Why should I vaccinate my pet?
Vaccines are important to protect your pet from a number of contagious and potentially deadly diseases.
We offer vaccinations for cats, dogs and rabbits. Your vet can advise you on the safest and most effective vaccination schedule for your animal. We assess each animal individually and take their lifestyle into account when recommending which vaccines should be given.
Cat Vaccines
We recommend all cat are vaccinated with a ‘core’ vaccine. This includes protection against feline herpes virus and calicivirus – common causes of cat ‘flu’ as well as feline panleukopenia virus. We also offer a vaccination against feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) – this disease is similar to HIV in people and can lead to feline AIDS.
Dog Vaccines
Our ‘core’ dog vaccine is recommended for all dogs. This provides protection against canine distemper, parvovirus, parainfluenza and infectious canine hepatitis and is given every 3 years. We also offer a kennel cough vaccine that is given annually. This is recommended for all dogs and is a requirement for dogs going into kennels.
Puppies can be vaccinated from 6 weeks, kittens from 8 weeks and rabbits from 10 weeks of age. Puppies and kittens will need a course of at least three vaccinations, normally 3 to 4 weeks apart.
Rabbit Vaccines
We recommend that rabbits are vaccinated against viral haemorrhagic disease. This disease can be caught directly from another rabbit. The virus can also survive for a long time in the environment and can be carried on objects such as shoes and bedding. There is no known cure once a rabbit is infected and unfortunately most infected rabbits die.
Vaccinations given to young animals do not protect them for a lifetime.
All of the vaccines mentioned above require booster vaccinations. The exact interval depends on the vaccine given.
Your pet may need extra vaccines if they are travelling overseas. Please call us to discuss this.
