I never knew this about vaccinating cats!

[LakeAriel]

I would never get vaccinated for rabies because if the bat were positive, I would get treated for rabies, along with the rest of my family. There is no way to treat rabies in animals like there is in humans, and I don't like the options for cats that are not vaccinated for rabies.

There is NO treatment for rabies in humans! If vaccinated before symptoms appear but after the bite you would be OK. Once the virus is in your nervous system you are terminal. Last year recorded the first ever case of a person recovering from Rabies!
Good luck to that very lucky person! People in animal shelters and other high risk jobs do get the vaccine by the way.

 

[vetrik]

There is NO treatment for rabies in humans! If vaccinated before symptoms appear but after the bite you would be OK. Once the virus is in your nervous system you are terminal. Last year recorded the first ever case of a person recovering from Rabies!
Good luck to that very lucky person! People in animal shelters and other high risk jobs do get the vaccine by the way.

I did mean that I would get the shot as soon as I knew the bat tested positive - hopefully before any symptoms developed! I misphrased my answer. I've heard that they don't have to do the huge needles in the stomach though the way they used to when someone had been bitten by a rabid animal.

I did know that they vaccinated humans also - I looked into it and researched it a lot because I worked as a vet tech for 7 years, and I was going to college to become a veterinarian before I changed career paths. I never did get vaccinated because I was looking at a lifetime in that career, and the doctors were worried that it would lose effectiveness after so many years (although they would run titers so I would only need to be vaccinated whenever my titer was too low). Just about everyone I worked with had been vaccinated for rabies though. It did freak me out some after I was bitten by a stray cat with an unknown vaccination history.

 

[Simba's Mom]

We've got 2 cats, one indoor and one outdoor (he goes out less and less these days though), and we've always gotten them vaccinated. But I thought that it was a law, at least in our state. Now I'm starting to wonder and I'm having second thoughts with our indoor one of getting him vaccinated for rabies. But I was told somewhere that one reason to get an indoor cat vaccinated is that if ever a rabid mouse, squirrel, etc. gets into your house, your cat could get rabies. So that's why (at least as I was told) you should still get indoor cats vaccinated. But now hearing about this, I can't help but wonder if maybe the risk of cancer from the shot is greater than the risk of a rabid mouse in our house. I'll still have to look into that legal question though.

 

[LakeAriel]

We've got 2 cats, one indoor and one outdoor (he goes out less and less these days though), and we've always gotten them vaccinated. But I thought that it was a law, at least in our state. Now I'm starting to wonder and I'm having second thoughts with our indoor one of getting him vaccinated for rabies. But I was told somewhere that one reason to get an indoor cat vaccinated is that if ever a rabid mouse, squirrel, etc. gets into your house, your cat could get rabies. So that's why (at least as I was told) you should still get indoor cats vaccinated. But now hearing about this, I can't help but wonder if maybe the risk of cancer from the shot is greater than the risk of a rabid mouse in our house. I'll still have to look into that legal question though.

This is from the CDC:
Small rodents (such as squirrels, rats, mice, hamsters, guinea pigs, gerbils, and chipmunks, ) and lagomorphs (such as rabbits and hares) are almost never found to be infected with rabies and have not been known to cause rabies among humans in the United States. Bites by these animals are usually not considered a risk of rabies unless the animal was sick or behaving in any unusual manner and rabies is widespread in your area. However, from 1985 through 1994, woodchucks accounted for 86% of the 368 cases of rabies among rodents reported to CDC. Woodchucks or groundhogs (Marmota monax) are the only rodents that may be frequently submitted to state health department because of a suspicion of rabies. In all cases involving rodents, the state or local health department should be consulted before a decision is made to initiate postexposure prophylaxis

 

[teacherforhi]

Our cats are strictly indoor cats. However, as I understand it, certain illnesses can be brought into the house on our shoes. I really don't know how much of a risk that is, though.

This happened to my Emelia. Before she was old enough to receive her vaccination for feline leukemia, she tested positive. Neither her mother nor her siblings had it, so the only thing I can think of was that it came in with me. (She's an indoor cat.) It makes me even more glad that I kept my older cat's vaccinations up-to-date or I would be spending even more money on antibiotics and steriods.

 

[DMRick]

