Due to the devastation caused by what they finally now admit is Vaccine Associated Sarcoma (VAS) in cats, I am conservative and not a little suspicious when it comes to shots. For years it was suspected, while cats died. It was no conspiracy theory, I can assure you it was real. It took a lot of pushing and prodding and independent proof to get the pharmaceutical companies to finally admit it. Today, they "recommend" that you give cats all those shots anyhow, but now they administer them in the leg or tail. The rationale is if the cat gets a tumor in the shot site, they can lop off its leg or tail. This is not my idea of a solution. I suspect there will be a lot of three legged cats moving around in the next decade while vets and pharmaceutical companies use beloved pets as experiments. One of my friend's cats is dying of VAS right now. I have personally stopped giving shots to my cats for a number of years. They are strictly indoor cats and I think they have a better chance at a long life without the shots than they do of contracting leukemia or any of the other diseases cats get by coming into contact with other cats.
Still some shots really are necessary, particularly for a pet that leaves the house. For example, I prefer to take the precaution against kennel cough for my dog. If your dog is going plenty of places where there are other dogs, I can't see why you wouldn't vaccinate. I also agree that heartworm prevention is necessary. One look at what heartworms look like in a poor inflicted animal and you will be a believer too. As for rabies, well it speaks for itself. It's the law, like it or not. We can do the three year rabies here so that is what I intend to give Tosca this time around. She will have a full round of shots this year because it is her one year booster mark. After this year, she will go on a three year program. But even on a three year program, she will get a checkup once a year. I think three years is too long to wait for a health panel for human or pet.
