Hi everyone. I just finished reading the cat import guidelines and unfortunately I'm still unclear about something. I have an older cat who got her first rabies vaccine a long time ago and gets a shot once a year, her most recent one being in June 2025. She is not microchipped.
So the standard process is: microchip -> 1st vaccine -> 2nd vaccine -> antibody test
Page 5 says that microchip must be implanted before the first vaccine. But then on the same page it says that a vaccine administered before microchip implant may be accepted under certain conditions. Skip down to page 18 for those certain conditions and it says the following dogs/cats are eligible:
- A rabies vaccination (rabies vaccination ①) was administered before the microchip was implanted.
- At least 91 days old at the time of rabies vaccination ① (the date of birth is counted as day 0).
- At least 30 days have passed from rabies vaccination ① (the day of vaccination is counted as day 0) and it is still within the effective period of rabies vaccination ①.
So, am I understanding it right that I only need to microchip her and have them administer one, not two, doses of vaccine? Because the above conditions are met and she is still within the effective period of her most recent re-vaccination? Or should I still vaccinate her two more times after the microchip implant? I'm really worried about overdoing it since she already got a shot this year… Please clarify this for me.
Thank you.
by kuruttaco26