I would like to explain why vaccines received a whole part in this series. Vaccination is one of the MOST important things you can do for your pet. It can save an animal's life! A vaccine for your cat may be likened to getting your own children vaccines, and you should do it for the same reason; prevention of illness. I have had kittens and adult cats die from diseases simply because they were not vaccinated. Every pet owner should get their animals vaccinated against the most prevalent viruses for their area.

Vaccine for cats can be explained as follows: You place a virus, or bacteria in a liquid and then introduce this mixture to the cat's immune system by injection or inhalation.

There are 2 major ways of giving a cat vaccines. The first is through injection, the second is through inhalation.

Injection Pro's/Con's

• Pro: Most used method of vaccination
• Con: Injection sites can become infected, and owners are not typically equipped/knowledgeable on giving injections to animals

Intra-nasal (Inhaled) Pro's/Con's

• Pro: Ease of use for owners, no needles involved. Can provide faster protection than an injection, and might give better protection/benefit if the virus is already present
• Con: Animals won't sit still for drops going into their eyes and nose, and small lesions can develop (but the go away)

The most common viruses that are harmful to cats are:

1. Rabies
2. Feline Leukemia
3. Feline Immunodeficiency Virus a.k.a. FIV (like HIV for cats)

4. Feline Rhinotracheitis a.k.a. Feline Herpes
5. Feline Upper Respiratory Disease which includes the Calicivirus
6. Feline Infectious Peritonitis

I know that these are technical terms, but I am sure you recognize a few of them as diseases humans get, such as Leukemia, Herpes and HIV.

Almost every vet offers vaccination service. There are several ways of lowering your cost for getting vaccines. Ask you vet these important questions:

1. Do they have discount packages available if you get all the shots at one time?
2. How many shots total will your cat need? Do they need to come back for "booster" shots at a specific stage?
3. Do they charge a "visit" fee for giving the shots on top of the cost of the vaccines? (Some vets do, and it ranges from $60-150!)

You can also look in your local phone book for vet offices that advertise "discount days" for vaccinations. These vets typically set out 1 day a week and use an afternoon slot of about 4 hours to provide ONLY vaccines. Because of this, you can get anywhere from 10-50% off! My local vet does this. You may also check around with local "feed store" type businesses as they sometimes hold vet clinics at their stores where you can get the shots at a discounted rate.

Online, you can also buy your own vaccines. ONLY if you have training would I recommend giving your own cat injections! This is a very dangerous process for the owner (your cat may scratch your face off!), and could cause serious harm to your cat too. Not all states allow private citizens to purchase vaccines, so always check your states regulations before paying for vaccines. If you are able to buy them, they usually come in 10-dose vials (1 ml dose, 10ml vial total.) You can typically get the vials for different amounts of viruses covered. There are 1-type vials, 3-type, 4-type and 5-type. Most injection style vaccines require a booster shot after the initial shot, and if you only have 1 or 2 cats, the cost of the vaccine + the special shipping materials required will be more than the cost of taking them to the vet. You will pay anywhere from $30-100+ for the vaccine itself, and perishable air-shipping runs about $20-30.

You can also get the intra-nasal or inhalation style vaccines online. They offer a product called "Feline Focus 3" that I have used on 2 of my cats so far. It was VERY easy. For these, if you use it on your cat after 12 weeks of age there is no "booster" needed, just one dose. It cost me $8.95 to buy this from my local feed store. I will provide links at the bottom of this post to different vaccines online.

If you take your cat to the vet, I would expect to pay about $15-20 per shot. If you have a "low-cost" spay and neuter vet in your area, you may be able to get a package deal on the shots for about $50 which usually covers them on Leukemia, FIV & FIP.

Ah, it took me awhile to research this one >.<

I am still learning a lot of this stuff, so please don't take my advice as vet pro advice! I'm simply a crazy cat lady that takes in strays!

Also, please check out my other hubs! I am doing a whole 10 hubs on Kitty Care. You can see Part 1 of the series here: Kitty Care Series Part One

I'm looking forward to writing the next part in the series which will cover the terror that is your cat's litter box! Look for it soon here: Kitty Care series Part Three!

Thanks guys! - Ms. Sooz