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Cat ate a bat, should I be concerned about rabies?
- Thread starter gibbly
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I really wouldn't worry about it. I have heard (and believe) that bats are not carriers of rabies any more than other animals. There IS a chance that it had rabies but it isn't likely. Of course it depends where you live. Is there lots of rabies cases around you? If so I would definatly bring her to the vet and see what he has to say.
That's not true. Bats are notorious carriers of rabies. All the confirmed rabies cases in this county have been in bats only. Again, we are talking epidemic in many areas like mine that were once rabies free. Rabies is 100% fatal with a slow and agonizing death. It is entirely preventable in our pets. I think it needs to be considered very serious if any (unvaccinated) cat comes in contact with a bat, dead or alive, IMO. As I said in an earlier post, a rabid bat got into a mutli-cat household nearby. All of those cats were not vaccinated because they were indoor cats. All had to go into quarantine for 6 months even though none were bitten. This was not a home quarantine, btw.
Hey thanks for this link. It's great information for looking up any disease!
In reading through the information on bats and rabies, it says any unvaccinated cat/dog that comes into contact with a bat that can't be retrieved for testing should be considered to have been exposed to rabies. It goes on to say that any such animal should be immediately euthanized, or if the owner is unwilling to do that, the animal must be quarantined for a period of at least 6 months and be released only with a vaccine. Because this is such a serious health threat, they are not going to allow you to just observe the animal at home to see if symptoms develop.
Rabies is in EVERY STATE in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, except Hawaii, where any domestic animals brought in are put into quarantine.
Ya know, my vet (an old farm vet) will just vaccinate an animal who's had contact with a wild animal. No big deal made of it unless the wild animal is confirmed rabid (bats are, in general, no more likely to be rabid than a skunk or a fox. . .but that's still a fair chance). He says the rabies vaccine acts as a post-exposure vaccine as well, if you do it fast enough.
I'm amazed your vet gives rabies vaccines at one year for outdoor pets! That seems like an awful risk. I've never heard of any professional recommending waiting longer than 6 months. In fact, I think it's required by 4 or 6 months in this state. . .I should look that up.
I'm amazed your vet gives rabies vaccines at one year for outdoor pets! That seems like an awful risk. I've never heard of any professional recommending waiting longer than 6 months. In fact, I think it's required by 4 or 6 months in this state. . .I should look that up.
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I had never heard of this either. Mine were vaccinated at 4 months and they don't go outside. That's why I was wondering if I should have waited.
I'm also amazed that the vet is going to the "states agriculture place" to get current rabies data as I believe it's the county health department that maintains this database. I am also amazed that the vet didn't say to bring her in right away to get the rabies shot since she is obviously being exposed to bats and still goes outside.
But what I find particularly amazing is their showing absolutely no concern and are tellling the OP to "report back if Finn begins acting strangely." By that time how many humans and animals would have been exposed? Are there children in this household or in the area where this outdoor cat is hanging around? The vaccine must be administered immediately for it to be effective in human exposure to rabies virus. There is no veterinary professional that I know of that would take such a casual approach to a presumed - according to the CDC - exposure to rabies.
Otto knew this information fresh from a recent experience and told the OP exactly "how to go about things" on Friday night. I'm sorry, but things are just not adding up here.
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- Thread Starter Thread Starter
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Ok, first of all not all vets are the same, rabies vaccines are administered here at 1 year, and again at 3 years, 5 years ect. ect. every two yeats the same with dogs.
the rabies vaccine is hell on the animals system and older animals handle it better than younger ones.
y'all are assuming that the bat HAD rabies, and while I know that something like 90% of bats DO carry rabies, there's that 10% that don't
there is no "rabies protocol" here out in the sticks, just because a cat caught a bat doesn't mean it has rabies.
as I said, there has not been a case of bat rabies in this area for years, foxes, raccoons, possums and the occasional feral dog? yes. bats? no.
I did a bit of reading myself, and it turns out that the reason most bats carry rabies is because most live in such disgusting enviromnents, like caves, or they contract rabies from eating insects which are harboring the desease in their guts.
Big brown bats are mostly solitary and do not roost in such large groups, and they roost mostly on tree trunks (as I mentioned previously)
rabies is NOT an air borne virus, it has to be entered directly into the blood stream.
and since everyone seems to want to jump to conclusions without asking, as seems to be protocol on this site, I found another vet about 3 hours away that does give rabies vaccines at 6 months and was thinking of taking her there.
the rabies vaccine is hell on the animals system and older animals handle it better than younger ones.
y'all are assuming that the bat HAD rabies, and while I know that something like 90% of bats DO carry rabies, there's that 10% that don't
there is no "rabies protocol" here out in the sticks, just because a cat caught a bat doesn't mean it has rabies.
as I said, there has not been a case of bat rabies in this area for years, foxes, raccoons, possums and the occasional feral dog? yes. bats? no.
I did a bit of reading myself, and it turns out that the reason most bats carry rabies is because most live in such disgusting enviromnents, like caves, or they contract rabies from eating insects which are harboring the desease in their guts.
