>I'm a bit confused on this one, maybe one of the doctors on here can >help. Last time I took my cats in for their shots , the vet here told me >that they are 3 year vaccines, meaning they are good for 3 years. Then >why do I have to get them their shots every year? Is this true, are there >vaccinations that last for 3 years. If so, then why can't we get the >ferrets their shots every 3 years? It would be less stressful both to >the ferret and the owner since so many have reactions. This is a quick one - (I'm going to work on my handout for the Boston meeting tonight - so I'm just going to pick a couple of quickies to answer). Vaccinations may very well be good for multiple years in older ferrets with a good vaccination history - we just don't know. The approved vaccines for ferrets were only tested on a 1-year basis. To test for three years, you have to take a group of ferrets, maintain them in a facility for three years - that's expensive, and for vaccine companies who don't see anything more than a niche market - not worth the cost and effort. "If they want to vaccinate ferrets - they're just going to have to do it every year." (I don't agree with it - I'm just telling you the prevailing opinion.) There has been discussion on this list about running titers instead of vaccinating every year - it's more expensive, less convenient, may require anesthesia to take the blood, but on the positive side, it may cut down on the numbers of reactions.... With kindest regards, Bruce H. Williams, DVM, DACVP Join the Ferret Health List at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ferret-Health-list --- Yes, some vets are recommending to vaccinate CATS every three years with some of the vaccines. This is based on just 1 study of a small group of CATS (9 if I remember correctly) that was done at Cornell's vet school. They came to the conclusion that some of the vaccines actually lasted for 3 years based on titers. However when they did a challenge study (exposed them to the disease causing agent) the results were not so good. Many of the "protected" cats got sick, but they only had mild signs of the disease. Based on this small, limited study, many vets recommend vaccinating CATS every 3 years. Interesting to note, the 2 vaccines that have been linked to serious adverse reactions in CATS (FeLV and Rabies) were not even included in the Cornell study. Now on to ferret vaccines. There has not been a duration of immunity study done on ferrets that I know of; therefore, we simply do not know how long the vaccines last. Since both distemper and rabies are fatal diseases, lets not change our vaccine protocol until there is a good study showing how long the vaccines last in FERRETS. In the mean time please do not gamble with fatal diseases that can be easily prevented. Jerry Murray, DVM [Posted in FML issue 3424]