Vaccinating your cats is a hotly debated topic. There is no doubt that certain core vaccines protect your cat from some fatal diseases but there is so much misinformation about the frequency and safety of vaccines as well as when to give them to your pet.
There’s one essential thing you need to understand about cat vaccines before you give your pet one.
Most standard cat vaccines contain something called an adjuvant which is intended to be added to the vaccine to maximize its effectiveness. So this might sound like a good thing, right? Of course, we want the vaccine to work as well as possible - but here’s the problem.
These adjuvants are synthetic chemicals that are added to your pet’s body - things like aluminum or mercury compounds. It is precisely these adjuvants that are the number one cause of pets having allergy reactions to vaccines or other serious side effects. The great news is that the 2 essential vaccines (FRVCP and Rabies) are both available in non-adjuvanted formulations.
One company called Purevax set out to solve this problem and they make highly effective and extremely safe vaccines for felines only that are adjuvant-free so they don’t contain any of these added materials that put your cat at additional risk.
Now most veterinary clinics do not stock the Purevax brand vaccinations in their office, but you can chat with your vet about your concerns and request that they order them for your kitties. This may be slightly more expensive but it is well worth the extra fee to give your cat the best and safest form of vaccination possible - I can guarantee that the extra cost will be less than the bills if your cat has an adverse reaction to his or her jabs.
If you are wondering how often you should vaccinate, check out my article on a simple test you can do to see whether your cat really needs that booster shot or if it is OK to wait.
