A vaccination appointment provides a chance for your vet to conduct a full nose-to-tail check of your pet to ensure they’re fit and healthy.
If there are no signs of illness or injury, they’ll review your pet's vaccination history and discuss their needs with you before giving them the necessary vaccines.
Regular vaccinations protect your dog from potentially fatal diseases. Find out what’s involved and why they’re essential to for keeping your dog safe.
Vaccinating your cat has many benefits and keeps your pet safe from potentially fatal diseases. Find out the benefits of getting them vaccinated.
Vaccinating your rabbit is important to ensure they thrive and stay happy and healthy. Find out more about rabbit vaccinations including what vaccinations are required and when.
In simple terms, vaccinations protect pets from a number of potentially dangerous diseases. By injecting them with a very weak or man-made version of the disease, your pet’s body produces antibodies to fight and defeat it. This means that if they catch the same disease in the future, their immune system is able to efficiently recognise and resist it. Pets need to be vaccinated early to ensure they stay safe from disease. Young pets are at a much higher risk of catching serious illnesses, and if they do fall ill, these diseases are more likely to be fatal or cause lifelong health issues. This means it’s vital your young pet is vaccinated at the right time and that you follow all of the instructions given by your vet.
If a pet isn’t vaccinated, their life is at risk from infectious diseases. Without vaccinations, life-threatening diseases would still be as prevalent today as they were 100 years ago. It’s also important to remember that not all diseases are transmitted through contact with other animals. Some may be carried on clothing and shoes, and some may be airborne.
As well as protecting your own pet from harmful disease, vaccination also contributes to the overall number of protected pets in the community. If every pet owner took responsibility for vaccinating their pets, it could potentially lead to diseases being eradicated entirely from the community, as there would be very few unprotected pets to carry the disease This is called ‘herd immunity’.
Many of the diseases we vaccinate against are incurable or incredibly difficult to treat, so preventing them in the first place is not only effective, but it’s also the best way to ensure your pet stays safe.
The financial cost of treating these diseases can quickly add up, and far outweigh the cost of regular vaccinations. Annual booster vaccinations are included in our Medivet Healthcare Plan, making them even more manageable for owners.
Thanks to ongoing research and development, today’s vaccines are highly efficient and effective. When combined with regular boosters, vaccinations can provide long-lasting protection for pets, helping them lead safe, healthy lives.
Some of the diseases we protect against with vaccinations are known as ‘zoonotic’, meaning they can infect both humans and animals. The most common of these are leptospirosis and rabies. By ensuring your pet is properly protected, you’ll help keep you and your family safe from these diseases.
Some diseases can be passed on to your pet’s offspring, often with fatal consequences. For example, cat flu can be life-threatening in young kittens; even if they survive, they often become carriers and can have long term health issues. Adult cats with long term cat flu are usually the source of infection in kittens.