Interesting discussion! I actually had holistic vet in San Fran who said no need to vaccinate past the first time - that vaccines are a ripoff and you don't need to update human vaccinations annually so why on earth would you do it to a little cat? I never vaccinated my US cat who was indoor only but figured maybe these two needed it because in the summer they do go in our garden (supervised so that they don't get out - we live near a very busy road) which occasionally has neighbourhood cats passing through.... If I didn't need to I wouldn't - Meg's story about Xander is quite enough to keep me from doing it! I don't need any more scares with ours after the seizure business!!!!
Most people do in fact have to be boostered, tetanus for one needs to be boostered every five years, the Hepatitis B vaccine comes in a series of three vaccines (the second two are boosters), and some people get the Flu vaccine every year. To be quite honest, I would hesitate to entrust my cats health to someone who says that "vaccines are a ripoff" - because they really aren't. Something else to remember - cats aren't people. and vice versa.
From veterinary immunology: "In general, immunity against feline penleukopenia is considered to be relatively long-lived (>2years). On the other hand, immunity to feline rhinotracheitis, feline calicivirus and chlamydophila, is believed to be relatively short...animal owners should be made aware that protection against an infectious disease can only be maintained reliably when vaccines are used in accordance with the protocol approved by the vaccine licensing authorities. The duration of immunity claimed by a vaccine manufacturer is the minimum duration of immunity that is supported by the data available."
Some modified live vaccines (like the FeLV vaccine) don't need to be boostered yearly unless there is a high risk (my cats certainly don't get it) but most vaccines do in fact need to be given regularly (regularly does not necessarily mean annually! A lot of vets give the FVRCP vaccine every other year) to ensure protection. The best thing to do in my opinion, is visit the AAFP (american association of feline practitioners) and visit their vaccine guidelines. Their recommendations state that for cats, there are two core vaccines. Rabies, and FVRCP. Rabies obviously isn't required by law in the UK, and all the other vaccines that are non-core should be given depending only on the risk to the cat.
And as for the UK's "rabies free" status - well. I have always had a bit of an issue with that. They may be "mostly" rabies free but as long as they harbor a wild-animal reservoir I don't see how they can claim this status. I'm not saying that everyone in the UK should vaccinate their cats against rabies, but if my cats were outdoor cats living in the UK - I would!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/2509375.stmOn the subject of vaccine reactions - yes they happen, and they are very scary (although thankfully treatable with steroids and anti-histamines) but luckily it is not a very common thing.
"Data from the British National Suspected Adverse Reaction Surveillance Scheme suggest that in cats the incidence of adverse effects was 0.30 to 0.82 (mean 0.61) per 10,000 vaccine doses sold. Pedigree cats appeared to have a higher prevalence of adverse effects than nonpedigree cats."
http://www.avma.org/vafstf/rbbroch.asp (another good site to check out)
