Summary of Vaccination Guidelines for
SHELTERS-Feline

From the 2006 AAFP Feline Vaccine Guidelines (www.aafponline.org/resources/practice_guidelines.htm)
(LANDSCAPE mode may be necessary to print this page due to large tables)

Vaccines Recommended for
Shelter-Housed Cats

Administration Time Vaccine Type COMMENTS
Vaccines Administered on ADMISSION


HIGHLY RECOMMENDED		 MLV Panleukopenia
plus
MLV Herpesvirus-1 with
MLV Calicivirus

Available as a combination vaccine		 Comments:
1. IMPORTANT: A combination vaccine should be administered as soon as possible on arrival at the shelter to cats as young as 4 to 6 weeks of age.

2. AVOID use of intranasal vaccine in shelter-housed cats- see FACT FINDER Notes below.

3. AVOID the use of killed vaccine in shelter housed cats- see FACT FINDER Notes below.
Vaccines Administered on Admission


OPTIONAL		 Intranasal Bordetella bronchiseptica

Paternal Chlamydophila felis
(formerly: Chlamydia psittaci)		 Comments:
1. B. bronchiseptica: Use only if infections, particularly in kittens, have been confirmed. A single dose as early as 4 weeks of age is recommended.
CAUTION: May result in post-vaccinal sneezing and/or cough.

2. C. felis: Generally indicated when infections, particularly in kittens, have been confirmed.
Vaccine Administered at the time of RELEASE 1-Year Rabies Comments:
1. Unless proof of previous rabies vaccination is available, a 2nd dose of rabies vaccine should be administered 1 year later-regardless of the cat’s age at the time of release.
FACT FINDERS - Feline Shelter Guidelines:
  1. Currently, all manufacturers make a 3-way MLV combination vaccine for Panleukopenia-Herpesvirus-Calicivirus.
  2. NOT RECOMMENDED in Shelter-Housed cats: FIV, Giardia, and FIP.
    Although FeLV is generally not administered to Shelter Housed cats, some investigators have suggested that in shelters where kittens and young cats (<6 months of age) are housed together, FeLV vaccine should be administered whenever feasible (NOTE:  2 doses are required)
  3. MLV vaccines are recommended over killed virus vaccines because:
    - a single dose of MLV vaccine may confer immunity.
    - killed virus vaccines, when administered to a cat for the first time, require 2 doses be administered 3 to 4 weeks apart. This results in a substantial delay between admission to the shelter and the onset of protective immunity.
  4. Recombinant rabies (rRabies) and recombinant FeLV (rFeLV) vaccines are recommended on the basis of the fact they do not contain nor require adjuvant. In addition to stimulating FeLV antibody production, the rFeLV vaccine (transdermal vaccination) is the only FeLV vaccine that has been shown to produce a cell-mediated immune (CMI) response in cats.

    NOTE: Antibody against FeLV is only effective against circulating FeLV. Because FeLV naturally resides inside cells (especially bone marrow lymphoid cells), the CMI response (transdermal administration) may be particularly important in mitigating the consequences of infection.
  5. Cats older than 15-16 weeks of age presented for the first time for initial vaccines should receive 2 Doses (of any vaccine selected for administration) 3 to 4 weeks apart.
Adjuvanted Feline Vaccine

Package inserts and labels do NOT indicate whether a vaccine contains adjuvant. It is important to know that, in cats,  ONLY Killed viral and Killed bacterial vaccines are adjuvanted.

In the US, Modified Live Virus (MLV), live bacterial (eg, intranasal B. bronchiseptica), and  Recombinant Vaccines DO NOT contain Adjuvant.

 

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Adult Booster Protocol-FELINE

(Applies to cats housed in cluster environments for extended periods)

CORE
Vaccine		 Age in Years
+2yr +3yr +4yr +5yr +6yr +7yr +8yr +9yr +10yr +11yr
Panleukopenia
(MLV)		     P     P     P  
Herpesvirus-1
and
Calicivirus
(MLV)		     FVR
& C 		    FVR
& C
  FVR
& C 		 
rRabies rR rR rR rR rR rR rR rR rR rR
                     
NON-CORE
(OPTIONAL)		 Age in Years
+2yr +3yr +4yr +5yr +6yr +7yr +8yr +9yr +10yr +11yr
rFeline
Leukemia
(recombinant)		 rFeLV rFeLV rFeLV rFeLV rFeLV rFeLV rFeLV rFeLV rFeLV rFeLV
B. bronchiseptic
(IntraNasal)		 (Bb) (Bb) (Bb) (Bb) (Bb) (Bb) (Bb) (Bb) (Bb) (Bb)
Chlamydophila felis (formerly: Chlamydia psittaci) (CI) (CI) (CI) (CI) (CI) (CI) (CI) (CI) (CI) (CI)
FACT FINDERS - Feline Shelter -Adult Booster:
  1. Some investigators recommend that the increased exposure to feline herpesvirus-1 and calicivirus justifies administration of annual vaccine (FVR-C).
  2. Risk of exposure to Virulent Systemic Feline Calicivirus (VS-FCV) is deemed to be greatest in the Shelter Environment.  Although a VS-FCV vaccine has been licensed in the US, this vaccine has never demonstrated efficacy subsequent to natural exposure.  The AAFP does not make specific recommendations regarding the use of this vaccine due to the lack of data.

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