Two distemper vacc. 6 weeks apart won't hurt anything, although I would refuse to pay for the extra shot, and based on the other things you said, I'd be looking for another vet.

Mix ups can happen although should be a very, very rare event. In the 6 years I've worked at the hospital we've only had one mix up, and mostly it was the owner was unsure of which vaccine they wanted. A client called wanting 'shots' (no other information), the receptionist tried explaining the various vaccines, and the owner specified the one for 'it's temperment' so the receptionist put it down as needing a distemper shot after confirming it with the owner. However once the owner came in and we discussed the second booster and the whole works, gave the vaccination, THEN it comes out they only wanted whatever it took for the license, which is the Rabies vacc. In this case it was more the owner not knowing or being clear about what they wanted rather than an actual mess up though.

I have never understood those 'package deals' that some vets offer. I've always thought it was a rip off myself. Where I work we don't even particularly care for people pre-paying. I guess in the past people have paid for shots and never came back, was a waste of their money, so usually we don't encourage pre-paying now.

I don't agree with a practice that takes ALL animals in the back for every little procedure. There are rare times that an animal actually is more relaxed away from skittish owners though. At our hospital we do most everything in the exam rooms with the owners there, unless we need blood for lab work, or need to use the lighting/equipment in the back that isn't available up front.

As for where a vaccination should go is a matter of debate even with some vets. My cats have gotten almost every vaccine in the neck (and Dusty's had yearly vaccinations since 1995) with only a rare bump that goes away in two weeks or less. The boss did find out that using a different brand of vaccine GREATLY reduced the bumps we were getting, and almost eliminated the ones that were sluggish afterwards. So brand does matter!

As for Sarcoma's, We have to remember the media will do ANYTHING to sell a paper and hype up whatever they think sells (ie pit bulls being more vicious than other breeds etc). Anyone can get/make a webpage now, so you can't simply go by the number of 'hits' on google to determine how common or rare something is.

Studies have shown that any needle poke can cause sarcomas, also including antibiotics and cortisones, as well as having NO vaccinations ever. However weighing the odds of getting a sarcoma vs. getting one of the diseases vaccines protect against, it's always better odds to vaccinate if your cat is at risk for those diseases, or if the law requires it (ie Rabies). There is no one good study that shows the particular odds, however it's been estimated that odds of a sarcoma are about 1-3 in 5,000-10,000 but odds of getting the disease a vaccination prevents is about 1-5 in 1,000. Sarcomas are rare, however the diseases vaccines protect against are NOT as rare. A good vet should be able to sit down to discuss your particular cats risk assesment and which vaccines are actually needed by your cat, and risks either way.

Cornell University

AVMA