Keeping Your Cat Safe From Rabies

Kavykeeper
3 years ago

Even indoor pets are at risk if infected bats have access to the inside of your home.

Good Point | Reply ›

Jillian
3 years ago

bats get very low marks on the rabies scale. raccoons are the most likely to carry it.

Good Point | Reply ›

Jeanette G.
3 years ago

Yeah, i think the last thing we want is for our kitties to get rabies!!! Its terrible!

Good Point | Reply ›

Jillian
3 years ago

IF you live in an area where rabies may be contracted you should get the vaccine. i looked up the likeliness of an indoor cat getting rabies awhile ago and it was something like a 0.002% chance, dogs would only be slightly higher than than {like maybe 0.008%}.
keep in mind that rabies shots can cause cancer and that although legally dogs should have yearly vaccines, it does much more harm than good. 1-2 vaccinations per lifetime is all that's needed b/c they don't wear off in a year, not even 3.

Good Point | Reply ›

Denise L.
3 years ago

It would also help if cat guardians kept their cats indoors.

Good Point | Reply ›

Lisa B.
3 years ago

It is so sad that cats are not supported in the spay-neuter and return programs at the government levels. I am always hearing how the song birds are suffering. i put out a yellow sock with seed and put it up where the cats can´t get the birds.

Good Point | Reply ›

Kris
3 years ago

I agree. TNR has been the most effective way I have seen to control the feral cat population.

Good Point | Reply ›

Seagreen
3 years ago

The article says that "feral cat colonies remain a reservoir host for the rabies virus." This is not right. Cats are not reserviors of the rabies virus. Feral cat colonies are not a source of rabies. Please see the references below:

Rabies (second edition, 2007) Editors AC Jackson, WH Wunner, Academic Press.
“No unique rabies virus variants are associated with cats and no feline reservoirs have been defined…” Which means the rabies virus has never adapted to cats. Cats are not reservoirs of the rabies virus.

Merck Veterinary Manual, Rabies: Introduction “No cat-to-cat transmission of rabies has been recorded, and no feline rabies virus variant is known.”

www.cdc.gov/rabies/epidemiology.html
“United States Rabies Surveillance Data, 2008” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Of the 38 human rabies deaths listed in the 14-year period from 1995-2008, 28 deaths were contracted from bats, 8 from dogs, 1 from a fox and 1 from a raccoon. Notably, no human death by rabies was caused by contraction of the disease from a cat.

Vaccinating your cats against rabies is a responsible thing to do, just like spaying and neutering.

Thanks for listening.......

Good Point | Reply ›

Kris
3 years ago

Thanks for sharing this. I agree that people need to make sure their cats are vaccinated.

Good Point | Reply ›

Jillian
3 years ago

that's so true. many people aim to attack the ferals by placing blame and false propaganda. more and more are being educated and hopefully one day the prejudice will die off completely.

Good Point | Reply ›

Lisa B.
3 years ago

Vaccinations are a must

Good Point | Reply ›

Michele Z.
3 years ago

As in "legally required"?

Good Point | Reply ›

Lisa B.
3 years ago

Legally required depends on your state. If an animal, usually a squirrel, is detected to have rabies, Lake Tahoe area, then we have to vaccinate once a year. Otherwise it is every three years. I fly with my cat and it is legally required to transport the cat.

Good Point | Reply ›

Lisa B.
3 years ago

Not legally required unless you are flying or if there is an outbreak of rabies, usually among squirrels, then the state will tell us to vaccinate our pets.

Good Point | Reply ›

Jillian
3 years ago

our local spay/neuter clinic provides a free rabies shot upon surgery for those w/a membership {which is only $10, but it allows you $17 off males and $3 off females}.

Good Point | Reply ›

Bowne
3 years ago

Good information. This is one of the reasons that I keep my cat indoors!

Good Point | Reply ›

Michele Z.
3 years ago

Hmmm--I didn't know that a booster shot would be needed even when the pet's shot is up-to-date!

If there "is no cure" for rabies, then why do people who are bitten receive the shots????

Good Point | Reply ›

daryl b.
3 years ago

i think a few years ago reading about the first human who survive rabbies. these shots are as improtant as spaying and neutering

Good Point | Reply ›

Kelly
3 years ago

Rabies is incurable once there is brain involvement resulting in symptoms, which usually takes a couple of days...no more than 3 usually. If the immunoglobulins & vaccines are given before the brain becomes involved, its preventable.

Good Point | Reply ›

Michele Z.
3 years ago

THAT makes more sense!

Good Point | Reply ›

Jillian
3 years ago

i think it takes at least 2 weeks post-bite to actually get rabies. i wonder...if your pet were attacked and then administered the rabies vaccine...would that save them?

Good Point | Reply ›