>> My vet said that the vaccine is 90+% effective and that the likelihood of my other six adult, healthy cats getting leukemia was extremely small. <<
In my opinion, one needs to look at all of the factors before deciding whether or not to vaccinate. 1) Vaccine efficacy. I have heard anywhere from 30% to 70% efficacy, but I can't find anything online that says anything concrete. 2) Animal's risk of exposure. Adult cats are less susceptible to contracting FeLV than kittens. "the degree of virus exposure sufficient to infect 100% of young kittens will infect only 30% or fewer adults." Source: http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/felv.html 3) Vaccine side effects, short-term and long-term. "There are some potentially serious side effects from the leukemia vaccine that need to be taken into consideration when deciding to vaccinate a cat. Adverse effects from vaccination can include local swelling or pain, transient lethargy or fever, post-vaccination granuloma formation (a gathering of inflammatory cells that cause a benign lump), and most seriously, *vaccine associated sarcomas.*<http://www.catvaccines.com/sarcomas.htm>A sarcoma is a type of a mass that is comprised of cancerous cells. Sarcomas can spread from the site of the injection down into surrounding connective tissue, muscle, and bone. Even with chemotherapy, radiation, and surgical removal some cats have died from vaccine-associated sarcomas. Although sarcomas have been reported from vaccines other than the feline leukemia virus (rabies is thought to be associated with possible sarcoma formation), current scientific research links sarcoma formation most often with feline leukemia vaccination." Source: http://www.catvaccines.com/feline_vaccination_guidelines.htm I no longer vaccinate my personal cats at ALL, and vaccinate my rescues minimally or not at all. In the case with my FeLV+ kitties, I did not vaccinate for anything at all. It IS a very personal choice, and one that should not be taken lightly. Sabrina www.Pet-Sitter-Pro.com www.LovingGraceRescue.org Orange County, CA _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
