Appropriate vaccination protects cats from severe and often fatal infectious diseases, with evidence-based protocols balancing protection against minimising unnecessary interventions.
Vaccination prevents diseases that cause severe welfare harm and death in unprotected cats. Feline parvovirus causes rapidly fatal gastrointestinal disease with haemorrhagic diarrhoea and severe pain. Unvaccinated cats have no protection against viruses that can be transmitted by contaminated environments even without contact with other cats. Over-vaccination with annual core boosters in adult cats is now considered unnecessary and exposes cats to risk without additional benefit. Evidence-based modern vaccination protocols protect welfare by providing appropriate protection while minimising unnecessary interventions. The small risk of vaccine-associated sarcoma is managed through correct injection site selection and monitoring.