Protect Your Pet: Vaccinate Before Boarding

Boarding facilities place animals from different households in close proximity, increasing the risk of passing on infections. This makes vaccinations an essential part of preparing your pet for boarding.

Vaccinations help protect your pet by stimulating their body to produce antibodies to specific contagious and often lethal diseases. If your pet should later come in to contact with a disease they are vaccinated against the antibodies will protect them.

Vaccinations require regular boosters, often annually, and it may take days or weeks post vaccination to develop immunity so check your pet's vaccination status and the expiry dates carefully to make sure they'll be in date for the period you want to board. This article is just a guide and you should consult with the boarding facility and your vet in advance to find out the requirements and timescale involved for vaccinations.

Skip to:

• Dog vaccinations
• Cat vaccinations
• Rabbit vaccinations

Vaccinations for Dogs

To board at a kennels or home boarder, dogs must have current vaccinations to protect against:

• Canine parvovirus
• Canine distemper
• Infectious canine hepatitis (adenovirus)
• Leptospirosis

These are core vaccinations so usually part of routine vaccinations for dogs. The first three are usually given every three years, but Leptospirosis needs an annual booster. A common combination is Nobivac DHP and L2/L4 (Leptospirosis). If your dog has not been vaccinated before, then they cannot be boarded in kennels until seven days after vaccination.

Boarders may also require vaccinations against ‘kennel cough', which is commonly caused by:

• Bordetella bronchiseptica
• Canine parainfluenza virus

Vaccines against kennel cough are often not part of a routine vaccination programme unless you plan to place your dog in boarding kennels. There are several vaccines available including Nobivac KC and Intrac. Dogs can shed the KC vaccination for several weeks after receiving it, meaning they could potentially infect other dogs with KC that haven't had the vaccination or are immune compromised. This means that boarders will generally want this vaccination to be given a minimum of two weeks before boarding, but same may ask for four or even six weeks.

Titre tests are available to check for existing immunity for parvovirus, distemper and infectious hepatitis – this tests whether your dog's immune system still has sufficient antibodies and if so means you can delay booster vaccinations for these diseases. Many boarding facilities will accept titre test results as an alternative to vaccination certificates. Your dog will still need vaccination for Leptospirosis and kennel cough though, as these are not titre tested.

Vaccinations for Cats

To board at a cattery, cats must have current vaccinations against:

• Feline Panleukopenia (FPLV) a.k.a Feline parvovirus (FPV) or Feline infectious enteritis (FIE)
• Feline Herpes Virus (FHV) and Feline Calicivirus (FCV)

These are core vaccinations, usually part of the standard vaccination program and required by the cattery licence conditions.

Some catteries may also require vaccination for:

• Feline Leukaemia Virus (FeLV)
• Bordetella Bronchiseptica

Vets generally recommend vaccination for Feline Leukaemia Virus (FeLV) for cats that come into contact with other cats e.g. those that go outdoors or attend boarding.

Bordetella Bronchiseptica is another respiratory infection. As this is a common cause of Kennel Cough in dogs, it is particularly relevant if you board your cat at a cattery that also boards dogs.

Different brands/combinations of vaccinations are available for cats, so you may need to read your vaccination card carefully or check with your vet what diseases your cat is protected against. Nobivac is a common brand, but there are other brands your vets may use.

For Nobivac your card would show:

• Noivac Tricat Trio - FCV, FHV and FPLV (given every three years)
• Nobivac Ducat - an annual booster for Feline Calicivirus and Feline Herpes Virus
• Nobivac FeIV – FeIV (given every three years)

In most cases your cat will have an initial course of vaccination and then boosters every year. If you miss a booster you may need to restart from the initial course. If your cat has never been vaccinated or has to restart their course, there is a period until they are fully protected and can attend a cattery – usually around 4 weeks.

Vaccinations for Rabbits

Rabbits should be vaccinated routinely against Myxomatosis and two strains of Rabbit Viral Haemorrhagic Disease (RVHD1 & RHVD2). It's important for both indoor and outdoor rabbits to be vaccinated. Myxomatosis is transferred by small biting insects that can travel miles and easily enter homes. VHD is highly contagious and it transfers easily by contact, for example a pet owner could transfer it to their home on their shoes if they walked in a pet shop and someone with an infected rabbit walked the same area.

As both diseases transfer easily between rabbits, an up to date vaccination is essential for rabbit boarding. Rabbits are given a combination jab called Nobivac Myxo-RHD PLUS that covers Myxomatosis, RVHD1 and RHVD2. The vaccination should be given at least three weeks prior to boarding and requires an annual booster to maintain immunity. You'll need to show the boarding facility an up to date vaccination certificate showing your rabbit has had vaccination within the last 12 months.