The Card Is a Copy — the Practice Holds the Record
Losing the card feels like losing the proof, but the authoritative record sits in the clinical file at the practice that gave the vaccinations. Every visit, vaccine and batch detail is logged against your cat's file there. Phone the practice, confirm the details they hold for her — name, description and microchip number help them pull the right file — and ask what they can issue: most can print a vaccination history or stamp a replacement card at little fuss, sometimes while you wait, sometimes for collection.
If you have moved since the vaccinations were given, start with the practice that administered them, not your new one. Your new vet may hold a transferred summary, but if the transfer never happened or covered only recent visits, the original practice is where the missing entries live.
Gather a Scattered History Practice by Practice
Cats who have changed homes, been rehomed or seen an emergency practice can have history in three places. List every practice she has attended as far as you know, with rough timeframes, and work through them: request her records from each, and ask your current practice to request transfer of the older files so the history consolidates into one file going forward. Rehoming charities and previous owners may also hold an original card — worth one polite enquiry before you conclude an entry is unrecoverable.
Where a genuine gap remains — a vaccination nobody can document — tell your current vet plainly. They will advise what is appropriate for her situation based on the records that do exist; do not guess dates, backfill a card yourself or present an uncertain history as certain to a boarding service, because the record's value is exactly that it is trustworthy.
Match the Proof to Whoever Is Asking
Different askers want different proof. A cattery may accept a printed, practice-stamped history or a replacement card; an insurer may want the full clinical notes; a travel-related service may need specific entries presented in a particular document. Before requesting paperwork, ask the organisation exactly what they will accept and in whose name or format, then ask the practice for that. One well-aimed request beats three trips for the wrong printout.
Allow time. Practices are busy, record retrieval from archived files can take days, and a deadline discovered the night before a boarding stay turns a simple request into a crisis. The moment you notice the card is missing, start the process — not when proof is demanded.
Prevent the Second Loss
When the replacement arrives, protect it immediately: photograph every page clearly, store the photos with her other records, and note where the paper copy now lives. Keep the physical card with her carrier or record folder rather than in a kitchen drawer migration path, and update the photo each time a new entry is added so the backup never lags a booster behind.
Add a simple vaccination page of your own alongside it — dates given and due dates for the next appointment as shown by the practice — so a glance tells you what is current without decoding handwriting under pressure.
Keep Proof With the Rest of Her Paperwork
A vaccination record is most useful when it travels with her identity and vet details rather than alone. Filed in her KinsLe Pet Passport alongside her microchip details and visit summaries, the replacement proof sits in one portable packet — ready for a cattery, a new vet or an emergency without another search through the house.