Annual Care for Cats
These are general guidelines; preventive care must be tailored to each cat’s individual needs and should consider not only travel, but diet, exercise, weight, and overall health status as well.
- FVR-C-P= Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis (herpes) virus; Calici-virus (respiratory); Panleukopenia (distemper)
- FeLV=Feline Leukemia Virus
My Cat’s Travel Condition |
Vaccine Recommendations |
Other Recommendations |
| My cat never leaves the apartment. | FVR-C-P (initial kitten series; booster at 1 year of age and then every 3 years) Rabies virus* (after 3 months of age; booster in one year, then annually) FeLV (once, after 11 weeks of age) |
Microchip Identification with chip registration should still be considered A stool sample should be checked periodically. |
My cat meets other cat in my building or I may even take my cat outdoors on a leash, or over to a friend’s house. Sometimes I must leave my cat at a boarding facility while I am away. |
FVR-C-P (initial kitten series; booster at 1 year of age and then every 3 years) Rabies virus* (after 3 months of age; booster in one year, then annually) FeLV (once, after 11 weeks of age) |
Microchip Identification with chip registration should be undertaken A parasite control program emphasizing intestinal parasite and flea control should be considered. A stool sample should be checked annually |
I travel with my cat outside of NYC to Long Island, NJ, PA, CT, New England, or upstate-NY Or I may even travel with my cat elsewhere, but only in the United States |
FVR-C-P (initial kitten series; booster at 1 year of age and then every 3 years) Rabies virus* (after 3 months of age; booster in one year, then annually) FeLV (once, after 11 weeks of age) |
Microchip Identification with chip registration should be undertaken; A parasite control program emphasizing intestinal parasite, heartworm, flea and tick control is very important. A stool sample should be checked annually |
| I anticipate international travel with my cat. | FVR-C-P (initial kitten series; booster at 1 year of age and then every 3 years) Rabies virus* (after 3 months of age; booster in one year, then annually) FeLV (once, after 11 weeks of age) |
Microchip Identification should be undertaken and is required by law now for much international travel; registration of the chip is optional but necessary to identify your cat if lost. A parasite control program emphasizing intestinal parasite, heartworm, flea and tick control is very important. A stool sample should be checked annually |
* Rabies vaccination is a legal requirement in NYC and in every area of the world; this requirement applies even to indoor cats. We use Pure-Vax Rabies Vaccine in cats. International travel may require the use of a different killed-virus vaccine, and this vaccine has been shown to cause a form of cancer at the injection site in 1 out of approximately 12,000 cats receiving the vaccine. For this reason, we have gotten away from this form of vaccine for routine use.
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