As a veterinarian who works with wild animals, some of the most common questions I'm asked by people have to do with vaccinating the big cats at PAWS. For example: Do we vaccinate them? What diseases do we vaccinate them against? And finally, how do we administer the vaccines?
At PAWS, we are proud of our comprehensive veterinary program that provides excellent, state-of-the-art medical care tailored to each individual animal's unique needs. One important component of this program focuses on preventative care, including vaccination to protect animals against diseases to which they may be vulnerable. Similar to domestic cats, core vaccines for big cats protect against rabies, distemper, feline calicivirus, and feline viral rhinotracheitis.
Vaccines are administered by one of our veterinarians with the help of PAWS' animal caregivers. Our veterinarians visit all of our sanctuary residents on a regular basis, so the animals recognize us and are comfortable around us. Tigers are naturally curious and most of them will readily approach a habitat fence line to greet us. (We never share the same space with our big cats and do not have direct contact with them.) We start by positioning a tiger's caregiver outside the fence to distract the tiger from the front. Examples of the distractions we might use include a spritz of perfume, a sprinkling of a spice such as cinnamon, or a crinkly paper bag. We wait until the tiger rubs his or her side against the fence and then the veterinarian quickly injects the vaccine through the fence into a rear leg. Sometimes the distraction is so good, and the tiger so calm, they don't react to the injection at all!