Big brown bats are mostly solitary and do not roost in such large groups, and they roost mostly on tree trunks (as I mentioned previously)
rabies is NOT an air borne virus, it has to be entered directly into the blood stream.
and since everyone seems to want to jump to conclusions without asking, as seems to be protocol on this site, I found another vet about 3 hours away that does give rabies vaccines at 6 months and was thinking of taking her there.
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Rabies vaccine is usually given at 12 weeks, at the earliest. Where I live, it is the law that cats be vaccinated against rabies when they are 12 weeks old, and boosters must be kept up to date. Most vets around here now use the PureVax exclusively for domestic cats, which has not been approved for anything but one year, yet.
Vets do keep some of the 3 year-adjuvanted vaccine to hand, to vaccinate feral and barn cats, but agree that the safety of the PureVax non-adjuvanted vaccine, is preferable.
Vets do keep some of the 3 year-adjuvanted vaccine to hand, to vaccinate feral and barn cats, but agree that the safety of the PureVax non-adjuvanted vaccine, is preferable.
Gibbly, please do everyone a favor and read the CDC link that was provided. Then do some further research on the same site on Rabies Virus. The information you are sharing is incorrect and dangerous. The rabies virus is NOT harbored in the guts of insects! Vaccines do NOT cause rabies.Ok, first of all not all vets are the same, rabies vaccines are administered here at 1 year, and again at 3 years, 5 years ect. ect. every two yeats the same with dogs.
the rabies vaccine is hell on the animals system and older animals handle it better than younger ones.
y'all are assuming that the bat HAD rabies, and while I know that something like 90% of bats DO carry rabies, there's that 10% that don't
there is no "rabies protocol" here out in the sticks, just because a cat caught a bat doesn't mean it has rabies.
as I said, there has not been a case of bat rabies in this area for years, foxes, raccoons, possums and the occasional feral dog? yes. bats? no.
I did a bit of reading myself, and it turns out that the reason most bats carry rabies is because most live in such disgusting enviromnents, like caves, or they contract rabies from eating insects which are harboring the desease in their guts.
Big brown bats are mostly solitary and do not roost in such large groups, and they roost mostly on tree trunks (as I mentioned previously)
rabies is NOT an air borne virus, it has to be entered directly into the blood stream.
and since everyone seems to want to jump to conclusions without asking, as seems to be protocol on this site, I found another vet about 3 hours away that does give rabies vaccines at 6 months and was thinking of taking her there.
And it is the CDC that establishes the "protocol" for communicable disease exposure. Accordingly, your cat is considered to have been exposed to rabies by having contact with a bat that couldn't be tested. Any professional would take that very seriously. There is rabies in your area, just because it's not in bats in your area as you say doesn't mean your bat didn't have it.
l'm sorry that you feel like the people who responded to your thread are "[color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]jump(ing) to conclusions without asking, as seems to be protocol on this site" [/color]but it seems like these people are trying to give you good and honest information related to your topic.
And in that helpful vein, here is my info:
WEST VIRGINIA-- new 3 year rabies law went into effect on June 6, 2010.
HB4407 SUB ENR
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §19-20A-2 and §19-20A-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 20A. VACCINATION OF DOGS AND CATS FOR RABIES.
§19-20A-2. Vaccination of dogs and cats.
(a) A person who owns, obtains or possesses a dog or cat within the State of West Virginia shall have the dog or cat properly vaccinated against rabies with a vaccine capable of producing immunity for three years, boostered one year after initial vaccination and every third year thereafter. Dogs and cats need not be vaccinated before the age of three months, but must be vaccinated by the age of six months.
Your vet cannot refuse to vaccinate your cat until it reaches 12 months of age (unless your cat has health reasons to delay a vaccination schedule).
Good luck with your decisions, l hope your kitty is okay.
And in that helpful vein, here is my info:
WEST VIRGINIA-- new 3 year rabies law went into effect on June 6, 2010.
HB4407 SUB ENR
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §19-20A-2 and §19-20A-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 20A. VACCINATION OF DOGS AND CATS FOR RABIES.
§19-20A-2. Vaccination of dogs and cats.
(a) A person who owns, obtains or possesses a dog or cat within the State of West Virginia shall have the dog or cat properly vaccinated against rabies with a vaccine capable of producing immunity for three years, boostered one year after initial vaccination and every third year thereafter. Dogs and cats need not be vaccinated before the age of three months, but must be vaccinated by the age of six months.
Your vet cannot refuse to vaccinate your cat until it reaches 12 months of age (unless your cat has health reasons to delay a vaccination schedule).
Good luck with your decisions, l hope your kitty is okay.
Please, let's keep the discussion civil. If anyone sees an issue with a post, just use the report button, instead of responding to it on the board. Thank you.
