Cat booster shots are the annual top-up that keeps the protection from the kitten course alive — typically one visit a year at £40–£60 including a health check. Cats are also the pets whose boosters most often quietly lapse, partly because getting a reluctant cat into a carrier is nobody's favourite morning. Here's what boosters cover, and why the appointment earns its cost even beyond the injection.

What a cat booster actually tops up

The core protection: cat flu (herpesvirus and calicivirus) and feline panleukopenia, plus feline leukaemia for cats with outdoor access. Not every component needs every year — some core parts are licensed for three-year cycles after the early years — so your vet alternates what's included based on the brand's schedule. The full cat vaccination schedule shows how boosters follow on from the kitten course.

The health check is half the value

Cats hide illness expertly — weight loss, dental disease and early kidney issues are routinely first spotted at booster appointments, not by owners at home. For an animal that may see a vet once a year, that examination is arguably worth more than the injection it accompanies.

Lapsed boosters: the honest picture

Miss a year and the answer depends on how long it's been. Within the vaccine's licensed window a single booster often suffices; beyond it, your vet may advise repeating the two-dose primary course. The practical advice is simply to ring the practice with your cat's record — avoiding the call (and letting more time pass) is the only move that guarantees the more expensive answer.

General information, not veterinary advice — your own vet's schedule for your cat takes precedence.