Vaccination protects cats against diseases that are common, spread easily and are often fatal in kittens. The schedule below is the general pattern; the exact plan is set for each cat according to its age, health and how it lives.

The core vaccine

The core vaccine covers three diseases and is recommended for every cat, indoor or outdoor:

Panleukopenia. A parvovirus. Causes vomiting, bloody diarrhoea and collapse, and kills most unvaccinated kittens that catch it. The virus survives in the environment for months, which is why indoor cats are also at risk; it can come in on shoes.

Calicivirus. Causes mouth ulcers, sneezing and eye discharge, and in some strains lameness and severe disease.

Herpesvirus. Causes sneezing, eye infection and corneal ulcers. Cats do not clear it; it stays dormant and recurs at times of stress.

Rabies

Rabies vaccination is a legal requirement for owned cats in Türkiye. It is repeated at set intervals and recorded with the cat’s registration details.

Rabies is fatal once signs appear and it transmits to people, so this is a public health matter as much as a veterinary one.

Feline leukaemia

Recommended for cats that go outdoors or live with cats that do. It spreads through prolonged close contact, mutual grooming, shared bowls and bites.

A leukaemia test is done before the first vaccination, because vaccinating a cat that is already infected achieves nothing.

The kitten schedule

Kittens are protected by antibodies from their mother’s first milk. These fade over the first weeks, and the vaccine can only work once they have faded enough. Because the timing varies between kittens, the course is repeated rather than given once.

First core vaccine at around 6 to 8 weeks
Repeated every 3 to 4 weeks until about 16 weeks of age
Rabies generally from 12 weeks
Leukaemia, if indicated, after testing

A kitten is not protected until the course is complete. Keep it away from unvaccinated cats and from areas where unknown cats have been until then.

Adults

Boosters follow the schedule set for your cat, generally annually for some components and at longer intervals for others. Rabies follows its legal interval.

An examination is done before every vaccination. We do not vaccinate a cat with a fever, diarrhoea, lethargy or a heavy parasite burden: the immune system cannot respond properly and no protection is produced.

Common questions

Does an indoor cat need vaccinating? Yes. Panleukopenia comes in on shoes, cats escape, and cats go into boarding and to the vet.

What if a booster is late? Come in and we will advise. Depending on how late it is, the course may need restarting.

Are there side effects? Mild lethargy or a small tender lump at the injection site for a day or two is common and settles. Come back if a lump persists beyond three weeks, grows, or is larger than two centimetres.

Keep the record

Every vaccination is entered in the record with its date. It is asked for at boarding, at daycare, for travel abroad and at any other clinic.