Indoor cat goes outside: Rabies, distemper, leukemia shot frequency?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female
How often should my cat get The FELINE DISTEMPER COMBO and RABIES shots? She is mostly an INSIDE cat, but she goes outside for 5 minutes everyday, does she need the LEUKEMIA shot?
5 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on June 10th, 2017
Hi there, if Gabriella is an adult cat, she world need the rabies and fvrcp combo given once, then boostered after 12mths. That second dose would likely be good for 3yrs. If she is a kitten, we recommend boosting the fvrcp every 2-4wks until she's 16wks old. The risk for felv increases if she's ever in contact with other cats eg. If neighbors cats come into your yard, or she goes to a boarding facility. If that is the case, she should get the felv (leukemia) vaccine. After the initial 2 doses, felv should be boosted annually. I hope this helps - I can offer a consult if you would like more specific recommendations.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on
Distemper combo and Rabies shots are considered core vaccines and should be boostered yearly. If you are using the old school Rabies Vaccine (not the purevax), it can be boostered every three years. The reason they don't use that one anymore is because it is considered less safe and less effective. As for the leukemia vaccine, if you choose to use it, it must be done so as a calculated risk. Most of the evidence indicates that about 3 / 10000 injections with that vaccine results in a inject site sarcoma (cancerous growth). If you do not believe during those five minutes outside your cat is going to exposed to other cats who could be leukemia positive, I do not believe it is very necessary for her to have it. However, if you have other cats in your home that might be more likely to be exposed and spread to Gabriella, you may want to reconsider. Hope this helps!
0Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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Published on July 12th, 2017
I would only recommend the FVRCP vaccine and Rabies for an indoor cat. She won't need the FeLv vaccine since she isn't exposed to other cats. She may need 2 sets of the FVRCP vaccine (if she is an adult cat) or 3 sets (if she is a kitten less than 5 months old) and only 1 Rabies. Best wishes taking care of Sweetie and take care.
2Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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Published on December 11th, 2018
A 3 month old kitten should get a feline distemper (FVRCP) vaccine. This should be repeated in 4 and 8 weeks. The FVRCP should be boosted yearly thereafter. She can also get a rabies vaccine at this age. It should be boosted yearly. If she is to be an outdoor cat, she should get a feline leukemia (FeLV) vaccine which needs to be repeatedly in 4 weeks and then yearly. A FeLV/FIV test and a fecal exam should also be done. Deworm her if indicated and repeat in 3 weeks.
3Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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Published on January 7th, 2019
For the 1yr Rabies vaccination, this is generally formulated using a particular carrier for the vaccination that is safer than the 3 yr Rabies vaccination. The canary pox virus is the carrier for the Rabies 1 yr and is generally touted as being safer with less of a chance to stimulate an adverse reaction / trigger vaccine associated tumors. I typically recommend the 1yr Rabies vaccine and rarely use the 3yr. We might use the 3yr vaccination if we run out of the 1yr vaccine but that rarely occurs. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns! If Sassy is strictly indoors, then the chances of her getting feline leukemia are quite low, so this is a vaccine that you could eliminate each year as long as Sassy maintains indoor status as the disease is transmitted via bites and scratches from other cats. If you have other cats in the household that go outdoors but Sassy does not, I would then keep Sassy updated on the leukemia vaccination as the other cats can potentially transmit the disease to her. Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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