What is Dedham Veterinary Associates doing to lower my cats risk of sarcoma?
There is a group of feline specialists called the American Academy of Feline Practitioners. This group of feline doctors has formed a task force called the Feline Vaccine Related Fibrosarcoma Task Force. They have made specific recommendations for vaccinating cats. At Dedham Veterinary Associates, we have adopted the recommendations from this special task force of feline doctors. We will only vaccinate your cat for a disease if a risk truly exists. We are currently using some new vaccines that have much lower to no risk for causing sarcoma. The older vaccines which were thought to be associated with fibrosarcoma contained an additional agent called an adjuvant. We have stopped using vaccinations with adjuvants in our feline patients. The Rabies vaccine type that we use in cats, called Purevax by Merial, must be given every year instead of every three years, but the greatly decreased risk of cancer makes it worthwhile. We are also adopting the Feline Fibrosarcoma Task Forces recommendat
