinated, so talk to your vet for the best course of action!