3-Year Nonadjuvanted Rabies Vaccine Available for Cats

Merial now offers the three-year PureVax Feline Rabies vaccine in addition to a one-year variety.

Merial Ltd. has released what the Duluth, Ga., drug maker is calling the world’s first nonadjuvanted feline rabies vaccine with a three-year lifespan.

Other three-year rabies vaccines are made with an adjuvant that increases a cat’s immune response but that has been blamed for causing vaccine-related fibrosarcoma, a rare disease.

The new vaccine is part of the PureVax family, which includes a one-year nonadjuvanted rabies vaccine.

“The recombinant technology that has also been used to produce other vaccines such as the one-year PureVax rabies … allows the development of effective vaccines for feline viral diseases without the need for adjuvants,” said Leigh O’Mara, Ph.D., PMP, an associate director of technical marketing for Merial.

The three-year duration of immunity makes the vaccine a good choice for cat owners who don’t schedule regular veterinary checkups, Merial stated.

“Veterinarians now no longer have to choose between a multiyear adjuvanted rabies vaccine and an annual nonadjuvanted rabies vaccine for clients who do not reliably return to the clinic annually,” the company reported Monday.

PureVax Feline Rabies is recommended for healthy cats 12 weeks or older. A one-year booster vaccination is required after the initial shot.

Rabies disease occurs most often in wildlife, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counted 257 feline rabies cases in 2012 in the United States compared with only 84 cases involving dogs.

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12 thoughts on “3-Year Nonadjuvanted Rabies Vaccine Available for Cats

  1. I have the same question. I called every vet in Miami and Fort Lauderdale and nobody carries it. The Purevax site vet finder lists several vets in my area and none of them use it. Can anybody please help? My cat is due her rabies shots and had already a bad reaction the last time.

  2. Less shots mean less chance of site sarcoma but less vet visits if your cat is not sick, so less money for vets. They are blaming not stocking it on the 3 yr. being more expensive than a one year. In the long run it is less expensive healthwise, timewise, financially. You need to demand the safer shot from your vets. You are the customer and advocate for you cat. Try a university based vet hospital to see if they have the 3 yr. vaccine.

  3. There is only a couple vets that carry the 3 yr…I think they like to give the 1 year so everyone comes in yearly…they make more money on the office visits. I take my cats yearly but I know a lot of people only go every few years or when the cat is sick do to them being so expensive. Vets are money making businesses…they make me sick. I like the 3 yr purevax because my cat only needs to be stuck every 3 yrs and it is the safest vaccine. less chance of cancerous sarcomas on the legs. make sure your vet does not inject vaccines in your cats back anymore!

  4. Yes, please publish a list of vets that carry it! I'm in Maine, and I"m afraid that I won't be able to find it within a reasonable distance. Can you make it available to order in one dose so individual customers who request it of their vet can be helped?

  5. People barely bring their cats to the vet sadly … the key work in the description in HEALTHY cats it's safe for … I work in a veterinary hospital and the majority of cats barely come in to update rabies no less to get wellness check ups. We see them when they are sick .. that's it.

  6. Until people start complaining to their vets about not carrying the 3yr the vets won't bring it in. this is all part of the huge animal vaccine industry. I am NOT against vaccines, quite the opposite. However over vaccination can be very bad for our pets. Many people also don't know that the one yr and the 3 yr are exactly the same only the label has been changed. They both carry the same amount of vaccine in the same strength so by going annually you are over vaccinating your pets compared to the 3 yr. Also most vaccines like the ones people get in childhood are good for life. Vets in many states are required to get rabies vacc. but are only reqiured to get titers taken once every 7 or so yrs. Most never have to be revaccinated.

  7. Dr. John Robb has a great website protectthepets.com in which he has blood titre kits that don't drain the wallet. He has been very outspoken about vacs in dogs and cats ! I am interested in the three year provax too so if anyone hear's of it in Maine please let me know

  8. My vet offers 3 yr adjuvented rabies but is refusing to order a "tray" of 3 yr Purevax doses for my 2 cats because "They wouldn't sell the remainder for a special order." Insane to me. Basically if you care enough to ask for Purevax, the vet will ensure you come once per year for wellness checks…because that is required as well for the annual vaccine. I care about my cats and understand as they get older they need to be seen more often but the only time the vet checked on anything of significance was when I noticed my cat was lethargic. The rest was just blood tests annually. My last visit they suggested I get pet insurance. I've been there done that with the cats and any time it was something serious the insurance didn't cover it claiming pre-existing conditions. Additionally, the cost of the insurance was more than the annual health care check ups. Veterinary care has become more about making money than the care of the pets

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