It's mostly a matter of analyzing the risks versus the benefits. For the FIV vaccine, the experts currently feel that the risks outweigh the benefits so they are not recommending it. If your cat goes outside and gets in fights all the time, well then that might be one case where the FIV vaccine might be worth the risk, since FIV is *only* transmitted by bite wounds.
FeLV is a fairly wimpy virus and not easy to catch. Most cats who are exposed will actually clear it with their own immune system, without any assistance (or interference!). In a household where there are FeLV+ cats, or in catteries with endemic FeLV, or if your cat is exposed through some other contact with a positive cat, then the vaccine may be of benefit.
Both of these vaccines are killed and adjuvanted, meaning that there is a risk of fibrosarcoma, a fatal cancer of the connective tissue caused by the vaccine. Every additional vaccine a cat receives increases the risk of cancer.
All veterinarians should be honestly discussing these risks and benefits with clients, explaining why each vaccine is recommended, what it prevents, what the risk of disease actually *is* for the particular cat, and what the side effects might be. Unfortunately, most veterinarians are still trigger-happy and give all vaccines to all animals, without regard for the individual who might suffer because of it. As we were discussing earlier on another thread, the main motivation appears to be greed, with a little bit of honest fear, perhaps. Vaccine income is about 15% of the profit of most clinics, and a lot of vets don't want to let that go.
Personally, I give my cats their kitten distemper series and 2 rabies vaccines 1 year apart. They aren't getting anything else, ever.
We're currently doing a series in our monthly e-newsletter on vaccination. It's free to subscribe, just visit
www.littlebigcat.com!
Cheers,
Dr. Jean
