Any Rabies experts out there?

[Tracy Savage]

Any one want a kitten?

 

[ducklite]

please put this out of your mind and continue to care for the cats.

rabies in domestic animals in the US is very very rare. I am not aware of it being possible to transmit it through a minute amount of saliva in a water dish. Being bitten is obviously the best way to get it, and the most common. Very rarely, people can get it when they have an open wound of some sort that gets contaminated with a bunch of saliva.

There isn't any reason to sit around and worry about this!

Those are NOT domestic animals, they are feral cats. Domestic are truly companion animals kept by humans as "house pets." One of the reasons that domestic animals seldom get rabies is that they have PEP's, and if they tangle with a wild animal, almost always the owner will take the animal to the vet to be re-vax'ed.

It is not impossible though. A friend went through post-exposure prophylaxsis after being bitten by a domestic animal who had the virus. She was quite lucky, the animal began showing symptoms of being rabid the day after she was bitten, and the lab results came back (positive) on the last day that she had to safely begin treatment.

That said, I do agree, the chances of exposure via the rather casual contact described is slim, however it is something that shouldn't be taken lightly and a call the the county health department is warranted.

Anne

 

[Tracy Savage]

Those are NOT domestic animals, they are feral cats. Domestic are truly companion animals kept by humans as "house pets." One of the reasons that domestic animals seldom get rabies is that they have PEP's, and if they tangle with a wild animal, almost always the owner will take the animal to the vet to be re-vax'ed.

It is not impossible though. A friend went through post-exposure prophylaxsis after being bitten by a domestic animal who had the virus. She was quite lucky, the animal began showing symptoms of being rabid the day after she was bitten, and the lab results came back (positive) on the last day that she had to safely begin treatment.

That said, I do agree, the chances of exposure via the rather casual contact described is slim, however it is something that shouldn't be taken lightly and a call the the county health department is warranted
Anne

OK now I'm scared again.