For the care & enjoyment of our elusive friends - cats

 

 

             
 
 

cat care > rabies

precautions | what is rabies | protection


     Precautions ...
  • Vaccinate your pets regularly, according to state law.
  • Keep children and pets away from wild and unfamiliar animals.
  • Don't allow pets to run at large.
  • If your pet is in a fight with a wild animal, avoid direct contact with the wild animal's saliva and call your local animal control agency for assistance.
  • Make sure garbage cans lids are secured and pet food is not left outside.
  • Report wild or stray animals to animal control.
  • If you feel you may have been exposed to rabies, scrub the wound vigorously with soap and water for 10 minutes and contact your physician or health department.
  • If you have had contact with a bat, or a bat is found in your house, consult your physician or health department. Even touching a bat can be dangerous if it has rabies. Bat bites are very small and hard to see. If a bat is found in a room with a sleeping person, assume that the person has been bitten.

     What is rabies ...           top

Rabies is a viral disease that may be transmitted to humans. The virus travels through nerves and affects the brain and almost always causes the person or animal that has it to die. Treatment must be started very soon after exposure and must be done properly.

Healthy animals and humans can get rabies when bitten, licked or scratched by a sick animal. This is because rabid animals have the disease in their saliva or drool. The disease is passed on if the saliva from a rabid animal gets into an open wound or the body's soft, damp areas (eyes, nose or mouth).

The cost for treatment in humans after exposure is costly, at about $800 to $1200, and that can get higher if hospitalization or physician's bills are factored in. But treatment is imperative because once signs of rabies appear, death will usually happen within days.

     Protection ...          top

 Your pet's first rabies shot is good for one year, followed by a booster every three years. Cost for just the vaccination can run $10 to $15. If the pet has a current rabies vaccination, a booster must be done within 72 hours of being exposed to rabies. If a pet is bitten or scratched by another animal, domestic or wild, animal control or the County Health Department should be contacted immediately.

If your pet is not vaccinated, and the attacking animal is captured, it's brain will be tested for rabies. If your pet is not vaccinated, and the attacking animal tests positive for rabies, your pet may have to be disposed of as required by law.

If your pet is vaccinated but has not received the booster within 72 hours of the incident, unless the attacking animal tests negative, your pet will be quarantined for six months or disposed of by animal control. The pet owner is responsible for the cost of the quarantine and this must be done at a vet's clinic. All vaccinated pets that bite a person will be under observation for 10 days.

If you suppect that your pet has had contact with a rabid animal use gloves or a towel to handle your pet. It is possible that the saliva of the sick animal will still be on your pet's fur.