Daily BiscuitsThe 2020 vaccination schedule in detail
The 2020 AAHA/AAFP Feline Vaccination Guidelines name four core vaccines for every cat: feline panleukopenia (FPV), herpesvirus (FHV-1) and calicivirus (FCV), usually combined as FVRCP, plus rabies; feline leukaemia (FeLV) is core for all cats under one year and risk-based after that. The kitten series starts no earlier than six weeks and repeats every three to four weeks until 16 to 20 weeks. The guidelines prefer a booster at six months rather than one year to close the window where maternal antibodies may have blocked the earlier doses, then FVRCP every three years. FeLV is two doses three to four weeks apart from as early as 8 weeks, a booster 12 months after the second, then yearly for cats with regular outdoor or multi-cat exposure and every two to three years otherwise. Rabies follows the product label and local law. Non-core vaccines (Chlamydia felis, Bordetella) are for specific risk situations only.
The 2024 WSAVA cat vaccine schedule
Core for every cat: panleukopenia (FPV), calicivirus (FCV) and herpesvirus (FHV), plus rabies where it is endemic or required by law. Kittens start no earlier than 6 weeks and repeat every 3 to 4 weeks until 16 weeks or older (to 20 weeks in high-risk settings). A further core dose at or shortly after 26 weeks (about 6 months) is now advised instead of waiting to 12 to 16 months, because some kittens still carry maternal antibodies at 16 weeks. Low-risk adults are revaccinated at 3 years and then no more often than every 3 years; cats that board or face high exposure may need annual doses, given 1 to 2 weeks before. FeLV is core for cats under one year where the virus is prevalent and for adults with outdoor access or living with outdoor cats: two doses 3 to 4 weeks apart from 8 weeks, a booster a year later, then yearly if high risk or every 2 to 3 years if low risk. The FIV vaccine is not available in the US.
How often to see the vet
Kidney disease, thyroid disease and dental disease show up in a blood panel or a mouth check a year or two before they show in the cat.
- Kittens: every 3 to 4 weeks until about 16 to 20 weeks for the vaccine series, then a booster at 6 months.
- Ages 1 to 6: once a year. Exam, weight, teeth, vaccines as due (FVRCP is every 3 years now).
- Ages 7 to 9: once a year, plus bloodwork, urine, thyroid and blood pressure. This is the baseline everything later gets compared to.
- Ages 10 to 15: every 6 months. Six months is enough time for kidney numbers to move a lot.
- Over 15: every 4 months. The goal is comfort, and small changes matter.
- Between visits: watch weight, thirst, litter habits and appetite. Those four catch most things early.
Cost
A wellness exam runs $25 to $186 in the US. A senior blood panel $80 to $200. An emergency visit for a blocked bladder $1,500 to $4,500. The yearly visit is the cheap one.
Getting them there
The carrier lives in the living room with a blanket in it, always. Feed treats in it. A carrier that only appears on vet day means vet day.
Fix by Five
The Feline Fix by Five consensus, endorsed by the AVMA, AAHA and AAFP, recommends spaying or neutering pet cats by five months of age. Cats can reach sexual maturity at four to five months, so the traditional six-month target allows unplanned litters, and spaying before the first heat sharply reduces mammary cancer risk. Early-age surgery in cats has not been linked to the orthopaedic concerns raised for some large dog breeds. The one trade-off owners should plan for is metabolic: neutering lowers energy needs by roughly 25 to 30% and is the largest single risk factor for feline obesity, with the effect most acute in the first year after surgery. Typical US spay/neuter cost is $200 to 600, with low-cost clinics and shelters often far cheaper.
Year-round parasite control, indoor cats included
The Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC) recommends year-round, broad-spectrum parasite control for every cat, with efficacy against heartworm, intestinal worms, fleas and ticks, and makes no exception for indoor-only cats: mosquitoes carrying heartworm come inside, fleas arrive on clothing and other pets, and some worm eggs can be walked in on shoes. CAPC also recommends fecal exams at least four times in a kitten’s first year and twice a year in adults, deworming kittens from two weeks of age, and testing for heartworm before starting a preventive. The 2021 AAHA/AAFP Life Stage Guidelines agree that broad-spectrum products are ‘likely to be beneficial for the majority of pet cats, regardless of lifestyle’. Use only products labelled for cats and dosed by weight; dog flea products containing permethrin can be fatal to cats.
Heartworm in indoor cats
Feline heartworm is spread by mosquitoes, which come indoors. CAPC reports antibody-positive rates of about 12% in a study of more than 2,000 mostly healthy cats across 19 states and 15.9% in a series of over 25,000 tested cats, and notes that 25 to 30% of infected cats were described by their owners as strictly indoor. Infection in cats runs at roughly a tenth of the local dog rate. There is no approved treatment for adult heartworms in cats and the dog drug (melarsomine) is fatal to cats, so care is supportive only. CAPC therefore recommends year-round heartworm prevention for all cats regardless of lifestyle, and testing with both antibody and heat-treated antigen tests because single tests often disagree.
Source: Companion Animal Parasite Council, feline heartworm guideline
Cats see the vet half as often as dogs, and why
In 2024, 57.3% of US cat owners visited a veterinarian in the past year versus 74.2% of dog owners, although 77.1% of cat owners say they have a regular vet. Long-run AVMA rates are 0.7 visits per cat per year against 1.5 per dog, and annual vet spend is $433 per cat versus $580 per dog. The reason is largely the trip: in a survey of 889 owners, 88.7% believed the visit stressed their cat, 50.8% were stressed themselves, and 44.9% of stressed owners avoided visits as much as possible. Practical fixes: leave the carrier out as furniture with bedding and treats, feed in it, take short practice drives, ask for a cat-friendly practice or cat-only hours, and let the cat stay in the carrier base during the exam.
Making the carrier boring
Carrier acclimation is a scripted topic in the 2021 AAHA/AAFP Life Stage Guidelines, and vet-visit stress is the reason many cats miss the annual exam entirely. The method is to make the carrier furniture rather than an event: leave it out permanently in a room the cat uses, door off or open, with a soft bed inside and treats or meals fed in it, so the cat learns to enter on its own. Choose a hard carrier whose top half unclips so the cat can be examined in the base without being pulled out. Before a trip, a synthetic facial pheromone spray, a towel over the carrier, keeping it level and belting it into the seat all reduce stress. For a cat that has never seen one, allow two or three weeks of head start.
Source: AAHA/AAFP 2021 Feline Life Stage Guidelines (carrier acclimation as a wellness-visit topic)
When to call the vet
Between visits: watch weight, thirst, litter habits and appetite.