Dog and Cat Vaccinationsin Toronto
Vaccines are the simplest, most reliable protection your pet has against serious, preventable disease. At TVS Animal Hospitals, every vaccination plan is tailored to your pet’s age, lifestyle, and risk, we explain what each vaccine protects against, give it at the right time, and remind you a month before every booster is due. Honest advice, transparent pricing, and two Toronto veterinary clinics open 7 days a week.
Plans tailored to your pet
Essential and lifestyle vaccines
Reminders before every booster
Open 7 days a week
How vaccines protect your pet
A vaccine introduces your pet’s immune system to a safe form of a disease, so their body learns to fight it before they ever meet the real thing. It’s quick, simple, and one of the most effective things you can do for their long-term health, protecting against everything from common infections to deadly diseases like rabies and parvovirus. Essential vaccines are recommended for nearly every dog and cat. Lifestyle vaccines depend on how your pet lives: where they walk, whether they board or visit daycare, and how much time they spend outdoors. At your pet’s visit, we go through it together and recommend only what genuinely protects them.
Essential vaccines
For dogs:
- Rabies: required by law in Ontario for dogs three months and older, and protection against a fatal disease that can spread to people.
- DHPP: one combination vaccine covering distemper, hepatitis (adenovirus), parvovirus, and parainfluenza, four serious and highly contagious diseases.
- Leptospirosis: a bacterial infection spread through wildlife urine and standing water that can cause severe kidney and liver damage, and can pass to people. It’s a real risk for city dogs, so we treat it as essential.
For cats:
- Rabies: required by law in Ontario for cats three months and older, whether they live indoors or out.
- FVRCP: one combination vaccine covering feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, and panleukopenia, three serious and contagious diseases.
- Feline leukemia (FeLV): a contagious, incurable virus spread through close contact between cats. We recommend the vaccine for all kittens; strictly indoor adult cats typically don’t need ongoing boosters.
Puppy and kitten vaccination schedules
Puppies and kittens are born with temporary protection from their mother that fades over their first months, so they need a series of vaccines to build lasting immunity of their own. Here’s the typical schedule we use in Toronto; your veterinarian will tailor it to your pet, and we’ll remind you a month before each visit is due.
Puppies
8 weeks: first DHPP dose, plus Bordetella, and first Lyme and influenza doses if they fit your pup’s lifestyle
12 weeks: second DHPP dose, first leptospirosis dose, rabies, and second Lyme and influenza doses
16 weeks: third DHPP dose and second leptospirosis dose
Kittens
8 weeks: first FVRCP dose
12 weeks: second FVRCP dose, first feline leukemia dose, and rabies
16 weeks: third FVRCP dose and second feline leukemia dose
Adult boosters
Adult dogs get rabies one year after the puppy series and then every three years, DHPP every three years, and yearly boosters for leptospirosis and any lifestyle vaccines like Bordetella, Lyme, or influenza. Adult cats get FVRCP and rabies every three years, with feline leukemia boosters continuing yearly for cats with outdoor exposure. We track all of it and send a reminder a month before anything is due.
Why choose TVS for your pet’s Dog & Cat Vaccinations
- Vaccine plans tailored to your pet’s age, lifestyle, and risk, never one-size-fits-all
- Essential and lifestyle vaccines for dogs and cats, all in one place
- A health check before vaccinating, so your pet is fit for their shots
- Reminders sent a month before every booster is due
- Rabies certificates and complete records for licensing, boarding, and travel
- Education-first: we explain every vaccine, and skip what your pet doesn’t need
- Transparent pricing, quoted upfront
- Open 7 days a week at two Toronto pet clinics
Common questions about
Dog & Cat Vaccinations
Owners trust us with the animals they love, and we don’t take that lightly.
Nearly every dog needs rabies, DHPP, and leptospirosis, and nearly every cat needs rabies, FVRCP, and the kitten feline leukemia series. Beyond that, it depends on lifestyle, a dog who boards or visits daycare should have Bordetella, a trail or cottage dog may need Lyme, and an outdoor cat should keep up with feline leukemia boosters. At your visit we review how your pet lives and recommend only the vaccines that genuinely protect them.
Yes. Ontario law requires dogs and cats three months and older to be vaccinated against rabies and kept up to date, including pets who live entirely indoors. We provide the rabies certificate and keep your pet’s records, so you’re covered for licensing, boarding, and travel.
Young animals are protected at first by antibodies from their mother, but that protection fades at an unpredictable rate over their first months, and it can also block vaccines from working. A series of doses, spaced a few weeks apart until about 16 weeks, makes sure real, lasting immunity takes hold just as the borrowed protection runs out.
Yes. Rabies is required by law in Ontario whether your cat goes outside or not, and indoor cats do escape, meet wildlife like bats, or move homes. FVRCP matters too, because the viruses it covers can travel on clothes and shoes. The feline leukemia series is recommended for all kittens, though strictly indoor adult cats typically don’t need ongoing boosters.
Very safe for the vast majority of pets. It’s normal for your pet to be a little sleepy, tender at the injection site, or less hungry for a day, and a small bump where the shot was given can take a while to settle. Contact us right away if you notice vomiting, facial swelling or hives, unusual restlessness, a lump that lasts more than a few weeks, or tiredness or refusal to eat beyond 24 hours.
Available at both clinics
Urgent visits can be booked at either location, by phone or online. Our North York pet clinic stays open the latest, as late as 11pm.
Toronto North Animal Hospital (North York)
Your North York vet, serving Willowdale, Lansing, Bayview Village, and the Yonge and Sheppard area.
Parliament Animal Hospital (Cabbagetown)
Your Cabbagetown vet, serving Riverdale, Regent Park, Corktown, and St. James Town.
