I've gotten a couple of questions lately that deal with vaccinations for cats. The main source of confusion is how often and which vaccines their cats really need.
The "how often" question comes up frequently these days as the thinking on duration of immunity has changed over the years. Assuming your
kitten received all her boosters including
rabies and that your municipality does not require annual rabies vaccinations, the general consensus if that boosters are not required every year and may only be needed every three years for most vaccines. The caveat to that has to do your local situation and your cat's lifestyle.
If your cat is an outdoor cat or an indoor/outdoor cat or even an occasional escape artist or if your cat is a frequent border or traveler you may need to vaccinate more frequently.
Lifestyle decisions also affect which vaccines you'll need. Again, cats that have access to the outdoors or are boarded frequently need different vaccines. The reason for this is simple. They come into contact with other cats frequently and are at higher risk for disease transmission, especially if they are indoor/ outdoor cats. Stray, or feral, cats are the main reservoirs for serious
viral and bacterial disease. Just
another good reason for an indoor lifestyle.
This
article from the Pet Health Library does a good job of covering the core and non-core vaccinations for cats. All cats should receive core vaccination at regular intervals and some will require non-core vaccinations in certain circumstances.
This topic is a great thing to go over with your veterinarian at your cat's annual checkup or when you first take your kitten in for an exam and the first series of boosters. Your veterinarian will know your area and the relative risk of each disease to your cat. Since there are some risks associated with vaccination your vet will want to make sure that the benefits of vaccination outweigh any risks.