Please don't blow off vaccinating your pets. I've seen too much being employed in both a private practice vet clinic and a state research lab (starting in '81) to not get my animals vaccinated when needed. Get your pets titered so it can be shown how much of the old vaccine is still in their system, if you wish, but don't just ignore it. Believe me, with working with a rescue group now, I'm still seeing what the poor cats who weren't vaccinated are going through..your cat may not go outside, but other people's cats do, and disease is carried in. Three of our rescue cats have an upper respiratory infection at this time, and the feral cat I'm fostering spent just a few days with one of them (we didn't know..it just takes one sick cat to spread it with one good sneeze), and he just started sneezing. You are ahead of the game if your cats are indoor cats (while there are exceptions, indoor cats generally live much longer (we lost ours at 18, and my neighbors is 23), have less medical problems, seldom have to deal with fleas, round worms and tapes, and the dreaded car tire..generally much healthier, and no worry of frostbite. We have several rescue cats with fe-luke, and while they may live with it, it often has a bad ending. Our rescue cats are vaccinated before they go to homes.
We've had three bats enter our house, and since my lab was next door to the rabies testing lab, I brought in one of the bats to be tested, and it was positive (they had a ball quaranteening my desk as a joke). I have no idea if my cat at the time had played with it. I did bring her in for another booster and confined her. Most of us had been given a rabies vaccine series because of our work, but I was still very nervous, since it was not a 100% thing. There is a person who got rabies while working at the rabies lab back in the '80's and although he lived, (I believe he was handling live vaccine, but it happened just before I went to work there, and I don't know all the particulars) I'm told it wasn't much of a life. So protect yourself as well as your pet (we did rabies every three years since we have to have an up to date certificate to bring our cat camping)..I titered for the other vaccs. It's also a good time to have your cat examined, when they are in for vaccs. So much easier to treat a problem early, if found during a routine exam.

 

[DMRick]

So yesterday at the vaccination clinic he screamed and hissed at the top of his lungs, tried to bite and scratch everyone, and then shot urine across the inside of the large van that they were doing the vaccinations in. I was soooo embarassed . !

Lousy time to vaccinate a cat, when they are so upset. Did they still vaccinate her when he was so upset? Did they even suggest to you to wrap your cat up tightly in a towel? For your protection as well as making the cat feel safer. Poor thing was prob scared to death. For some reason that usually calms the cat..much like a tightly wrapped newborn baby. I have to wrap my feral cat, as we get him used to being handled. He's so darn afraid of everything and everybody. We've had to get pretty good at it, before he realizes what we are doing LOL. Once he's in the towel, he settles down and purrs. Once he's out of it, it's business as usual.

 

[Kim in TN]

First off I'd like to say, I think each family should do their research and talk with their veterinarian about what works best for THAT family, not all are the same. I've worked for a vet for 17 years and not all are out there only to make $ and give cats fatal tumors caused by vaccinations, we work to try to help animals and keep them healthy not to make them sick. With that said...

At OUR clinic, we discuss options with the owners, alot of the time we don't recommend vaccs to our geriatric patients, most would have a titer.
If the pet is indoor only we discuss options with the owner, Rabies is by the law, if not given you are breaking the law (if checked by your city, county etc and yes some areas do check ours doesn't). THis day and age if your pet bit someone even a child provoking it you could be sued for not Rabies vaccinating it required by the law. You have to also realize that certain diseases, for instance leukemia can be passed from hissing through a screen door. What if the cat got outdoors because a door wasn't shut properly, and like mentioned before, most boarding facilities require vaccinations.
Now if you think all of these above mentioned things could never happen in your setting, then I think you definately shouldn't risk vaccinations. But unfortunately I've seen each of these happen and more because vaccinations were risky. And I agree they can be but so can unexpected things in life.

So again, do your research both for and against vaccinations, talk with trained professionals and if you think your vet is only their to get your $ and putting your petat risk for a $, then its time to find a new vet because there are actually animal care professionals out there that Do care for YOUR pet and want only what best for that patient.

 

[LakeAriel]

Please be aware that a kitten could have a false positive test for Leukemia! One of mine did and I had to isolate him for three weeks. He is fine and does not have the disease. This is a more likely scenario then it being carried in on shoes!

 

[DMRick]

Do you get vaccinated for Rabies in case the bat is positive and bites you?

Most people don't tend to "play" with a bat either, like a cat is more likely to do. I don't know about you, but I like to stay far far away. I send my husband in to trap them LOL. The one we caught that was positive, was found by our cat meowing and meowing at it..and I was afraid that she may have been in contact with the siliva. We decided to booster her and keep her separate though. The local health department didn't seem to really care that we had a positive bat in our midst.

 

[DMRick]

Last year recorded the first ever case of a person recovering from Rabies!
Good luck to that very lucky person! People in animal shelters and other high risk jobs do get the vaccine by the way.

Actually, she was not the first who recovered from rabies..but the first who recovered without being vaccinated. The man who worked for NYS in the rabies lab "recovered"..just not the kind of recovery I would have wanted.

"Rare Recovery From Rabies
Only one person in the United States is known to have recovered from rabies without receiving a rabies vaccination, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While attending a church service in September 2004, 15-year-old Jeanna Giese of Fond du Lac, Wis., picked up a bat she saw fall to the floor and released it outside the building. The bat bit her on the left index finger, but she did not get medical treatment at the time. A month later, the teen complained of tiredness and a feeling of numbness in her left hand. Walking became difficult, and she experienced double vision, nausea, vomiting, slurred speech, twitching, and fever. Giese was diagnosed with rabies and after intensive care in a Milwaukee hospital, which included a drug-induced coma for seven days, she gradually improved. Doctors are unsure whether she will fully recover."

 

[LakeAriel]

Actually, she was not the first who recovered from rabies..but the first who recovered without being vaccinated. The man who worked for NYS in the rabies lab "recovered"..just not the kind of recovery I would have wanted.

