Vaccinating your Kitten

It is very important to protect your new kitten against Cat 'Flu, Feline Infectious Enteritis and leukaemia (FeLV), before it goes out and has contact with other cats. We recommend giving a course of two injections 3 weeks apart, typically at 9 and 12 weeks of age. The kitten will be protected from 10 days after the second injection. An annual booster vaccination is then required for life. Vaccination does not guarantee that the cat will not catch the diseases but it helps to prime the immune system so that the animal can recover more quickly and suffer milder symptoms than if unprotected. An older cat that is newly homed can still be vaccinated as if a kitten.

As with most viruses, the cat viruses are usually transmitted via faeces, saliva, urine and cat bites even from another cat that appears healthy. There is another fatal virus that unfortunately, we cannot protect against called Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV). This is primarily transmitted by cat bites, so another sensible precaution to take if your cat suffers repeated bites is to confine it indoors at night. (This is when the majority of fights occur.)