Table 4.

WSAVA Guidelines on Feline Vaccination for the Shelter Environment

Vaccine	Kittens	Adult	Comments
FPV FHV‐1 FCV	Administer a single dose prior to or at the time of admission as early as 4–6 weeks of age; then, every 2 weeks until 20 weeks of age if still in the facility.	Administer a single dose at the time of admission; repeat in 2 weeks if the animal remains in the shelter.	MLV preparations are preferable. Use of intranasal FPV vaccines is not recommended in the shelter environment (Schultz 2009). Use of intranasal FCV/FHV‐1 MLV vaccines may be preferable when rapid onset (48 hrs) of immunity is important. Post‐vaccinal sneezing, more commonly seen following administration of intranasal FCV/FHV‐1 vaccine is impossible to distinguish from active infection.
Rabies	A single dose should be administered at the time of discharge from the facility.	A single dose should be administered at the time of discharge from the facility.	The administration of rabies vaccine will be determined by whether the shelter is in a country in which the disease is endemic and vaccination is required by law.

The VGG does not recommend the use of other feline vaccines in the shelter situation.