It seems as if the feline leukemia vaccination in general is one that cats are more likely to have a bad reaction to. (Though of course, there is the potential for a bad reaction to any vaccine.) Since there is a risk of a possible bad reaction to a vaccine, if one is not really needed based on a particular cat's life circumstances, better to avoid unneeded vaccines.
It is needed to have a booster around 3 weeks after the initial feline leukemia vaccine, so since you had Mindy get the first vaccine, it makes sense to have the upcoming booster, otherwise the initial vaccine might not be effective. For sure, monitor her very carefully afterwards, though!
Feline leukemia is not so cut and tried an illness the way some others are. Some cats are able to recover fully and not die from an infection with the feline leukemia virus (though more will eventually die than be able to recover, sometimes not succumbing to the disease for years even). Cats who do manage to recover will remain carriers, I believe. Those with weak immune systems, such as kittens and old cats, mostly won't be able to recover and will die Probably any young kitten who gets infected with feline leukemia will die as their immune systems are not yet mature.
Even if one expects one's kitten or cat to live indoors only forever, things happen sometimes where a kitten or cat winds up on the streets (escaped from the house then got lost, owners need to rehome the cat and the new owners let it free roam the neighborhood, etc.) So for that reason, I have always had all my cats (indoor only or access to a cat enclosure only) get the initial feline leukemia vaccine series, but then no more. Once they are adults they will have mature immune systems, and since I never let my cats free roam, they have no risk of contracting feline leukemia from stray cats unless one of escapes from the house, so I think for my indoor cats, that is adequate protection for the rare possibility one might escape the house and have an encounter with a stray cat that might so happen to have feline leukemia.
Cats who will be allowed to free roam outdoors where there is the chance of stray cats getting to them should have the feline leukemia vaccine updated on a regular basis in my opinion.
Do talk to your vet about it, but don't be surprised if the vet says all cats should get the feline leukemia vaccine every year, even indoor only cats. Vets make money off vaccines, so some are more motivated to push for vaccines that other vets would not recommend for a particular cat.
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Topic: Vaccination update (Read 139 times)