Animal Control - Rabies - Euthanasia

waxlight

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I'm in desperate need of advice.

I came home to find a bat - alive, but on the floor from being knocked down by my cats in my house. I took it into animal control this morning to have it tested.

They said that if it was positive, all of my cats that have been vaccinated would have to be quarentined for 45 days. I'm not worried about that, but then they said any cats that hadn't had their vaccinations would have to be euthanized.

...

I have four cats that haven't been vaccinated, for a variety of reasons, and five that have. My question is: Is there anything I can do to stop the country from euthanising the unvaccinated ones? I mean, I'm willing to put them in quarantine for however long, and obviously, if they show signs of rabies, I would put them down.

But the unvaccinated ones are all smaller, mild manner cats. I know they weren't the ones up by the bat. What recourse do I have, if any?

I'm just praying the bat comes back negative, so I don't have to worry about it. And if it does, I will be scraping up the money somehow to get the remainder vaccinated next week.

(also as a side note - my roof JUST finished being reroofed. So I'm fairly positive the bat got trapped in the attic and couldn't get out, and that's why it was in my house)
 

catcaregiver

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Honestly I don't know why they wouldn't just quarantine all of your cats instead of euthanizing any of them. It doesn't make sense to me. This is the kind of policy that will keep people from reporting incidents like you did. Very stupid on the part of the City IMO. Is there a possibility that you misunderstood?

Hoping the test returns negative.
 
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waxlight

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Honestly I don't know why they wouldn't just quarantine all of your cats instead of euthanizing any of them. It doesn't make sense to me. This is the kind of policy that will keep people from reporting incidents like you did. Very stupid on the part of the City IMO. Is there a possibility that you misunderstood?
This is what the lady at animal control told me this morning. It's possible that she has the policy incorrect, but I don't know how to find that out without making myself look more suspicious.

Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me, as my county is very country and backwards.
 

catcaregiver

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Originally Posted by waxlight

This is what the lady at animal control told me this morning. It's possible that she has the policy incorrect, but I don't know how to find that out without making myself look more suspicious.

Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me, as my county is very country and backwards.
Did you tell them how many cats you have and how many are vaccinated?
 

katiemae1277

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well, rabies is actually pretty rare nowadays, so lots of vibes that it is negative
 
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waxlight

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Did you tell them how many cats you have and how many are vaccinated?
I told them how many cats I had, and told them the name of my vet. So they can find out. The only thing I can see is, that they didn't ask how many cats were -exposed-.

well, rabies is actually pretty rare nowadays, so lots of vibes that it is negative
I appreciate the vibes. They're has actually been an increase in the number of rabies cases in bats in my area this year, but they're not sure if it's actually an increase in rabies, or the fact that more people are dropping off bats to be tested.
 

catcaregiver

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Ok, just did some quickie research. The incubation period for rabies is usually 2-8 weeks but there have apparently been instances where it took up to 2 years. That is probably why their policy is to euthanize unvaccinated cats - because the incubation period varies so much.

I know it's probably asking the impossible but try not to get too anxious until you hear the test results. Sending more
 
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waxlight

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Good news! The bat was negative, which means I have nothing to worry about.

(except how to scrape the money together for four more vaccinations
)
 

tortiebaby

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That's good news that the bat tested negative.


For the 4 vaccines you need. Call around to the different vets, you'll eventually find one with a fair price.
You can always get just one cat done a week or something like that. The highest it should cost is $35, but you might find it as cheap as $15.
 
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