Several diseases that cats get are almost always fatal-feline leukemia, and rabies, for instance. Other diseases can kill kittens or destroy the good health of adult cats.

Prevention assures the best quality of life for your pet, and it costs less than treatment. Vaccinating your cat is the best and least costly way to prevent disease. Without a vaccination program, many cats will come down with a serious or even fatal disease.

FELINE LEUKEMIA

A few cats recover from a brief FeLV infection and rid themselves of the virus. But if permanent infection occurs, death always results. Any cat that is in continuing poor health or that often becomes sick with infections or fever may have feline leukemia. Your veterinarian can take a simple blood test to find out if the cat is infected with FeLV.

Feline leukemia vaccination is now a common part of cat preventive health programs. Two initial does are given three weeks apart, followed by a yearly booster.

It is especially important to vaccinate cats against rabies, because most rabies in domestic (non-wild) animals occur in cats. For example, in the U.S. since 1981, more cats than dogs have been reported with rabies. In 1989, there were nearly a third more cases of rabies in cats than in dogs.

In North America, most rabies exists in wildlife, especially raccoons, skunks, foxes, and bats. Rabies is spread by bites or saliva of infected animals. Therefore, an unvaccinated cat involved in a fight with a wild animal or with wounds from an unknown animal should be suspect for rabies. When rabies is diagnosed, animals must be euthanized (humanely destroyed).

Cats should be vaccinated for rabies at 12 weeks or older and again each year.

Feline panleukopenia(FPL), sometimes called feline distemper, is common and can affect cats of any age. It's almost impossible to prevent exposure, so all cats should be vaccinated.

Respiratory disease is easily passed form one cat to another by droplets in the air from coughing or sneezing. Kittens can die from eh disease, especially if they get pneumonia. Cats with respiratory disease have watery or sticky discharge from the nose and eyes, nose and mouth sores, inflamed eyes, and fever.

Vaccination against these two viruses is usually given in a single dose.

Vaccination helps prevent, not cure, disease. Vaccines contain viruses or bacteria that have been altered so they don't cause disease. When your cat is given a vaccine, its immune system produces special substances called antibodies that work against the viruses or bacteria that cause the disease. Later, if your pet is exposed to that disease, these antibodies quickly destroy the disease-causing agent.

The protection provided by a vaccine gradually declines after a pet is vaccinated. That's why a regular booster vaccination along with a health check-up is always recommended.

A nursing kitten receives antibodies from its mother's milk(called maternal antibodies) that protect it from disease during the first months of its life. Unfortunately, these antibodies can also keep a vaccine from being effective.

Maternal antibodies gradually decrease during the first few months of the kitten's life. That's why kittens are given a series of two or three vaccine doses spread out over six to 16 weeks of age. That way, if maternal antibodies interfere with early vaccinations, later doses will stimulate the kitten to produce its own antibodies to the disease.

• AGE: Most vaccines have limited effectiveness until a kitten is weaned, because the maternal antibodies neutralize vaccine.
• OVERALL HEALTH: Poorly nourished or sick animals or those on some medications may not respond well to vaccination. That's why a physical exam is required.
• NEED FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTS: An animal with parasites (like worms or fleas) or one infected with a disease may not respond to vaccination.
• RISK OF EXPOSURE: Vaccination against some diseases may not be necessary if the risk of getting them is low. Using the information gained from the physical exam and from asking you question about you pet, you veterinarian can suggest a vaccination program that will help keep your pet healthy.

Vaccines help protect your cat from infectious diseases, but other aspects of your pet's health are equally important, especially nutrition and parasite control. Your veterinarian is your partner in insuring the best preventive care for your feline companion and friend and to keep you informed about new developments for providing a long, healthy life for you pet.