Rabies in cats

Overview

The very word "rabies" elicits fear, and well it should. Once the symptoms of this virus appear, it is only a matter of hours to days before death results. In 1953, there were about 6,000 reported cases of rabies in cats and dogs in the United States. Due primarily to the use of vaccines, the number had dropped to 344 by the early 1990s. The most common carriers are bats, raccoons, skunks, and foxes. Unvaccinated pets that are allowed to roam are most likely to become infected should they come in contact with a rabid wild or stray animal.

Symptoms

• Disorientation or staggering, caused by paralysis of the hind legs
• Foaming at the mouth, caused by paralysis of the throat and jaw muscles
• Inability to swallow
• Loss of appetite
• Weakness
• Sudden aggression in a normally well-behaved cat
• Extreme behavioral changes; for example a wild animal normally seen only at night may become active in the daytime, and vice versa
• Seizures
• Sudden death

Causes & prevention

Rabies, which attacks the central nervous system of warm-blooded animals, including humans, cats and dogs, is most often transmitted through a bite from an infected animal. It can also be passed from mammal to mammal when infected saliva enters the body through the eyes or an open wound. The virus may incubate anywhere from weeks to months. When it does become active, symptoms of the disease usually appear in 3 to 5 days.

The only form of protection is prevention. Keeping your cat indoors will greatly reduce his chance of getting rabies.

Make sure that your cat's rabies vaccination is current. Depending on the type of vaccination used and the area in which you live, your cat will require a booster every year or three years. It is mandatory in most areas that all domestic cats be vaccinated after the age of 3 months. Vaccinating your pet not only protects him from getting rabies, it protects him if he bites or scratches someone. Most local ordinances require a biting cat or dog be quarantined or euthanized for rabies testing if his vaccination is not current. Rabies vaccinations must be given by a licensed veterinarian for them to be considered valid.

If you think that a rabid animal has bitten your cat, put on gloves to protect yourself from infection and take him to the vet immediately. Also notify local animal control officers if the animal that bit your cat is still at large and can be identified and caught.

Wild animals

Avoid contact with wild animals and stray dogs and cats. Should you come across a wild animal, do not attempt to handle or capture it. Keeping wild animals outside is important as keeping your cats indoors. Experts recommend the following simple steps to safeguard your home:

• Cover any holes on the outside of your home that are larger than a quarter, and caulk cracks that are 3/8-inch or more wide
• Make sure your window screens are intact
• Install chimney caps
• Cover attic vents with screens and keep all doors closed tightly
• Fence your yard

If you discover a dead wild animal in your home, put on sturdy leather work gloves and place it in a box. Take care to tape the box shut so no one will accidentally touch it. Contact your local health department or animal control agency for information about where to take the animal for rabies testing.

Treatment

Unfortunately, there is no treatment for a cat infected with rabies. Your pet will be euthanized and tested to confirm that rabies was indeed the cause of his illness. If your cat tests positive for rabies, you will need to receive a series of vaccinations to protect yourself from contracting the deadly virus yourself. These vaccinations are no longer given “in the stomach;” instead, they are usually given in the muscle of your upper arm.