Does Your Cat Really Need the FeLV Vaccine?

New cat vaccine guidelines are changing how veterinarians approach kitten vaccines, feline leukemia virus, rabies, and long-term boosters. In this video, Dr. Andrew Jones reviews the updated feline vaccine recommendations and explains why your cat’s lifestyle, exposure risk, age, and local laws should all matter.

Dr. Jones discusses the core kitten vaccine series, rabies vaccination, and the newer recommendation to include feline leukemia virus, or FeLV, as a core vaccine. He explains how FeLV spreads, why repeated close contact with infected cats raises risk, and why an indoor cat may have a very different exposure level than a cat that roams outdoors or lives with other cats.

He also covers vaccine-associated sarcoma, repeated immune stimulation, and why vaccine decisions should not be automatic. Instead, cat parents should look at actual disease exposure, previous vaccine history, health status, and legal requirements.
The goal is not simply more vaccines or fewer vaccines. It is using the right vaccines for the right cat at the right time.

Dr. Jones also reminds cat parents that long-term health depends on more than vaccination, including nutrition, enrichment, preventive care, and regular veterinary checkups throughout life especially as individual needs and exposure can change gradually over time.