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Should indoor adult cats get annual rabies, FVRCP, and FeLV shots?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Shorthair | Male | neutered | 6 years and 7 months old | 13.3 lbs

Do you feel that adult cats should be vaccinated each year (rabies, FVRCP and feline leukemia)? I have read that injection site sarcomas and kidney issues are common results of over vaccination. It seems many studies indicate that FVRCP is unnecessary after the 8 week, 16 week and 1 year shots and that it is partially useless as R and C mutate so quickly. My indoor cat is the only animal, has tested negative for feline leukemia and has received vaccinations against it for the last five years.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Dr. Heidi DVM, CVA, CCRT, CVTP, CVSMT, CVCH

Answered By Dr. Heidi DVM, CVA, CCRT, CVTP, CVSMT, CVCH

Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist, Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner

Published on January 10th, 2018

I have attached the most recent recommendations from the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) below.
https://www.catvets.com/guidelines/practice-guidelines/feline-vaccination
Their general recommendation is to repeat the FVRCP vaccination every 3-4 weeks until a kitten reaches 16 weeks of age, then booster it 1 year later, then every 3 years after that. Unfortunately, we do not have enough data to give better recommendations than that.
Injection site sarcomas have dramatically decreased over the last 15 years since we have made some changes to our vaccinations and vaccination schedules. The kidney issues are more likely due to chronic mild dehydration. There is some concern that the FVRCP vaccinations are grown on renal cell cultures, but I am unaware of any good research in that area.
As far as FeLV vaccination, the AAFP generally does not recommend continuing to vaccinate indoor only cats who do not have a risk of exposure with FeLV vaccination. And Rabies vaccination is dictated by local or state laws, so if you live in an area that legally requires Rabies every year, you should comply with that.
The bottom line is that we try to protect all cats from as many infectious diseases as possible, but try to use the most recent research and the lifestyle of the cat to help determine which vaccines to give and how frequently to give them.
I hope that was helpful and answers your questions. Thanks for using PetCoach.
Vote Icon1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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