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Feline Sarcoma

Are the vaccines that protect against deadly diseases putting your cat a risk for skin tumors?

You're a caring cat owner. You take your feline to the veterinarian religiously at the same time each year for a thorough annual examination. And during that checkup a set of initial vaccinations or booster shots is usually administered. But exactly how safe are vaccinations? Frankly, many veterinarians and researchers aren't quite sure. Over the last several years, evidence has surfaced to suggest that injections may actually cause skin cancer in some cats.

Felines diagnosed with malignant skin cancer need a lengthy treatment program of chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation. Without treatment, most cats die. But while Hendrick's discovery may be unsettling, veterinarians are even more concerned that the more than 50 million American cat owners, fearing sarcomas, may forgo vaccinations and the routine examinations that accompany them--unwittingly putting their felines at greater risk of illness. Skipping shots, both first-time vaccinations and boosters, veterinarians stress, can be far more dangerous than the risk of vaccine-induced sarcomas.

Fibrosarcoma in cats is certainly not a new phenomenon, nor is it rare. But the majority of skin cancers are not linked to vaccines. Instances of vaccine-associated feline sarcoma appear only infrequently-approximately 2 in every 10,000-and when they do, the two highest-risk injections are those for rabies and feline leukemia.

In 1991 veterinary pathologist Hendrick and her colleagues noted that the lesions nearly always appeared at the most common site of vaccinations: between the shoulder blades.

Newborn kittens do not have fully active immune systems, making them vulnerable to several diseases. As kittens nurse from their mothers, however, they ingest antibody-rich colostrum, which helps boost their ability to fight off infection--at least for the first several weeks of life. By the time they become about 6 or 8 weeks old, kittens no longer benefit from their mothers' colostrum and need inoculations to stimulate their immune systems, particularly against the most common respiratory viruses. Residual antibodies from the mother's colostrum can actually prevent vaccinations from doing their job, making an extra booster every 3 to 4 weeks, up to 16 weeks of age, advisable.

What if you have just adopted a kitten and discover that vaccinations have been delayed or ignored for the first 12 weeks? Or what if you have just taken in a stray adult whose shot status is unknown? Veterinarians suggest two full sets of inoculations for upper respiratory diseases and panleukopenia, three to four weeks apart.

A common misconception among eat owners is the belief that only eats who venture outdoors need vaccinations. But even house eats can be exposed to rabies via infected bats and other animals that find their way into your home, not to mention the airborne viruses that can be carried inside via dust or your own clothing. So which inoculations does your eat need?

While the potential sarcoma link is being investigated, veterinarians are reassuring cat owners that there is good reason to continue vaccinating their pets.

The following list can help you sort through the available vaccines:

Feline Respiratory Disease (Rhinotracheitis, Calicivirus). These upper respiratory tract diseases are extremely contagious and widely spread from eat to eat, making the chances of infection for your feline quite high. Though not necessarily fatal, they can lead to further complications. There is a vaccination, and veterinarians usually administer a combination shot for these illnesses and panleukopenia. Most kittens, however, will need two to three boosters. Current recommendations still call for yearly shots for adults, although this may soon change.
A vaccine for chlamydia virus, also a respiratory disease, is available, although its efficacy remains debatable.
Feline Panleukopenia. Also known as distemper, this gastrointestinal-tract disease is highly transmissible from eat to eat. Without medical attention, 9 out of 10 eats with distemper die, and even with costly and prolonged treatment fatalities occur. Symptoms include loss of appetite, fever, depression, vomiting, and diarrhea. Fortunately, this ailment is nearly 100 percent preventable with a vaccine.
Rabies. Rabies is a fatal infection of the nervous system capable of attacking all warm-blooded animals--including cats and humans. It is a public-health hazard and a risk to all pet owners. There is no cure. Once introduced into a cat via contact with the saliva or blood of another animal--most often through the bite of an infected raccoon, bat, skunk, fox, dog, or another cat--rabies destroys the brain's nerve tissue within 10 days to a few months. Infected animals show neurologic signs and withdraw from people or become overly aggressive. Vaccination is the only protection available for your feline. Some areas require you to vaccinate your cat by 3 to 4 months of age. A booster should follow within 9 to 12 months, with subsequent boosters every three years (or more often if required by law in your area).
Feline Leukemia (FeLV). FeLV is a contagious, incurable, and usually fatal virus. Unfortunately, there is no successful treatment available. Symptoms include weakness, lack of appetite, weight loss, fever, and diarrhea. FeLV may compromise the immune system, leaving the cat unable to fight off any infection or disease. FeLV can also cause cancer in some felines. The good news: there is a vaccine, and annual boosters can help continue the protection. This vaccination is sometimes administered in a single combination shot with the FVRCP vaccines for upper respiratory viruses and pan leukopenia; however, Brum does not recommend the combo shots since this may increase the possibility of, and make it harder to track, adverse reactions.
Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP). FIP is an incurable and usually fatal inflammation that occurs when fluid or granulomas abnormally invade the body. This viral disease is transmitted cat to cat, and even sometimes mother to kitten. Although vaccination is available to protect your cat, there is controversy over this vaccine, since FIP most often strikes kittens under four months of age, before they are old enough to get the vaccine. Symptoms are often nonspecific and may include enlarged abdomen, weight loss, fever, or eye lesions.

