What is vaccination?

Vaccination or active immunisation means inducing active immune reaction of the organism. During vaccination, an antigen of a disease is introduced to the organism to make it start producing antibodies. If an animal is vaccinated against a certain disease, then, if it has a contact with this infection in the future, it is already prepared to protect itself. It is significantly cheaper to vaccinate the animal than treat the infections that could be avoided!

Against what infections are cats vaccinated?

We differentiate between core (those done to all the pet animals, as they protect them against serious, life-threatening, and widely spread diseases) and non-core (vaccination necessity depends on the specific animal, its living environment and location, etc.) vaccines.

Core vaccines include vaccination against rabies (In Estonia, vaccination against rabies is obligatory every two years), feline viral rhinotracheitis, calcivirus and panleukopenia virus or feline distemper.

Non-core vaccines include vaccination against feline leukaemia and immunodeficiency viruses. Vaccination against these two diseases is possible in certain countries, however, it is not recommended as vaccine efficiency has not been confirmed yet.  Additionally, it interferes with pathogen detection.   

Viral rhinotracheitis (R)

This is the most common feline respiratory infection, caused by herpes virus. The disease is very contagious and may develop into a life-threatening pneumonia (especially in kittens). The infection spreads via direct contact, particularly saliva or eye and nasal discharge of a sick cat. The symptoms include cough, sneezing, nasal discharge, conjunctivitis, sometimes fever, and the loss of appetite.  The disease may cause the development of predisposition to corneal ulcers and lead to abortion in pregnant animals. At an early age, the infection may ultimately damage nasal and sinus tissue and make the animal susceptible to chronic bacterial infections. Many clinically healthy cats may actually be infected and become disease carriers.

Calcivirus (C)

It is a very common feline respiratory infection. The pathogen is excreted via faeces, urine, saliva, and nasal discharge, and is further transmitted with the air, hairs, clothes, etc. Most cats excrete the pathogen for two weeks after infection, some may continue doing that for the rest of their lives. The symptoms include fever, conjunctivitis, nasal discharge, sneezing, and ulcers in the mouth. Some animals may develop joint problems. The disease may become pandemic with a mortality rate of almost 67%. The infection course is more severe in young animals, whereas cats over three years of age mostly do not suffer any serious symptoms if any.

Panleukopenia or feline distemper (P)

This very contagious disease is caused by parvovirus and may lead to death. The virus spreads via the animal body fluids or faeces, as well as dust, clothes, etc. The pathogen is very resistant to environmental factors. The infection affects digestive tract and its main symptoms include acute bloody diarrhoea, severe dehydration, and loss of appetite. It leads to white blood cell count decrease, which results in weaker immunity. Regardless of the treatment, the mortality rate is high (95% – in animals younger than 2 months of age, 60–70% – in those older than two months, and 10– 20% – in adult animals). If left untreated, the mortality rate is up to 85%.

Rabies (R)

Rabies is a fatal acute viral infection causing mainly nervous system related symptoms. The infection spreads via bites. Different species (including humans) are susceptible to the disease. The spread of the infection mainly depends on the country. For example, Estonia is declared rabies free, whereas the disease is widely spread in African countries. The disease has several stages, and the symptoms vary from inertia to severe aggressiveness and muscle paralysis. The animal commonly dies within 5–6 days after the first symptoms develop. In Estonia, it is obligatory to vaccinate your pet against rabies every two years! For more information visit https://pta.agri.ee/en/animals/infectious-animal-diseases.