We would recommend that all cats, both kittens and adults, be vaccinated against a number of major diseases.

Kittens and adult cats need to be fully vaccinated against cat flu, enteritis (a severe viral diarrhoea) and feline leukaemia virus.

We currently recommend giving the first vaccine at nine weeks of age and the second dose at 12 weeks of age.

Your kitten is fully protected a week after this and that is the time they can start to go outside. The vaccinations can be done after the initial nine weeks if you are not able to do it in time, but we recommend doing it at nine weeks if possible.

Adult cats need to have a booster vaccination every year to keep to their optimum level of immunity.

Cat flu is prevalent in the feline population and can be fatal, especially for the very young or very old. The cat flu viruses can cause a number of other ongoing diseases, for example gingivitis (gum disease) and eye diseases.

Feline leukaemia is a virus that is passed directly from cat to cat. Symptoms, such as tumours, may not develop for a few years after infection.

We use vaccines manufactured by Nobivac MSD.