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Expert: - 10/4/2010


Question

7 week old kitten
Hello.

I am currently planning to adopt a 7 week old kitten. The kitten is de-wormed, and has it's first set of shots. I was just wondering which vaccinations are part of the first set and whether or not it includes the rabies shot.
I do know that they need 3 sets of shots all being 3-4 weeks apart. After they get all three sets, do they need other shots later in life (booster shots/renewing shots), and how much do these sets cost on average?

Also I was wondering which breed of cat is in the picture. People are telling me it is a tabby, but that is not a breed. Personally I think it looks somewhat along the lines of an american shorthair, but im not sure.

Thank you so much for your help!!!!!

Answer
John,

Ultimately the number and frequency of vaccines depends upon the risk levels that your kitten will be exposed to and how current your vet is on the latest research surrounding vaccines. Obviously you don't want to give too many vaccines too frequently because you'd be opening the door to health problems later on in your baby's life so my advice to you would be to take your time and do the research before deciding on any vaccines beyond the initial sets of kitten vaccines and the first rabies shot.

When it comes to what vaccines your baby is receiving it's pretty standard for your kitten to be vaccinated against feline distemper (panleukopenia), feline viral rhinotracheitis (feline herpes virus 1) and calicivirus at this stage. Your kitten should also receive a rabies vaccine somewhere between 12-16 weeks of age as part of their preventative health plan. Beyond those first sets of vaccines against common feline diseases and the rabies vaccine opinions vary widely depending on whose research you're reading and ultimately what my vet told me was that you want to try to keep vaccines being administered as minimally as they can be and still protect your kitty, in other words generally with a low risk kitty (an indoor cat/kitten who doesn't come into contact with stray cats or outdoor cats) giving annual boosters isn't absolutely necessary. There are some studies that suggest that when a low risk kitten is properly vaccinated as a kitten and given the one year booster for the "core" vaccines plus the rabies they may not need any further vaccines - this can be tested via a simple blood test to measure the levels of antibodies within your kitty's system if you're concerned about over-vaccinating your baby and creating potentially serious health problems (malignant vaccine related tumors, auto-immune diseases, renal failure, etc, just to name a few) later on in his/her life.

Truthfully, my cats are relatively low risk babies who live indoors in an urban highrise so the chances that they will come into contact with much of anything we don't expose them to are slim to nil. Our babies vary in age so their vaccine histories vary substantially:
my eldest was vaccinated as a kitten then annually for a few years, our middle kitty was vaccinated as a kitten, then annually for about 2 years or so and our youngest was properly vaccinated as a baby, given her one year boosters including rabies and not vaccinated again. The decisions you make about vaccinating your cat are intensely personal, but I do believe that you should make informed decisions so I've taken the liberty of including a list of web resources that you might find useful:

~ http://www.holisticat.com/vaccinations.html

Great source of information about vaccines from a holistic perspective. Well worth reading through carefully.

~ http://www.drpitcairn.com/talks/looking_at_vaccines.html

This article provides information from the perspective of a conventional veterinarian who became a holistic practitioner after watching many of his patients do poorly in terms of their health with a purely conventional approach.

As for the age at which your kitten is coming home my recommendation would be to have him stay with mom as long as possible - for a variety of reasons I don't suggest that any kitten leaves mom and littermates before at least 12 weeks of age because those first 12 weeks are a critical time in terms socialization and ensuring that you're less likely to experience behavioural issues with your baby later on in life. I do realize that there are situations where you have no control over this - for example if your kitten is a shelter baby or s/he's an orphan. If either of these issues is the case or your kitten's mom's guardian won't hang onto this baby and his/her siblings until they're older then please feel free to contact me and I'll help you out with information on how to set the limits that your kitten's mom would normally be setting for him to minimize the odds of behavioural issues later on in life (since this is the leading cause of death in healthy cats/kittens).

When it comes to breed it looks to me like you have yourself a good old fashioned Domestic Shorthair (aka a mixed breed/barn cat) with tabby markings. The good news is that this baby's mixed heritage will likely mean he'll live a longer and healthier life than his purebred counterparts. If you'd like to learn more about providing your baby with the healthiest start in life and continuing to ensure that he's as healthy as possible from a holistic standpoint throughout his life I'd be more than happy to provide you with any information that you're interested in from psychological care to nutrition, vaccines and appropriate play (for the moment suffice it to say it's a REALLY bad idea to allow baby to play with fingers, toes, hands, feet or any other body parts - it may be cute now, but it won't be when s/he's 10 lbs and chomping down on your body parts with strong adult teeth)....

Another area that I feel it's incredibly important to address for a new pet parent is nutrition. While there are way too many pet food manufacturers telling you that their food is the best it can be very difficult to interpret the nutritional information that they provide. Case in point - a food made from leather, sawdust, motor oil and indigestible animal parts could potentially be marketed as nutritionally complete with a few vitamins and minerals thrown in there, that doesn't however mean it's anywhere close to being good for your new baby. Hopefully these websites will provide you with some useful information so that you can have your new kitten live the longest, healthiest life s/he possibly can starting from day one.

~ http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/jesse.htm

As with many pages found on Shirley's Wellness Cafe website this one contains loads of information that's well worth reading through, but the amount of information and the way it's presented can be more than a bit overwhelming for some people.

~ http://www.messybeast.com/cat-food-industry.htm

This is definitely a disturbing article on many fronts, but it's one that I think all pet parents who are interested in knowing precisely what they're feeding their much loved animal companions should read. A word to the wise - this is not mealtime reading for anyone who is at all squeamish or grossed out by far less than appetizing items being turned into food for our pets.

