Just like your children, your pet also needs to get vaccinations. These vaccinations make sure that your cat is protected from a multitude of illnesses, including things like rabies and feline leukemia virus. Some vaccinations you only have to get once, while others, like the rabies shot, will have to be done regularly, generally annually. One important vaccine to make sure that your pet gets is the vaccine against feline viral rhinotracheitis, AKA feline herpesvirus and feline calicivirus.

Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis and Feline Calicivirus

These are respiratory illnesses that cats can get. They are related to each other, and can be difficult to tell apart when it comes to diagnosing. These two things tend to be the cause behind most of the respiratory illnesses that cats get. Symptoms of these illnesses include sneezing, congested eyes, runny noses, and excessive salivation. The cat may also run a fever. The illness can be over in a few days if your cat is only mildly ill, and can take weeks to exit your cat's system if they were really ill. It is contagious, so if you have multiple cats, it can run through all of your pets. 

FVRC

FVRC is the vaccine that helps to inoculate your cat against FRV and FC. It's called a bivalent vaccine, which is just a fancy way of saying that it is one vaccine that covers two different diseases. There is also a variation that includes the vaccine for feline parvovirus, which would make it a trivalent vaccine. Since the FVRC and parvo vaccine tend to be given at around the same time, especially for kittens, your vet may choose to give the trivalent version, just to limit the amount of shots a kitten would get at one time. That can make things easier on everyone. Vets are good at giving shots to your cat, but they want it to go as quickly as your cat wants it to go. 

Vaccine Timing

For the FVRC, your vet will recommend that your kitten gets the shot at about 12 weeks. If you wait until much later than 12 weeks, then you will probably have to take your cat back in to see the vet in about a month or so in order to get a second shot. This is one of those vaccines that you will have to have administered regularly. Your vet will probably recommend that you get this one done every three years. 

Keeping your pet healthy is important. Getting your cat their vaccinations when they should is one easy way to keep them healthy. Click here for more info about cat vaccinations.