"Rare Recovery From Rabies
Only one person in the United States is known to have recovered from rabies without receiving a rabies vaccination, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While attending a church service in September 2004, 15-year-old Jeanna Giese of Fond du Lac, Wis., picked up a bat she saw fall to the floor and released it outside the building. The bat bit her on the left index finger, but she did not get medical treatment at the time. A month later, the teen complained of tiredness and a feeling of numbness in her left hand. Walking became difficult, and she experienced double vision, nausea, vomiting, slurred speech, twitching, and fever. Giese was diagnosed with rabies and after intensive care in a Milwaukee hospital, which included a drug-induced coma for seven days, she gradually improved. Doctors are unsure whether she will fully recover."

As I said earlier if you get the vaccination before the symptoms occur you will not get rabies. This is the only person in this country to recover from the actual virus. I hope she is doing well!
http://jeanna-giese-news.newslib.com/story/3163-2041731/

 

[DMRick]

Please be aware that a kitten could have a false positive test for Leukemia! One of mine did and I had to isolate him for three weeks. He is fine and does not have the disease. This is a more likely scenario then it being carried in on shoes!

Sometimes, if their moms are positive they will also test positive..but we retest in a few weeks, and they can then be negative. Then we rejoice!

 

[LakeAriel]

Sometimes, if their moms are positive they will also test positive..but we retest in a few weeks, and they can then be negative. Then we rejoice!

Rejoice indeed!

 

[DMRick]

As I said earlier if you get the vaccination before the symptoms occur you will not get rabies. This is the only person in this country to recover from the actual virus. I hope she is doing well!

Actually, I beg to differ. She is not the only person to recover from the actual virus. She is the only one to recover that had no vaccine after being bit. Jerry did recover, (so to speak) but he too had the virus..the only difference was, he also was vaccinated...but too late.
From your article:
It's a wonderful story that continues to unfold. Jeanna Giese, the only person in the world to survive an advanced case of rabies without a vaccine,

Just editing to add:
To date only six documented cases of human survival from clinical rabies have been reported and each included a history of either pre- or postexposure prophylaxis.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabies/natural_history/nathist.htm

 

[UrsulasMyHero]

My mom just had our oldest cat at the vet to have a huge tumor removed from his back, it was indeed cancer, VAS to be exact. He'll be fine though, unless the cancer returns.

 

[LakeAriel]

My mom just had our oldest cat at the vet to have a huge tumor removed from his back, it was indeed cancer, VAS to be exact. He'll be fine though, unless the cancer returns.

I hope he makes a full recovery! Vaccinations are a personal and oftimes legal issue. I, for one, will not vaccinate my cats who will not be outdoors at any time during their lives. I live onh te fifth floor so if they get out rabies will be the least of their worries!

 

[wdwmom2]

Lousy time to vaccinate a cat, when they are so upset. Did they still vaccinate her when he was so upset? Did they even suggest to you to wrap your cat up tightly in a towel? For your protection as well as making the cat feel safer. Poor thing was prob scared to death. For some reason that usually calms the cat..much like a tightly wrapped newborn baby. I have to wrap my feral cat, as we get him used to being handled. He's so darn afraid of everything and everybody. We've had to get pretty good at it, before he realizes what we are doing LOL. Once he's in the towel, he settles down and purrs. Once he's out of it, it's business as usual.

Yep, he was vaccinated. I know all about the towel method, but believe me, its just easier grabbing him by the scruff of the neck and back legs and stretching him across the table than it would be to try to wrap him in a towel. I don't like doing it this way, but sometimes you just do what you have to do. He is so loving at home, and so unbelievabley nasty when I have to take him out!!!

 

[DMRick]

Yes, that's effective too..we actually always do that with the tiny rescue kittens, when we draw their blood, because if we use a towel, it envelopes them and we can't get to them (they are pretty tiny). What we do for our cats, eh? Gee, you are so patient..can I interest you in a totally black feral cat that has potential? You won't even know you have him the first month, because he won't come out LOL!

Yep, he was vaccinated. I know all about the towel method, but believe me, its just easier grabbing him by the scruff of the neck and back legs and stretching him across the table than it would be to try to wrap him in a towel. I don't like doing it this way, but sometimes you just do what you have to do. He is so loving at home, and so unbelievabley nasty when I have to take him out!!!

 

[LisaS]

With so many knowledgeable people on this thread I hope you don't mind my asking something slightly OT. Two days ago I trapped a stray unneutered male cat who is part of a small stray/feral group living in the woods behind my house. I've had him in a large cage in a room that my own cats are not allowed to enter. This morning I took him to the vet to be tested (for leukemia and FIV) and neutered.

While he's at the vet I'm washing all his bedding and his food and water bowls. I won't know until later today if he has tested positive for anything contagious. So, here are my questions:

- Does regular laundry detergent kill anything that may be in the bedding if he's positive for leukemia or FIV?

-What about the food bowls: does washing them in dish soap and hot water suffice? If not, what should I be using to clean and disinfect them?

- What about my hands: soap and hot water or ???

Thanks so much for any advice you can offer. I want to do whatever is necessary to protect my own kitties, a few of whom are this fellow's offspring!