National Immunization Awareness Month : Vaccines For Your Pets

• August 9, 2019
• Fizzion Clean

National Immunization Awareness Month is this August! This month is focused on raising awareness about vaccinations for pets. Whether you’re a dog lover, cat fanatic, or rabbit fan, vaccinations are important for the health of your pet. Continue reading to find out more!

What is a vaccine?

A vaccine is essentially the organism that usually causes a specific disease. However, it’s in a weakened state and the organism causes your pets immune system to make a protective response. This immunizes your pet against this disease in the future. There are vaccines for a variety of different diseases and illnesses, some that could be life-threatening. There are even some diseases that can be transmitted to people, so it’s essential to not only protect your pet but also your family and community. Make sure you consult a veterinarian to understand exactly what your pet needs to stay fighting fit!

Breaking down immunizations.

Immunizations protect animals for an array of different diseases. These include heartworm, rabies, feline panleukopenia, Lyme disease and more. A vaccine is an essential step is a pet owner wants to reduce the risk of their animal getting an infectious disease or life-threatening illness. A vaccine is a preventative measure that helps protect pets from diseases from a young age. There are so many vaccines that it can be difficult to understand what is needed and when they should be taken. Below, we’ll take a look at some of the most essential vaccines to keep your pet safe and healthy!

Different kinds of immunizations.

There are core and non-core vaccines for your pet. What’s the difference? Core are those that are absolutely recommended by veterinarians. Whereas non-core vaccines are optional. You can get them based on your animals’ lifestyle. Currently, there is a lot of fear surrounding the adverse side effects of vaccinations. However, vaccinations are safe and any negative effects are quite rare and usually easy to treat. There’s no evidence or scientific foundation that vaccinations will cause any serious illness. Below we’ll take a look at some of the main vaccines that are necessary for the protection of your furry best friends.

Vaccines for cats.

There are also many core and non-core vaccines available for cats. Because the disease is widespread in the environment and it’s easy to transmit them from pet to pet. This means it’s vital to at least get the core vaccines for your animals. The most important core vaccinations target feline panleukopenia virus, leukemia virus, feline viral rhinotracheitis, and feline calicivirus. Keep in mind that even if you have an indoor cat, they will still need to be vaccinated. Just because they are at a lower risk of contracting a disease, doesn’t mean they should avoid their core shots altogether. With an indoor cat, it may be advisable to skip non-core vaccinations because they’re not at risk with that kind of lifestyle. However, but to properly protect your cat and family, make sure it’s vaccinated with core shots such as rabies.

Vaccines for dogs

There are a variety of different core vaccines for dogs that are essential to get. These include canine distemper virus, canine parvovirus, leptospirosis, canine adenovirus, and rabies. Non-core vaccines include Bordetella, also known as kennel cough, and Lyme disease. Here is some more information about the most important core vaccines, rabies.

More about rabies

Rabies is one of the most common diseases to vaccinate you furry companion against. Not only is rabies fatal to dogs but also it’s dangerous to people, as a bite from a rabid animal can be hazardous. In many states, the rabies vaccine is a requirement for owning a dog. The rabies shot should be given to puppies within the first year and followed by an annual booster. Although, some rabies vaccine booster shots only need to be administered every three years. For a cat, they also require an initial vaccine in the first year and then a booster shot every couple of years. Often, just like with dogs, a rabies vaccine is mandatory if you want to be a cat owner.

So this August, raise awareness for National Immunization Awareness Month! Start an event at work, or kick-start a fundraiser for a local animal shelter. Do your part to spread the word about the benefits of vaccinations.