Over the last few years, some doctors have reported an increased incidence of fibrosarcoma tumors in cats. These tumors are quite aggressive locally and almost impossible to cure, resulting in the eventual death of the cat. Microscopically, the tumors contain elements that resemble some of the components of vaccines.

So what does this mean when you get your reminder card from your veterinarian this year? Are all those shots really needed? Is there any way to lessen the chance of causing vaccine-associated cancer in your cat?

Before panicking and making an irrational decision, here are some of the facts. First, we still don't really know the true cause of vaccine-induced sarcomas. I've seen reports that they may be due to the size of the needle, they may be due to rabies vaccine, they may be due to leukemia vaccine, they may be due to some of the components of the vaccine like preservatives and adjuvants, or they may be due to ANY injection your cat might receive!

Simply put, we just don't have all the facts. Second, depending upon whom you talk with, the incidence ranges from 1 in 1000 to 1 in 10,000 cats that may develop the tumors. In my own practice, I have seen 1 cat with a sarcoma that was probably related to a vaccine or some injection. This cat was a middle-aged cat with no other health problems, and was negative on her leukemia and immunodeficiency virus tests. We treated her quite aggressively with a combination of surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, nutrition, and herbal therapy. She lived quite comfortably for about 6 months before her owner requested euthanasia.

So then, what can you as an owner do regarding a holistic approach to your cat's annual visit? While there are many recommendations (not all based on science or common sense,) here's what I recommended to my clients. 1.While immunizations may still be important for your cat, owners and doctors should now concentrate our efforts on the problems currently challenging our pets' health. These are the same health problems we face as well, including obesity, heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease, periodontal infections, and cancers. These problems are responsible for more illness and death for most cats rather than infectious diseases. As such, our annual visit must prevent these problems through early diagnosis via the physical examination and necessary lab testing including things like blood and urine testing. 2.There is no doubt that some vaccines may induce immunity in some cats longer than the 12 month period stated on the vaccine label. If immunity may last longer than 12 months, why over-immunize your pet and risk any side effects? 3.I propose that cat owners who are concerned about over-vaccinating their pets consider having vaccine titers checked each year to determine if immunizations are needed. These blood tests are inexpensive (we charge $45) and are the only objective way to look at a cat's antibody level against infectious diseases. The titers are mathematical representations of the pet's antibody level. While there is no definitely agreed upon "correct level" for titers, in general, titers of 1:100 or greater are considered protective (meaning further vaccination is probably not warranted) and titers less than 1:100 are not protective (indicating current immunization may be needed.) These tests are easily run by most veterinarians. By running an annual titer, your pet's doctor can work with you to make a decision regarding what immunizations if any YOUR pet needs, rather than making a generic recommendation based on the "average" pet. Taking this approach in effect reaches a compromise between those who say all pets should be immunized each year and those who are against vaccination of adult pets. For those owners who elect not to have the titers run, a decision will need to be made based upon a number of factors; usually, the doctor will recommend annual immunization if he cannot determine your pet's current immune status. Owners can still choose homeopathic nosodes to be administered at the time of immunization as a means of trying to minimize any harmful side effects from the immunizations (I don't recommend using nosodes in place of vaccines since I have not seen any definitive studies showing their effectiveness, although this is a controversial area.)