~ http://www.catinfo.org

This website was created by a veterinarian by the name of Dr. Lisa Pierson. When my eldest cat nearly died as a result of eating tainted food (which hadn't yet made it onto the recall list at the time) during the Menu Foods pet food recalls in 2007 I became really uncomfortable with the idea that I could be putting her and my other cats in danger again by feeding them foods manufacturered with more of an eye on profit than safety. Ultimately this website was recommended to me by my vet when I asked her about alternatives to any/all foods on the pet food recall lists and I refer to it often as a source of information to help me provide my cats with the healthiest, most species appropriate and well balanced nutrition that I can provide for them. Currently my guys eat a diet largely made up of the recipe on this website and they do receive some high quality commercially produced canned cat food from time to time as well - they're all incredibly healthy and I feel much better about what I'm putting into their bowls.

~ http://www.blakkatz.com/dryfood.html

This article provides important information for pet parents about the use of dry food as a primary source of nutrition (not something I'd recommend at this point, regardless of what some vets tell you).

~ http://www.homevet.com/petcare/feedingyourcat.html

This article was written by Dr. Lisa Pierson (the vet mentioned above who created catinfo.org) and I do think that it's well worth the read.

~ http://www.bachcentre.com/centre/remedies.htm

This website provides a list of all the Bach flower remedies and their general purpose. I love using these remedies because they're gentle, safe and very effective so when I can avoid the chemical pharmaceuticals I do since it's better for my cats in the long run.

Here are a few websites that are more for personal interest than serious medical/nutritional issues:

~ http://www.thecatsite.com/Snips/106/Cat-Coat-Colors-and-Patterns.html

This site simply shows you a variety of coat colours and patterns as well as explaining the proper term and which markings fall into each category. You will note that your kitten is a bi-color tabby (based on what I can see from the picture you've attached to your question).

A couple of other issues are important to begin considering at this point before adopting your kitten so that you can begin making the right decisions for you and for the kitten's future health and wellbeing. Spaying/neutering is very important as countless healthy, adoptable, loving cats, dogs, kittens, puppies and other pets are euthanized every year simply because there aren't enough homes to go around. Part of being a responsible pet parent is considering whether or not you want to permit your cat to breed (my recommendation would be that you don't since sexual maturity can come with serious behavioural and health issues). Here are a few websites you can check out to learn more about spaying/neutering your new kitten:

~ http://www.premierepets.net/index_files/whySpayNeuter.htm

~ http://www.pet-informed-veterinary-advice-online.com/sexing-kittens.html

Just in case you've never had a kitten before I thought I'd send along the address to this web page which contains clear pictures that will be useful to help you determine whether your new arrival is a boy or a girl.

~ http://www.sniksnak.com/overpopulation.html

~ http://www.declawing.com/htmls.declawing.htm

Declawing a cat (aka surgically removing their claws) is often offered as a "routine" surgery along with spaying/neutering. It's important to realize precisely what declawing a cat entails and if you're interested in learning more about the possible behavioural and physical effects of this surgery I'd be more than happy to share the information that I have with you.

One web page that I think it's well worth checking into as a potential new pet parent is http://cats.about.com/od/newtocats/tp/topmistakes.htm - this article covers important things to consider BEFORE you bring your adorable new baby home.

If you have any further cat related questions or concerns I'd be more than happy to help you out to the best of my ability so please don't hesitate to contact me again.

Ali

Expertise

I am the proud guardian of 5 mixed breed cats ranging from 12 weeks to 13 years old and one purebred ragdoll. I have 20+ years experience working with mixed breed cats from a variety of different situations. I have fostered cats/kittens with special needs/behavioral issues. I have rescued/rehabilitated/re-homed a variety of stray/abused cats. I can offer advice on managing feral cat colonies, rehabilitating strays and finding them forever homes. I can help you to determine whether a cat is stray or feral, there IS a significant difference. Improperly introducing a new cat/kitten can result in aggression between newly introduced cats because cats are territorial by nature and they don't like sudden changes in their environment. To learn more about a peaceful way to introduce a new cat into a home with other cats please check out my previous answers on this subject. Proper nutrition for cats can be confusing, I recommend checking out catinfo.org which was created by a veterinarian (Dr. Lisa Pierson) who takes a common sense approach to explaining feline nutrition. Cat behavior and instincts are different from those of humans, I can help you understand your cat's needs so that you can meet them adequately and have a balanced, psychologically and physically sound kitty. Cats vary in personality, energy level and intelligence, different approaches may be required to achieve results in terms of training and interaction with your feline companion. An intelligent, high energy cat must be kept busy or they will make their own fun. I am NOT a licensed veterinarian and I can't offer medical advice. If your cat is ill/injured my advice is always the same: get prompt medical treatment provided by a veterinarian. If finances are an issue I will try to find resources in your area that can help with medical costs or make other choices to ensure the welfare of your cat.

Experience

I have fostered feral and stray cats, rehabilitated and homed cats that many people recommended euthanasia for. I am willing to make an effort to do the research and ask questions because I care enough to find solutions to behavioral problems rather than giving up. I have an interest in the use of alternative therapies to help provide the best possible care for all cats and I can say in all honesty that I've seen some incredible things happen for some incredible cats and their human caregivers when the right alternative therapeutic modality is used by a qualified veterinarian with expertise and experience in the field.

Education/Credentials
I've earned my diploma as a veterinary assistant with honors.

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