OK, I’ve had animals my entire life and those animals have all received yearly vaccinations for their entire lives. Earlier this year I took one of my cats to get his traditional vaccinations and for the first time (I guess) noticed that Dr. Kraus administered the shots in the loose skin near the cat’s back leg joint. This registered to me as an odd place to give shots. I was only able to recall seeing shots given in the skin around the neck area. Instead of letting my curiosity pass in silence, I decided to ask Dr. Kraus why he gave the shot there. He explained, to my surprise, that there is the slightest chance; I mean infinitesimal chance that a tumor could develop at the injection site. Erring on the side of just-in-case, he gives the shot near the leg explaining further that if the worst happened he could always amputate the animal’s leg and the cat would adjust quite well and live out the rest of his days just fine. A tumor on the neck however ….. Well, let’s just say the cat wouldn’t do very well with his head amputated, now would he?
Since then, I’ve had the subject come up from time to time with a significant number of people. None of them, not one, had ever heard that from any vet anywhere. Every time I, of course, silently gloat to myself about what a superior and diligent veterinarian we have. I mean even if the guy is completely out of his mind and made it up, its better to be safe than sorry, right?
It turns out – not that I doubted you for a second, Dr. Kraus – that he is not completely out of his mind. He is absolutely right.
Vaccinations for pets remain one of the cornerstones of preventative veterinary medicine today; however, around 1991 veterinarians started to notice a higher than expected number of injection site sarcomas (tumors) in vaccinations to cats.
A sarcoma is a malignant tumor that can develop and spread quickly. Even after surgical removal, recurrence is a common complication.
In response to this problem, veterinarians, researchers and manufacturers have explored the reasons why this happens in anywhere from 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 10,000 cats that receive an injection. It is important to note that initially only vaccines were implicated as causing the sarcomas. Now it has been shown that any type of injection can result in an injection site sarcoma in cats.
Research has demonstrated that these sarcomas are the result of an exaggerated response by the cats' immune systems. Besides the inflammatory response that can be caused by an injection, the use of adjuvants was also noted as a possible cause of the sarcomas. Adjuvants are chemicals that enhance an animal's immune system response. So, recently the concern has been focused on the two major potential risks involved with vaccines: injection site inflammation and the use of adjuvants.
There is a new feline leukemia vaccine promises to offer much hope. Merial's (maker of Frontline and Heartguard) new non-adjuvanted PUREVAX® Leukemia Vaccine that is administered with the VET JET(TM) transdermal system definitely addresses the two major risk factors of feline vaccinations. First, it is administered without the use of needles. It delivers a low-volume dose of vaccine through a tiny orifice into the cat's skin, subcutaneous tissue and muscle in less than a second. Through this method, the vaccine is deposited into the immune-cell-rich layers of skin and underlying tissue. Secondly the vaccine does not contain adjuvants.
This, however, does not address the issue of the other injections a cat must receive whether vaccination or some other type. So, the best thing to do is to simply discuss it with your veterinarian when you take your cat for shots. I’m sure he/she will have no problem addressing your concerns and giving the shot in a more expendable place.
