Why Vaccinating Your Pet is Important

Here at The Whole Pet Vet, we believe that integrative holistic care is vital to your pet’s health. At the same time, we recognize the importance of dog and cat vaccines in preventing infectious diseases. We take a careful approach when we recommend vaccines for your pet. Your dog or cat’s breed, lifestyle, disease exposure risk, and medical history are taken into account. 

Based on this information, we may recommend one or two vaccines for one patient and multiple vaccines for another. Here’s why cat and dog vaccines are important. 

How Dog and Cat Vaccines Work

Vaccines work by prompting your pet’s immune system to recognize and attack a certain bacteria or virus. Within a few weeks after the vaccine is given, your pet’s body will be primed to recognize and attack the actual bacteria or virus. 

It’s important to note that vaccines don’t prevent these harmful organisms from entering your pet’s body. Because of this, the organisms can still spread to other animals, which is why it’s so important for a large majority of animals to be vaccinated, particularly against deadly diseases like rabies. Rabies vaccination is required by all 50 states in the US.

Instead of preventing the organism from entering your pet, vaccines help the immune system fight the threat. The vaccine aids the body in preventing an infection. 

No vaccine is 100% perfect, but they are highly effective in preventing serious diseases and illnesses. The rabies vaccine for pets, for example, eradicated rabies in United States dogs by 2007. However in countries where rabies vaccines aren’t widely available, rabid dogs kill thousands of children each year. 

Which Vaccines Should My Pet Get? 

Rabies is the only legally mandated vaccine for dogs in the state of California. And in Los Gatos, all cats and dogs over the age of four months must be vaccinated for rabies. 

Depending on your pet’s health and your comfort level, we may also recommend vaccinations for: 

• Feline calicivirus
• Feline herpesvirus-1
• Feline panleukopenia
• Feline leukemia
• Canine distemper, adenovirus, parainfluenza, and parvovirus
• Leptospira
• Canine Lyme disease
• Western diamondback rattlesnake
• Canine influenza

These diseases can cause your pet to get very sick. But not all pets are at risk for all these conditions. At the Whole Pet Vet, our empathetic team of veterinarians will help you make the best decision for your beloved animal. You can schedule an appointment online today to discuss vaccines with your pet’s veterinarian.