www.roanoke.com

Paws & Claws

Jill Bowen has practiced veterinary medicine in England and Texas. She lives in Blacksburg now, and answers local pet owners' questions every week in The Roanoke Times and roanoke.com.

Recent columns

• Bacteria can cause ear infections in cats
• Chiari is a malformation of the back for some spaniels
• Your plant smells like a great spot to ...
• Sting salve: meat tenderizer

Q We have a 5-year-old Lab bitch that is due for all her shots soon. I have heard of a lot of controversy about whether annual shots are necessary and the fact they may even be harmful to some dogs and people. So is it really necessary for her to have these shots?

A Vaccination against disease only works if a large proportion of both the dog and human population are immunized against the various diseases. If people stop vaccinating their dogs then the incidence of these various canine diseases will start to rise again. This has happened in the case of measles in children; parents stopped getting their children immunized against measles and over a few years the incidence of measles in unvaccinated children rose sharply.

It is as a result of vaccination that diseases such as canine distemper and canine parvovirus, which used to kill thousands of dogs a year, are now very much reduced. These diseases are still around so there is always a risk of an outbreak if the status of a dog's immunity wanes.

Leptospirosis is another omnipresent disease that is carried by rats and other wildlife that can be fatal in the unvaccinated dog. Dogs need to be vaccinated against rabies, either annually, or with the three-year vaccination available for dogs over 1 year old. As rabies appears to be on the rise, it is vitally important not to skip this shot. If you are concerned about your dog's vaccination status, talk it over with your veterinarian, who can best advise you as to how frequently you should vaccinate your dog depending on the vaccine used.

Q Is it true that cats get lonely if there is only one cat in a household? We have just adopted a kitten and my neighbor, who knows about animals, said we should have got two kittens and only having one is not kind.

A Cats basically are loners, being independent, solitary hunters that do not need companionship like dogs do. Most cats are quite happy to be alone; some even seem to prefer it.

That said, there are many cats that are raised with another cat that become devoted to each other and are quite bereft if one dies. It all depends on the character of the cat. In some cases a cat will never adjust to the introduction of a second cat, this results in a tremendous amount of tension between the two animals, with both becoming stressed and in some extreme cases, one cat becoming chronically ill as a result.

Over the years at various times we have had several cats, or only one cat. I have no problem with either situation. There is no guarantee that two kittens from the same litter will get along together, let alone two strange cats. Very often cats in a multiple cat household tolerate each other rather than being devoted companions. This can happen, but it is not necessarily the norm. So I don't think you are being unkind in only having one cat.