What I'm referring to in the title here is our pets.  Yeah, those wonderful cats and dogs that give us such love and companionship.  Are we killing them with our kindness?

I recently watched a segment on the Today show about a controversial subject that I happened to research myself about 9 years ago.  The injections that our pets get from our vets.

At that time we had our beautiful Maine Coon cat, Calais.  She was 9 years old and based on her breed and the fact she was an indoor cat, I thought she'd probably live to be 17 or 18 years old.  So imagine my shock when at only 9 years old, I discovered a huge lump on her chin one morning and by that evening, we had to make the decision to have her put to sleep.

Calais had an osteosarcoma (bone tumor) in her mandibular bone.  The vet told me that, unfortunately, by the time these are discovered....it's already too late.  There was no hope and in the days to come she would have been in pain, unable to eat, etc.  I had no choice but to lovingly let her go.  But in the midst of my sorrow and anger, I questioned "why?"  Why would this happen?  How could this happen to a perfectly healthy cat?  I went on the Internet and researched volumes of information........much of it that said the injections we give to our pets can be deadly.

Deadly?  I thought I was doing the right thing getting Calais inoculated against all the feline diseases that could end her life prematurely.  Maybe not.  Maybe it caused her death.  I read enough to convince me that possibly this is what happened.  And when I got my next Maine Coon cat, Marcel (who turned 9 years old this past March) I made a decision.........he's an indoor cat, just like Calais was.  His paws have never touched soil......he only gets his fresh air and sun on our screened-in lanai.  So I got his kitten shots, I brought him back when he was a year old for his boosters........and that was it.  No more injections.

I've done the same with Ralph and Foster........all the kitten shots, back at age one for the boosters.  And then.....no more.  They're also indoor cats.  Never going outside.

Let's discuss my beloved Holly, who we lost a year ago this month to lymphoma.  I do believe that dogs, unlike indoor cats, really should have all the injections that's required.  They're out there socializing with other dogs, walking on soil that other dogs have treaded on, etc.  So faithfully, we brought Holly to the vet every year for the first five years of her life to get all her boosters, rabies, etc.  However, the year that Holly would be turning six (2007) our vet informed us that a new booster was now out, that would last THREE years!  Yes, three.  I said, "terrific, let's do it."  We did. 

But who knows.........maybe the damage had already been done to Holly.  She already had cancer, unbeknownst to us at that point.  The segment on the Today show indicated there seems to be an exceptionally high amount of cancer in our cats and dogs.  Could it be the injections they got year after year?  I don't have that answer.  But I DO know.......Duncan and Brie are now on the three-year injection, and I also know that Holly's mother, Dutchess, (now age 9) and her sister, Star (now age 7 1/2) are both still alive.  They didn't get yearly injections like Holly, for various reasons.  Something to think about, isn't it?

Now I'm not saying injections are bad.  Far from it.  I strongly believe in them.  But what I am saying is, if you have a dog or cat and right now you're taking them yearly for those injections.......you might want to speak to your vet about the new three-year injections that are now available.  Who knows.......maybe we'll be adding many loving and valuable years to their life.......and to ours, because of their love for us.

See you here next time........