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So then, what can you do regarding a holistic approach to your cat's annual visit? Here's what I recommended to my clients:
1.
Owners
and
doctors
should
now
concentrate
our
efforts
on
the
problems
currently
challenging
our
pets'
health.
These
are
the
same
health
problems
we
face
as
well,
including
obesity,
heart
disease,
diabetes,
kidney
disease,
periodontal
infections,
and
cancers.
These
problems
are
responsible
for
illness
and
death
for
most
cats
rather
than
infectious
diseases.
As
such,
our
annual
visit
must
prevent
these
problems
through
early
diagnosis
via
the
physical
examination
and
necessary
lab
testing
including
things
like
blood
and
urine
testing.
2. There is no doubt that some vaccines may induce immunity in some cats longer than the 12 month period stated on the vaccine label. If immunity may last longer than 12 months, why over-immunize your pet and risk any side effects? 3. A holistic approach to vaccinations is to have vaccine titers checked each year to determine if immunizations are needed. These blood tests are inexpensive and are the only objective way to look at a cat's antibody level against infectious diseases. The titers are mathematical representations of the pet's antibody level. While the “correct level” for titers varies according to the laboratory used, in general, titers of 1:20 or greater are considered protective (meaning further vaccination is probably not warranted) and titers less than 1:20 are not protective (indicating current immunization may be needed.)
By
running
an
annual
titer,
your
pet's
doctor
can
work
with
you
to
decide
what
immunizations
if
any
YOUR
pet
needs,
rather
than
making
a
generic
recommendation
based
on
the
“average”
pet.
This
is
a
compromise
between
those
who
say
all
pets
should
be
immunized
each
year
and
those
who
are
against
vaccination
of
adult
pets.
For
those
who
elect
not
to
have
the
titers
run,
a
decision
will
need
to
be
made
based
upon
a
number
of
factors;
usually,
the
doctor
will
recommend
annual
immunization
if
he
cannot
determine
your
pet's
current
immune
status.
Owners
can
still
choose
homeopathic
nosodes
to
be
administered
at
the
time
of
immunization
as
a
means
of
trying
to
minimize
any
harmful
side
effects
from
the
immunizations
(I
don't
recommend
using
nosodes
in
place
of
vaccines
since
I
have
not
seen
any
definitive
studies
showing
their
effectiveness,
although
this
is
a
controversial
area.)
By
taking
the
holistic
approach,
it
is
possible
to
fit
health
care
recommendations
to
the
needs
of
each
pet.
And
keep
in
mind
that
vaccinations
are
just
one
small
part
of
the
whole
health
care
picture.
An
annual
physical
examination,
blood
testing
to
check
for
diabetes,
thyroid
disease,
blood
cancers,
and
kidney
and
liver
diseases
are
always
more
important
than
vaccinations
since
your
cat
is
most
likely
to
die
from
these
degenerative
disorders
than
from
infectious
diseases.
It's
time
we
start
treating
our
feline
family
members
the
way
we
treat
ourselves.
Early
diagnosis
and
treatment
of
those
problems
most
likely
to
adversely
affect
our
cats
just
makes
good
sense.
And
finally,
realize
that
vaccine
manufacturers
are
taking
this
problem
seriously.
In
the
future,
I
expect
we'll
see
things
like
intranasal
vaccines,
topical
skin
vaccines,
and
vaccines
containing
no
preservatives.
This
will
all
eliminate
most
of
the
problems
of
frequent
immunization.
Dr.
Shawn
Messonnier
is
the
author
of
The
Arthritis
Solution
for
Dogs,
The
Allergy
Solution
for
Dogs,
and
The
Natural
Health
Bible
for
Dogs
&
Cats.
Contact
him
at
naturalvelvet@juno.com
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