Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Milan, Via dell'Università 6, 26900, Lodi, Italy.
BMC Vet Res. 2021 Aug 9;17(1):267. doi: 10.1186/s12917-021-02981-z.
Vaccination plays an important role in feline healthcare as it is the most effective measure for prevention against feline infectious diseases. Therefore, it is important to know owners' opinion towards cats' vaccination and current veterinary practices in order to advice owners on the use of the correct vaccination protocol. This study aimed to investigate the proportion of cats regularly vaccinated and identify the main factors motivating cat owners' decisions related to vaccination in Italy. A questionnaire was disseminated online (mainly via social networks) to collect data regarding Italian cat owners' demographics, information about cats, factors regarding cats' vaccination, and veterinary-owner relationship.
A total of 1264 owners participated in the survey and 1247 questionnaires were completed and statistically analyzed. The majority (91%; n = 1131) of cats were vaccinated and 80% (n = 998) had been vaccinated within the last 3 years. Age of 2-4 years old cats and the acquisition from a breeder or cat shop were significantly associated with vaccination within the last 3 years. Cats vaccinated but not within the last 3 years were significantly associated with cat's indoor lifestyle, cats' age ≥ 5 years old and low annual household income. Importance of vaccination cost, low annual household income and owners' job not related to healthcare was statistically associated with the lack of cat's vaccination. In addition, 86% of the owners took their cat regularly to veterinary clinics. Veterinarians play a significant role in owners' decision, and they are considered the most useful source of information about vaccination by 97% of owners.
The high number of recently vaccinated cats suggests owner's attention towards feline vaccination and cat's health. The importance of veterinarian's advice along with the knowledge of factors associated to the unvaccinated status of cats may help veterinarians to grow owner's confidence and increase prevention of feline infectious diseases. However further investigations based on a more comprehensive sample of the general population are needed to confirm the results of this survey.
疫苗接种在猫科动物保健中起着重要作用，因为它是预防猫科传染病最有效的措施。因此，了解主人对猫疫苗接种的看法以及当前的兽医实践对于就正确的疫苗接种方案向主人提供建议非常重要。本研究旨在调查定期接种疫苗的猫的比例，并确定促使意大利猫主人决定接种疫苗的主要因素。通过在线（主要通过社交网络）分发问卷，收集有关意大利猫主人人口统计学、猫信息、猫疫苗接种相关因素以及兽医-主人关系的数据。
共有 1264 位主人参与了这项调查，其中 1247 份问卷完成并进行了统计分析。大多数（91%；n=1131）的猫都接种了疫苗，80%（n=998）的猫在过去 3 年内接种了疫苗。2-4 岁的猫和从饲养者或宠物店获得的猫与过去 3 年内接种疫苗显著相关。过去 3 年内未接种疫苗但接种过疫苗的猫与猫的室内生活方式、猫的年龄≥5 岁和低家庭年收入显著相关。疫苗接种费用的重要性、低家庭年收入和与医疗保健无关的主人工作与猫未接种疫苗有关。此外，86%的主人定期带猫去兽医诊所。兽医在主人的决策中起着重要作用，他们被 97%的主人认为是疫苗接种相关信息最有用的来源。
最近接种疫苗的猫数量众多，这表明主人对猫的疫苗接种和猫的健康状况重视。兽医的建议以及对与猫未接种疫苗状态相关的因素的了解，可能有助于兽医增强主人的信心，增加预防猫传染性疾病的机会。然而，需要进一步基于更广泛的一般人群样本进行调查，以确认本调查的结果。
