Vaccination In Ragdoll Cats 

There is so little thought put into this area of care by the everyday pet owner. Ragdoll  breeders have been working with these cats for years, and see or hear about many more cats of this specific breed than most vets will ever treat. It is this breeder experience that demands respect when recommendations are made for the veterinary and nutritional care for your new Ragdoll kitten. Your breeder has found through trial and error what works for your kitten, you must respect this knowledge or risk injury or loss of your baby.

PLEASE!!!!

Follow the advice of your Breeder when caring for your Ragdoll.

For most of my years breeding,  I have used only killed vaccines and felt very strongly that that was the right thing to do in a healthy cattery. I did not want to introduce virus that was not present in my cats by using modified live vaccines.
In 2009, the ONLY killed feline vaccine on the market was sold to a new company which decided to discontinue the 3 way PCT which I had always used and trusted. The only killed vaccine they now offer is a combo with the controversial calicivax included. After some serious issues after using the Fort Dodge Felovax PCT + Calicivax combo vaccine, I had to rethink my vaccine protocol, and after much discussion and research we had been trying several modified live vaccines.

After several years and several different vaccine companies, we have returned to our original killed vaccines in 2017.

BellaPalazzo Ragdolls Vaccine protocol 2017:

9-10 weeks Elanco Felovax PCT (Rhinotracheitis, Calici and Panleukopenia)
13-18 weeks Elanco Felovax PCT (Rhinotracheitis, Calici and Panleukopenia)
At least 8 weeks after the last vaccine you may give Rabies, but only if you feel it is necessary or if you are obligated by law. Merial Purevax Rabies vaccine uses a newer vaccine technology, and is much easier on the cats.

I do not recommend or encourage boosters after the initial vaccines are done. More is not better, and can be deadly. The risk of vaccine injury is a real and present danger. Sarcoma and allergic reactions can both be deadly. If you are uneasy about not vaccinating, ask your vet to do vaccine titers through Cornell University to check your cats antibody levels.

In 1999, the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine published the results of their independent study on the duration of immunity for the feline vaccines commonly used at the time. They vaccinated kittens at 8 and 12 weeks with a killed vaccine and found that the protection from these two kitten vaccinations lasted through the duration of the study (which was seven and a half years) perhaps providing lifetime protection. Additional booster vaccines are not necessary for this protection, and since vaccination does present an amount of risk (allergic reactions, autoimmune problems, and feline vaccine site sarcomas) additional boosters should not be given. This study supported a 3 year interval between boosters. 

Reference:

Long-term immunity in cats vaccinated with an inactivated trivalent vaccine. Scott FW, Geissinger CM, Dept of Microbiol and Immunol, College of Vet Med, Cornell Univ, Ithaca, NY 14853, US, Am J Vet Res 1999 May;60(5)652-8

 

Back