Indoor cats don’t need vaccines, right? Wrong!

Although they don’t face the same risk as their outdoor counterparts, indoor kitties can still get infected with diseases that can be prevented by routine vaccination.

Panleukopenia [pan-loo-koh-PEE-nee-uh], also known as feline distemper, is a highly infectious and long-lived virus that can get tracked inside on shoes and survive on indoor surfaces for more than a year. This deadly disease causes severe vomiting and diarrhea, as well as loss of immune function. Panleukopenia vaccine is usually given along with two others that protect against respiratory viruses.

Rabies shots are also a must, because the consequences of skipping this vaccine can be dire to any pet, as well as to anyone that they bite.

So be sure to have your cats vaccinated, even if they don’t go outside. It’s routine maintenance to keep their engines purring.