Vaccinations

Vaccinations are extremely important for the overall health and well being of your dog or cat. Vaccinations can protect your pet from life-threatening diseases like distemper, parvovirus, rabies and bordatella. Preventing these diseases will assure your pet a better quality of life and in the long run will be the least expensive way of caring for your pet.

We will advise you as to which vaccinations your individual cat or dog needs. Depending on your pet's age, lifestyle, breed and other factors, our veterinarian will recommend the best vaccine schedule for him or her. It is important to note that side affects from vaccines are rare.

Why do kittens and puppies need so many vaccines?

Puppies and kittens are more susceptible to various diseases than older pets. After they're born, a nursing puppy or kitten receives antibodies from his mother through her milk. Eventually, this protection fades and your puppy or kitten needs immunizations to prevent it from getting sick. However, the mother's protection can interfere with the vaccines and therefore, it's difficult to determine when vaccines will be able to provide immunization. That is why puppies and kittens need so many vaccines. If the maternal protection interferes with earlier vaccines, your pet will still be protected by the later vaccines.

Below are typically recommended vaccine schedules:

Cats

7-8 Weeks	FVRCP, Leukemia
12 Weeks	FVRCP, Leukemia, Rabies
14 Weeks	FVRCP, Leukemia
Once you complete the kitten schedule, we recommend:
Yearly	FVRCP, Leukemia
Every 3 years	Rabies

Dogs

6 Weeks	DA2PPv, Deworming
8 Weeks	DA2PPv, Bordetella, 2nd Deworming
12 Weeks	DA2PPv, Bordetella, Rabies
14 Weeks	DA2PPv, Bordetella/td>
Once you complete the puppy schedule, we recommend:
Yearly	DA2PPv, Bordetella, Lyme
Every 3 years	Rabies

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