Feline Practitioners (AAFP) (Stone et al. 2020) and the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) (Ford et al. 2017). Certain “core vaccines” are recommended to be administered on intake whenever possible to all cats and dogs that enter shelters. Core vaccine recommendations for shelter animals vary from the guidelines for vaccination of privately owned pets. Shelter core vaccines target diseases that represent significant morbidity and mortality, are widely distributed in shelters, and for which vaccination has been demonstrated to provide relatively good protection against disease. Core vaccines for shelter cats include parenteral feline parvovirus (FPV or panleukopenia), FHV‐1 (feline herpesvirus type 1 or feline rhinotracheitis virus), and feline calicivirus (FCV). Core vaccines for shelter dogs include parenteral vaccines against canine parvovirus (CPV), canine distemper virus (CDV), and canine adenovirus (CAV‐2, hepatitis), as well as intranasal vaccines against Bordetella bronchiseptica (Bb) and canine parainfluenza virus (CPiV). Some vaccines are not generally recommended for use in animal shelters either because of undemonstrated efficacy in the shelter setting, low risk of disease transmission within shelters, and/or delayed onset of immunity following vaccination, rendering them impractical and of limited use in a shelter setting. In addition, when the use of unnecessary vaccines is avoided, costs and potential vaccination reactions are reduced. However, veterinarians should use their professional judgment when administering vaccines; general shelter vaccination guidelines may need to be adjusted for individual shelters due to the changing prevalence of a disease in the region, increased efficacy or safety of a vaccine, development of a new vaccine, etc.
Rabies vaccination is recommended in both cats and dogs prior to adoption when a licensed veterinarian is available to administer the vaccine (or by shelter staff in accordance with state laws). New owners should be advised that rabies vaccination for dogs is mandatory in most jurisdictions, and proof of vaccination may be required for dog licensing. Rabies vaccination is also warranted when animals are housed long term in shelter facilities. Animals being held for rabies bite quarantines should be vaccinated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian in accordance with state law and the guidelines provided by the current Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control. Though the Compendium is not law, it forms the basis for many state laws regarding the management of rabies and can be accessed at http://nasphv.org/Documents/NASPHVRabiesCompendium.pdf.
For more detailed information about vaccination, please refer to Chapter 9 on Vaccinations and Immunology, Chapter 22 on Rabies, and the individual disease chapters.
2.5.2 Parasite Control and Prevention
Parasite control and prevention represent essential components of shelter wellness programs. Wellness protocols for parasite control should be tailored to the given population, taking into account parasite prevalence, zoonotic potential, pathogenicity, cost, practicality, and safety. Both internal and external parasites are common in cats and dogs. Roundworms and hookworms are common intestinal parasites that possess zoonotic potential. Adult animals are often asymptomatic, whereas young puppies and kittens are most likely to exhibit clinical signs of infection, including diarrhea, anemia, and unthriftiness. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, www.cdc.gov) and the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC, www.capcvet.org) strongly advise routine administration of broad‐spectrum anthelmintics to all cats and dogs to control these potential zoonoses. Pyrantel pamoate is one of the safest, most cost‐effective and efficacious anthelmintics for treatment of roundworms and hookworms. The author recommends the administration of pyrantel pamoate at a dosage of 10 mg/kg on entry to all adoptable cats and dogs with re‐treatment in two weeks and then at monthly intervals. Kittens and puppies should be treated at two‐week intervals until four months of age. For cats and dogs with diarrhea, a fecal flotation, direct fecal smear, and stained fecal cytology should be performed with treatment according to results. Even if results are negative, the administration of broad‐spectrum anthelmintics should be strongly considered unless definitive enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) testing has confirmed the negative results. Ectoparasites, including fleas, ticks, lice, and mites (Otodectes, Notoedres, Sarcoptes, and Cheyletiella), are also common in cats and dogs entering shelters, and they require routine diagnosis and control measures. In addition to causing disease and discomfort in animals, some ectoparasites are responsible for transmitting zoonotic disease.
Heartworm disease is a serious vector‐borne disease that is caused by the mosquito‐borne filarial nematode Dirofilaria immitis. The testing of adoptable dogs over the age of six months is highly recommended in areas where canine heartworm disease is prevalent or dogs have been transported from areas with a high prevalence of heartworms, and when dogs exhibit clinical signs of the disease. Though cats can also be infected, heartworm testing is not recommended for cats due to the difficulty of interpreting the results. Shelters have adopted many strategies for testing, preventing and treating heartworm disease. Mosquito control is an essential component of any shelter heartworm prevention plan since D. immitis can be transmitted by over 70 species of mosquitoes. The ASV and the American Heartworm Society (AHS) worked together on a Heartworm Disease Resource Task Force to create a series of educational brochures that provide information to adopters about the disease (http://www.heartwormsociety.org 2017; http://www.sheltervet.org 2017). Downloadable, printable brochures help explain the shelter policy with regards to testing for and treating heartworms (i.e. whether a facility tests or treats the disease and which modalities are used) and recommendations for follow‐up with a local veterinarian. These brochures offer shelter staff a concise and accurate tool to facilitate communicating about this complex disease. Please see Chapter 18 for more information about heartworm disease.
The CAPC maintains excellent online resources (www.capcvet.org) including numerous detailed parasite guidelines, parasite prevalence maps, and product tables that are very useful for informing wellness protocols for shelters. Chapters 17 and 19 contain more information about internal and external parasites respectively.
2.5.3 Spay‐Neuter
Another essential component of a shelter wellness program is ensuring that cats and dogs are spayed or neutered prior to adoption. Surgical sterilization remains the most reliable and effective means of preventing unwanted reproduction of cats and dogs. In shelters where animals awaiting adoption may be held for long periods, reproductive stress from estrous cycling in queens and bitches and sex drive in tomcats and dogs can decrease appetite, increase urine spraying/marking and intermale fighting, and profoundly increase social and emotional stress. Spaying and neutering animals awaiting adoption is essential in shelters where cats and dogs will be housed for periods of longer than two to four weeks. These procedures decrease spraying, marking, and fighting; eliminate heat behavior and pregnancy; and greatly mitigate stress. This facilitates group housing and participation in supervised playgroups for exercise and emotional enrichment. In addition, the medical benefits of spay‐neuter have been well described, including the elimination of pyometra and ovarian and testicular cancers, and decreased risk of mammary cancer, benign prostatic hyperplasia, prostatitis, and perianal hernias (Johnston et al. 2001).
2.5.4 Identification (Collar/Tag, Microchip)
In all animal care settings, a reliable means of animal identification is another crucial aspect of preventive healthcare or wellness. Identification of animals in the shelter in the form of a collar and
