Keeping Cats Healthy and Preventing Cancer – Part 4
23rd May 2025
This month, we present Part 4, in keeping cats healthy and cancer prevention. This forms the last but one, in our series.
Below, we will discuss a further 2 tips (Tips 7 & 8) that must be considered, to help cats live a happy, healthy life.
As previously, this comes courtesy of our medical specialist, Vicki Adams, who is a trained Veterinarian and Veterinary Epidemiology Consultant, working for the Animal Cancer Trust Charity.
7. Vaccination
The importance of vaccines is different for kittens and adult cats. Vaccines are complex biological medicinal products that help to protect both from serious, life-threatening infectious diseases. Vaccines can also help to maintain a healthy immune system. Kittens are most vulnerable to diseases when they are less than six months of age. While kittens receive immunity from their mother through milk, this natural immunity declines over time, so they need vaccinations.
Feline vaccines fall into two categories: core and non-core vaccines. In the UK, core cat vaccinations are not legally required but are highly recommended for all kittens and cats regardless of the region they live in, or their lifestyle.
The core vaccines protect against cat flu which is caused by feline rhinotracheitis (a feline herpes virus) and feline calicivirus as well as feline panleukopenia (a parvo virus that causes feline infectious enteritis). This core vaccine can be given as one injection of a trivalent vaccine and is commonly called FVRCP for Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis (FVR), feline Calicivirus (C), and feline Panleukopenia (P).
Non-core vaccines are recommended based on an assessment of risk factors for an individual cat, or cats in a household. Non-core vaccines include those that protect against feline leukemia virus (FeLV), Chlamydophila felis (Chlamydia), Bordetella bronchiseptica and rabies virus if travelling abroad. FeLV vaccination is recommended for cats that go outdoors, as the virus is transmitted by multiple close cat to cat contact.
Kittens are generally given a series of at least 2 core vaccinations to protect them as their maternal immunity is waning. Most vets recommend that adult cats receive core vaccine boosters at intervals of 1 to 3 years and possibly non-core vaccinations, depending on location and lifestyle.
Vaccines work by stimulating your cat’s immune system to produce antibodies against specific diseases. If your cat is exposed to the virus or bacteria in the future, their immune system is prepared to fight it off. This reduces the risk of severe illness and prevents the spread of infections to other animals.
The datasheets and specific product characteristics (SPCs) of vaccines consistently emphasise their exclusive usage in healthy animals, cautioning against vaccinating sick individuals. Some veterinarians extend this notion to include stressed and injured animals in the sick category and advocating against vaccinating animals undergoing surgery, or receiving treatment for injuries due to the potential introduction of immune-challenging substances to an individual with a compromised immune system.
It is widely acknowledged that a robust immune system is one of the best defenses against cancer. In response to extensive research conducted by immunologists over the span of decades, veterinary publications have transitioned away from advocating annual vaccinations for all diseases and every animal. Owners and vets are now using antibody titre testing and longer vaccination intervals, based on lifestyle risk assessment.
While various scenarios still necessitate such vaccinations (e.g. boarding in catteries and international travel), many veterinary practices now undertake a comprehensive benefit-risk evaluation. This assessment takes into consideration the pet's lifestyle when determining which pathogens warrant vaccination and the optimal frequency of administration. The efficacy of vaccinations can be gauged through blood tests to determine antibody levels (titre testing) that can indicate whether re-vaccination is warranted. Some catteries will even use titre testing results as evidence of protection.
8. Medications
More and more owners are considering a more holistic approach to the prevention and treatment of diseases and parasites in their pets. A holistic or comprehensive approach focuses on treating the whole cat, taking into account their physical, mental and emotional well-being as well as their environment. It involves integrating traditional veterinary medicine with complementary therapies to promote overall wellness.
By addressing all aspects of a cat's health, holistic care aims to prevent health problems and enhance their quality of life. Holistic medicine for cats combines traditional veterinary care with alternative therapies to promote overall wellness and the body's natural healing abilities. A holistic veterinarian is trained to provide natural and alternative treatments that can support the cat's body's natural healing abilities in the least invasive way.
Integrative veterinary medicine (IVM) can be defined as the combination of complementary and alternative therapies with conventional care. Complementary and alternative veterinary medicine (CAVM) is guided by the best available evidence and includes a diverse group of preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic philosophies and practices that may differ from conventional veterinary medicine routinely taught in most western veterinary medical schools.
The National Institutes of Health in the USA defines complementary medicine as non-mainstream practice when combined with conventional medicine and alternative medicine when the same interventions are used in place of conventional medicine. Put more simply, integrative care is the combination of an alternative and Western approach with the aim to get a better treatment outcome.
Natural and alternative therapies include environmental enrichment, natural nutrition, nutritional supplements, herbal medicine, acupuncture, chiropractic care, massage, physical therapy and homeopathy.
Environmental enrichment was covered in tips 3 to 6, natural nutrition was discussed in tip 1 on diet and nutritional supplements will be discussed in the next article on the last 2 tips. Herbal medicine focuses on using herbs and herbal remedies for health and well-being and has a long history of use in various cultures for treating a wide range of ailments.
In herbal medicine, specific herbs are used to address a variety of health issues, such as calming anxiety, supporting digestion and treating skin problems. The use of herbs should be approached with caution, as some may be toxic to cats and it is always recommended to consult an experienced veterinarian for proper guidance. Acupuncture is a technique that can be used with a Western or traditional Chinese approach to help with pain management and other conditions.
Chiropractic care, massage and physical therapy have all been used to address musculoskeletal issues and improve overall mobility. Homeopathy is a system of medicine that uses highly diluted substances to stimulate the body's natural healing abilities.
In the UK, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) recommends a cautious approach for the use of homeopathy alongside, or as a complement, to conventional treatments with a sound scientific basis. CAVM should complement but not replace conventional veterinary care and should be used in consultation with a holistic or integrative veterinary surgeon.
We hope you have found these latest 2 tips (vaccinations & medications) interesting and informative.
Both of these have careful and serious considerations to be made, to enable informed decisions on what is needed, when they are required, and the frequency. They also demonstrate the need to take into account more holistic measures, either alongside, or along with, more conventional veterinary medicine, to give the best outcome to your cat, perhaps in a more gentle and natural way.
We have now covered 8 tips in total (diet, water, exercise, emotional wellbeing, environmental factors and light, along with the 2 discussed in this article) and the final 2 tips will be covered in our next newsletter, which will be the last in this series.