30 May 2025
Plea for more emphasis of vaccination importance comes as RSPCA branch reveals extent of deaths of cats and kittens from preventable conditions.
Allister Webb
Job Title
Cats with calicivirus have been brought to the RSPCA's Manchester and Salford branch. Image: RSPCA
A senior clinician has made a plea for greater veterinary emphasis on the role of pet vaccination amid fears of a potential surge in animals with infectious diseases entering charitable care.
The plea came after an RSPCA branch in north-west England revealed 21 of its cats and kittens had died from preventable conditions in the first quarter of this year alone.
So far, the issue appears to be isolated after charity officials said they had no conclusive evidence of other branches being affected.
However, amid enduring concerns that a significant minority of cats may not be getting the inoculations they need, BSAVA president Julian Hoad argued there was an onus on clinicians to highlight their benefits to clients.
He said: “Owners have a duty of care to their pets, and ensuring they have adequate protection against vaccinable diseases is something that should be considered when deciding to acquire a pet. The reasons for not getting a cat, or other pet, vaccinated can broadly fit into two categories: those that cannot afford it, and those that are vaccine hesitant.
“There is a subset of the population that believes vaccines to be unsafe or ineffective, and it is beholden upon the profession to educate the public on the value of vaccination.”
Although no broader data has been released, officials from the RSPCA’s Manchester and Salford branch believe a lack of vaccinations, as well as wider issues of neglect, are behind the trend.
They also warned that every animal currently being admitted to its rehoming centre via the charity’s inspectorate is unvaccinated.
In one incident, only one kitten survived from a litter that contracted calicivirus, for which vaccines can be administered between the ages of six and eight weeks, while in a separate litter all died from parvovirus, which is vaccinated against from eight weeks of age. However, another kitten rescued from a house in West Yorkshire has recovered from Giardia species infection, a contagious parasite which spreads in unhygienic conditions – often where multiple animals are present.
Branch manager Susie Hughes pleaded for owners to ensure their pets receive both vaccine and booster jabs, and observe good husbandry practices to help prevent disease spreading – particularly in multi-animal households.
She said: “This is putting a huge strain on our resources and very sadly, these poor animals cannot always be saved.”
Other welfare groups contacted by Vet Times said they were not seeing a similar trend, although one indicated that an increase in parvovirus cases, which it saw in late 2024 and the early part of this year, was likely to be partly down to the affected animals being too young to be vaccinated.
But figures from PDSA’s 2024 Paw Report indicated that only 65% of cats were receiving regular booster vaccinations.
Although that proportion was unchanged from the previous year, and slightly above the 61% average recorded since 2017, expense (19%), cats not going outside (16%) or not being in contact with other animals (11%) were the most commonly cited reasons for not having the jabs.
Dr Hoad said his association also supported the use of individual benefit and risk assessments for the timing of vaccinations and tailored vaccination programmes in practice.
