Whichever side of the fence you fall on when it comes to human vaccines, don’t make the mistake of skipping your pet vaccination schedule while your fur baby is little.
What are vaccinations?
Because both humans and animals are susceptible to certain viral and bacterial diseases, vaccinations are developed to protect our immune systems when a certain virus enters the body.
A vaccine works by a controlled dose of a virus or virus variant being injected into the body, giving the immune system a chance to produce effective antibodies for that particular virus.
Once antibodies are developed, they stay in the body for a certain amount of time (which is why we have a schedule handy) and for that period, should that virus enter the body, your pet’s antibodies will keep them healthy.
Why does my young pet need so many shots?
Look at that face – how could they be expected to be a disease-fighting-machine so small? Kittens and puppies have most of their vaccinations within the first few months of their life because they aren’t born with naturally strong immune systems.
Young animals will access some antibodies through their mother’s milk which will sustain their health for their first few weeks of life but can also interfere with the effectiveness of certain vaccines, which is why puppies and kittens need to have a couple of or multiple consistent vaccinations to ensure they are immune.
Kittens will start off with 2 initial vaccinations and the best age to vaccinate would be 9 and 12 weeks. Puppies need 3 initial vaccinations for optimal protection in their formative months and the ideal ages for their shots are 6, 9 and 12 weeks.
What’s a good pet vaccination schedule?
Depending on the lifestyle of your pet, your vet will advise vaccinating for different viruses. There are core vaccinations and non-core vaccinations.
You and your vet will talk about what you plan to do with your pet (shows, trail running) or where you want to travel with them and your vet will propose any non-core vaccinations to go along with the core ones.
Core vaccinations for dogs
- Parvovirus-2
- Canine distemper
- Canine hepatitis (Adenovirus type 1)
Related: What Every Pet Owner Should Know about Parvo Disease
Core vaccinations for kittens
- Feline Leukaemia Virus
- Feline Infectious Enteritis
- Cat ‘flu’
What are booster vaccinations?
Your pet will receive their vaccinations at a young age to get their bodies familiar with producing antibodies, but this won’t protect them forever. This is why we have booster shots. A vaccine has a certain lifespan in an animal’s body and your vet will be able to give you this information.
Discover: 4 Feline illnesses every cat owner should know about
Puppy Vaccine Schedule (after initial vaccinations)
Like we mentioned before, your puppy will have their initial vaccinations at 6, 9 or 12 weeks old. Thereafter here is a guide for how many weeks after those shots you need to take your pup to the vet for a boost!
11 – 13 weeks
- Infectious hepatitis
- Canine distemper
- Canine parvovirus
15 – 17 weeks
- Rabies
- Leptospirosis
15 months
- Infectious hepatitis
- Canine distemper
- Canine parvovirus
- Rabies
- Leptospirosis
Annually
- Infectious hepatitis
- Canine distemper
- Canine parvovirus
- Rabies
- Leptospirosis
Kitten vaccine schedule
Cats need 2 initial vaccinations and your vet will be able to tell you when the booster vaccination will be needed depending on the type of vaccination they use. As a general rule, three core viruses will be vaccinated against at 8 and 12 weeks of age:
- Feline Leukaemia Virus
- Feline Infectious Enteritis (also called Panleucopenia or Feline Parvovirus)
- Cat ‘flu’
- Rabies
Don’t forget to speak to your vet about non-core vaccines for your kitten for chlamydia, rabies, bordetella.
Oneplan and Vaccinations
Hopefully, you get the idea of how worthwhile vaccinating your pet is. Prevention is always the best cure so make sure you get your ducks (or cats and dogs) in a row and get your pets vaccinated on time. Oneplan Pet Insurance has five plans, three of which offer vaccinations as a part of routine care cover.
Our plans are as follows:
- Pet Accident Plan: R80pm
- Pet Primary Plan: from R160pm
- Pet Hospital Plan: from R190pm
- Pet Classic Plan: from R280pm
- Pet Super Plan: from R430pm
The other great thing about joining the Oneplan Pet Family is that when you login on our Oneplan App, you will have access to a Pet Wellness Tracker, which will keep track of all your pet’s health details and will even remind you about their upcoming vaccinations, tick & flea treatments, deworming, and check-ups! That way, you’ll always be on track with your routine care schedule when you’re with Oneplan!
Read next: Affordable Pet Insurance: Oneplan’s NEW Primary Plan
If you’re looking for an insurance policy that is always comprehensive and covers you for vaccinations, we would suggest taking a look through our Primary, Classic, and Super Plans. To see which plan would work best for your pet, you can get a hassle-free online quote.
Your Pet Insurance Family,
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