Yearly vaccine or not, bring your cat for regular check ups at the vet

Not all vets recommend yearly vaccinations for all cats - your regular vet can advise you on which vaccinations are recommended for your cat based on its lifestyle, environment and medical history. But regardless of whether annual vaccinations are deemed necessary by your vet or not - you should still bring your cat for regular check-ups.

Adult cats should get at least an annual vet check-up once a year. For senior cats, 6 monthly check-ups are necessary. Some vets advocate twice yearly check ups for all adult cats too; but once yearly for young adult cats are strongly recommended. This is regardless of whether your cat is showing symptoms of illness or not.

Waiting for your cat to get ill before taking it to the vet for a consultation is not wise at all. Health-wise, this is because when a cat falls ill, it will either get better, or worse, depending on when the sickness is detected and treated. If an illness is detected too late, your cat's chances of recovery will be drastically lowered, resulting in much more pain and suffering and a much earlier death.

Because pets can't tell us when they fall ill, the only way to know that they are healthy or not is to have them vet-checked. As humans, we already know the importance of health check-ups and diagnostic tests - but at least we know when we fall ill we have the ability to seek treatment on our own. Cats cannot. If they are ill, they can't tell you, and they can't take themselves to the vet. They depend entirely on you to do that.

It is also far more expensive to treat a feline ailment when it has turned for the worse, than to treat an ailment when it is mild or in its early stages. With some ailments, a change in diet, lifestyle, and some supplements will turn it around if it is detected early. But once an illness has gone into the critical zone, the choices won't be so simple. It will mean perpetual visits to the vet and increased veterinary expenditure on treatments and medications.

A yearly check up won't cost you much. But an illness detected too late will cost you a lot more.