A severe shortage in the annual F3 shot - protecting cats from three viruses - is experiencing a worldwide hold-up in supply. If your cat is due for a booster, you may find that you'll be ineligible to have your cat housed at a boarding facility over the holiday period.
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00:00 The core vaccines for cats are protecting them against three viruses.
00:06 One is feline panleukopenia, otherwise known as feline parvovirus, and feline herpesvirus
00:12 and calicivirus, sometimes referred to as cat flu.
00:16 So how important is it for people to have these vaccines available for their cats?
00:23 They're very important, particularly in very young cats.
00:26 And parvovirus has a very high mortality rate in young kittens, so it's really important
00:32 that they're kept up to date with their vaccination.
00:35 And at this stage, how much of a shortage are you seeing and other vets seeing?
00:40 How long, for instance, might it be taking people before they can actually have their
00:44 cat vaccinated with these particular shots?
00:47 Sure.
00:48 So what we're doing is prioritising the vaccines for those animals that are most at risk.
00:53 So they're the unvaccinated kittens and young cats that are needing their first annual booster.
00:59 At Lord Smith, we're having to delay about 200 vaccinations each month so we can prioritise
01:07 those vaccines for the kittens.
01:10 Now take us back, because this is a shortfall that has been experienced in lots of places.
01:17 What's caused this?
01:19 So the latest advice I've got this afternoon is that a major manufacturer of vaccines in
01:24 the United States has undergone a major technological update and that has resulted in a shortfall
01:32 in their supply.
01:33 And there's also other manufacturers that are having their own production problems as
01:38 well.
01:39 So we don't have a manufacturer for this vaccine in Australia?
01:44 As far as I know, the majority of companion animal vaccines are manufactured overseas.
01:49 OK, so should people be reconsidering, for instance, getting a kitten or a cat for now?
01:55 So if people have got a kitten, most vets will still be able to vaccinate those kittens
02:01 because as I said, we're prioritising the vaccines for those cases.
02:06 If people have an unvaccinated cat, then they should try and keep it indoors so it's not
02:10 coming into contact with any cat that may not be vaccinated and therefore we can reduce
02:15 the incidence of any infectious disease spreading through the community.
02:20 Given that it's involving manufacturers who no doubt would be creating other types of
02:25 vaccines and medications, are there concerns about supply for other shots?
02:30 No, so at this stage it's only involving the cat vaccinations.
02:35 Andrew Capsis, who is with the Lord Smith Animal Hospital in Melbourne.
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