barn cat question

[pattgal]

I know this is a stupid question

are you supposed to give your barn cat all kinds of shots from the vet??

I hear so many ppl talking about just having them around as if they don't really own them
or others that have 10 barn cats. it could get expensive to bring so many cats to the vet to get all their shots updated every year
they have to be spayed and neutered but shots?

 

[Okie Amazon]

I would vaccinate them for the upper respiratory diseases (rhino-tracheitis and calici virus) but would NOT do the feline leukemia. There have been more than a few cats developing tumors at the injection site.

Rabies vaccines are a must also. At least 1% of every bat colony is rabid, and barn cats are more likely to come into contact with an ailing bat than any other animal on your place. You should be able to buy the vaccine from your local feed/farm store. Be sure and get the 3 year variety.

I don't know about your area, but in Oklahoma, the rabies protocol says that rabies vaccine MUST be administered by a vet in order to be recognized as "legal", say if your dog or cat should bite someone. So, if you aren't worried about that aspect, vaccinate them yourself so they will be protected.

 

[Katy]

Every barn cat that is tame enough to catch is fixed and gets at least a rabies shot......a few get other vaccinations too. Yes, it can get pricey, but I have a vet who does their shots and neutering very reasonable so once they're fixed it only costs me about $10-15 per year for their shots. My other vet will sell me the distemper vaccine pretty much at cost so I do that myself sometimes.

 

[ranchhand]

My vet will give my outdoor cats a Rabies shot that is good for 3 years, rather than one.

 

[TriciaHowe]

I have 2 outside cats - barn cats if you will, but they are more like porch cats LOL - anyhow they are obviously spayed/neutered and very tame but we only do rabies after the initial kitten shots. We are on 5 acres and our cats don't really go more than 20 ft. from the food bowl and we are not in an area that has any feral cats that they would come into contact with. We are on the edge of the forest with skunks, raccoons, possums and foxes so we do make sure everyone is UTD on rabies - even the horses. The dogs and cats are on 3 yr ones now and the horses still get yearly. I don't do any other vaccines with them.

 

[austinandkara]

We just get our cats a rabies shot and then give them their frontline for fleas/ticks. Also, they are spayed/neutered. Plus if there is a random cat that starts hanging around we usually catch them and get them fixed too.