The vaccine is often recommended only for at-risk cats--for instance, those in a cattery where FIP has been a problem. Concerned owners should discuss their particular situation with a veterinarian. The vaccine is administered in two doses, three to four weeks apart, with a yearly booster. An intranasal vaccine is available for this illness.

Some cat owners mistakenly believe that the initial vaccination will protect the cat for many years. While researchers explore just how long an injections' effects may last--and how to make them last longer--boosters are still being recommended at intervals of one to three years, depending on the vaccination. Other cat owners believe that the older the cat, the stronger the immunity to disease because of all those years of booster shots. Unfortunately, however, as a eat ages, its ability to fight off infection decreases.

While scientists are studying the sarcoma scare to ensure maximum safety of vaccines, should cat owners be concerned about the potential for other adverse reactions?

Veterinarians have learned that the vaccines we use to protect cats from infectious diseases occasionally cause cancer. The risk is small and this does not mean we should stop vaccinating cats, but it does mean we should try to reduce the risk as much as possible. New guidelines suggest giving only the most important immunizations, no more often than necessary.

For the most part, veterinarians say no, although after vaccinations many eats experience normal side effects that should not last more than a day or two. Watch for general lethargy, lack of appetite, and limited inflammation at the site of the shot.

Infrequently, vaccinations provoke an allergic reaction. While such reactions are quite rare, it's important to know the signs of anaphylaxis, which would show up within an hour of the vaccination. Should you notice acute facial swelling, drooling, vomiting, weakness, labored breathing, and/or collapse, consider the situation an emergency and bring the cat back to the veterinarian immediately.

So why is it that with all of the vaccines and booster shots available, cats still sometimes become sick? No vaccine is 100 percent effective all of the time, say animal experts. Animal scientists are still hard at work trying to perfect the vaccination for feline leukemia and develop one for feline immunodeficiency virus. Also, a particularly potent virus or a new strain can undermine the immune system of even the healthiest vaccinated cat. Finally, if your feline has undergone stress due to moving, boarding in a kennel, getting lost, poor nutrition, or the introduction of new pets or people into the house, it can become susceptible to illness.

Despite the sarcoma question, veterinarians are certain that prevention in the form of vaccination is still the way to go. Vaccines have safeguarded the lives of millions of American cats, and they continue to remain at the front line of defense against infectious disease.

There's absolutely no question that the values of giving vaccinations far outweigh the risks of not giving them.

Vaccinations for indoor cats

Cats that never go outdoors do not usually need leukemia or FIP immunization. Test every cat in the household for leukemia and FIV so we do not have to worry that they will catch these diseases from each other.

Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV)

FIV is similar to HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) in that it attacks the body's immune system, eventually making the patient unable to deal with common infections. The disease is spread by contamination with saliva when cats bite each other and is another excellent reason why it is safer for cats to live exclusively indoors, with only one or two other cats. FIV is best avoided by adopting cats that have not had direct contact with large numbers of other cats.

Rabies

Because it protects people from a disease that is highly fatal and frequently diagnosed in local skunks, rabies is the most important immunization for cats and dogs. If an unvaccinated cat bites a person, even an indoor cat, the Health Department often insists that the cat be euthanized so its brain can be examined. All cats need rabies shots. Immunize once in kittenhood, a year later, and every three years after that.

Distemper

Distemper vaccination protects against panleukopenia (FPV), feline calicivirus (FCV), and feline herpesvirus 1 (FHV-1). Panleukopenia is rapidly fatal. The other two are common respiratory diseases that are seldom fatal but sometimes incurable. All are easily transmissible - your visiting friend can carry the virus from her own cat to yours. Kittens are usually given a series of two distemper vaccinations in kittenhood and a booster shot one year later. After that, some veterinarians give boosters every year, some every three years. The vaccine companies recommend boosters once a year, the Association of Feline Practitioners recommends boosters once every three years.

Leukemia
Experts disagree about the effectiveness of leukemia vaccine and about how frequently it should be given.