those viruses are highly communicable from one cat to another.

no human vaccines have anything like the number of boosters, etc, that vets recommend.

but if the boarding place wants it, you may be stuck. has she had it in the past? if she has a lifelong history of getting her boosters, maybe they will take her anyway. does the vet think there is reason NOT to give it? have him put it in writing.

It is hard on an elderly cat to get an immunization. And chances are very good that she has plenty of immunity if she has been vaccinated before. My vet also chose not to vaccinate my 17 year old and ailing cat.

There is a test they can give to test for immunity if it becomes really necessary, called a titer test, not sure how it is spelled. Or you can get a pet sitter...we have found that keeps the cats a lot more happy, to be in their own familiar home. And it does cost less money.

You can go online and find a good one. There are organized groups of them and they are insured and all that.

Check with your vet's office - many vet techs themselves will do pet sitting on their off time.

We take our dog and cat to a holistic vet. They are both 8 years old and they have never had any boosters except for rabies because of state laws. Their titers are checked every 3 years and if the immunity level is good they don't need the immunization.
You might want to check with the boarding facility to make sure that they will accept a titer test instead of a shot. Some of them won't.

without the distemper vaccination.