The Newsmagazine of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine Vaccination Guidelines for Dogs and Cats Recently there has been much discussion about vaccination schedules for cats and dogs.
Vaccinations are important as they protect the animals from infectious diseases.
Owners and breeders should discuss vaccination strategies for their animals with their veterinarians, they can recommend the most effective regimen for their animal patients. In young animals, the presence of maternally derived, passive immunity may interfere with this process, as may other factors such as poor nutritional status, concurrent disease, and anesthesia. Because maternally derived antibodies may block an immune response to vaccines in very young puppies and kittens, a series of vaccines are given at appropriate intervals which should then result in active immunity against the vaccine antigens and the corresponding naturally found antigens. Thus, protection is provided by ingestion of colostral antibodies during the first day of life. As maternally derived antibody titers decline in the kittens and puppies, the neonatal immune system develops further.