Adding links to our own articles about Rabies -
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cats-and-rabies
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/world-rabies-day-the-feline-perspective
Rabies protocols vary from place to place, and probably for good reason. I had a chat with my own local vet about Rabies last year, while giving our semi-feral cat his Rabies shot. Vet told me about recent cases in our area, as they are kept up to date on these things. He knew which wild animals are likely to be carriers around here, and about cases in pets in the last year. That's valuable information when deciding on a course of action, and that's why your own vet should be your first line of defense when it comes to Rabies. He or she can contact the authorities when necessary as well.
Rabies is one disease where I draw the line and put safety first. Hard as it may be, if a cat needs to be quarantined, it's still much better than a person possibly contracting Rabies.
By the way, interesting story the vet told me about Rabies. Three dogs had Rabies around here last year. Owners claimed the dogs had been vaccinated, in all three cases. The authorities ran an investigation, as the Rabies vaccine is supposed to be extremely reliable. Turned out one dog had been vaccinated in the past, but was not up to date on his shots. Simple case, and closed. The other two dogs were a more interesting case. They were both females, living in the same household. Turned out the owners were farmers who had used agricultural pesticide to de-flea the dogs, on a regular basis. Definitely not a good idea. When the dogs developed neurological symptoms, the vet figured this was pesticide poisoning. One of the dogs died, and just to be on the safe side, the vet had the body checked for Rabies. Results came back positive, so they tested the other dog, and sure enough, she had Rabies too. Both dogs had been getting their Rabies shots on schedule, but turns out the pesticide depressed their immune system, to the point it never generated antibodies when they got their Rabies shots. So, while they were vaccinated, it never took hold, and they were vulnerable to Rabies and must have caught it off some wild animal.
The vet shared these stories, as we had been discussing the effectiveness of the Rabies vaccine. He said it was an extremely safe and effective vaccine, and when a vaccinated animal gets Rabies, it means it either didn't get the booster shots on time, or there was some very rare story behind it, like this one with the pesticide poisoning.
Adding links to our own articles about Rabies -
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cats-and-rabies
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/world-rabies-day-the-feline-perspective
Rabies protocols vary from place to place, and probably for good reason. I had a chat with my own local vet about Rabies last year, while giving our semi-feral cat his Rabies shot. Vet told me about recent cases in our area, as they are kept up to date on these things. He knew which wild animals are likely to be carriers around here, and about cases in pets in the last year. That's valuable information when deciding on a course of action, and that's why your own vet should be your first line of defense when it comes to Rabies. He or she can contact the authorities when necessary as well.
Rabies is one disease where I draw the line and put safety first. Hard as it may be, if a cat needs to be quarantined, it's still much better than a person possibly contracting Rabies.
By the way, interesting story the vet told me about Rabies. Three dogs had Rabies around here last year. Owners claimed the dogs had been vaccinated, in all three cases. The authorities ran an investigation, as the Rabies vaccine is supposed to be extremely reliable. Turned out one dog had been vaccinated in the past, but was not up to date on his shots. Simple case, and closed. The other two dogs were a more interesting case. They were both females, living in the same household. Turned out the owners were farmers who had used agricultural pesticide to de-flea the dogs, on a regular basis. Definitely not a good idea. When the dogs developed neurological symptoms, the vet figured this was pesticide poisoning. One of the dogs died, and just to be on the safe side, the vet had the body checked for Rabies. Results came back positive, so they tested the other dog, and sure enough, she had Rabies too. Both dogs had been getting their Rabies shots on schedule, but turns out the pesticide depressed their immune system, to the point it never generated antibodies when they got their Rabies shots. So, while they were vaccinated, it never took hold, and they were vulnerable to Rabies and must have caught it off some wild animal.
The vet shared these stories, as we had been discussing the effectiveness of the Rabies vaccine. He said it was an extremely safe and effective vaccine, and when a vaccinated animal gets Rabies, it means it either didn't get the booster shots on time, or there was some very rare story behind it, like this one with the pesticide poisoning.
So if these statistics are correct (they aren't thankfully), what you are saying is your bat had a 90% chance of having rabies! And even if it were 10% that's still a pretty significant risk you are taking on a disease that is considered 100% fatal and results in a slow and tortuous death.Originally Posted by Gibbly
y'all are assuming that the bat HAD rabies, and while I know that something like 90% of bats DO carry rabies, there's that 10% that don't
there is no "rabies protocol" here out in the sticks, just because a cat caught a bat doesn't mean it has rabies.
By chance I had a vet appointment this morning for my Rufus Reilly. I asked the vet the same hypothetical question that was the topic of this thread, and got some additional information on Rabies as well.
He told me that Rabies is endemic (I was using the term epidemic which was incorrect). He said there was one recent case of a domestic cat infected with rabies virus in my county. The household I mentioned that had rabies exposure in un-vaccinated indoor cats had six cats, all were quarantined at the county animal shelter.
EVERY STATE has a "rabies protocol". Here is the protocol that would be implemented in this state (Colorado): The bat would be assumed to be positive for Rabes Virus if testing was not possible. The owner would be given two options: 1. Euthanasia 2. Three months quuarantine at an approved facility, usually the county animal shelter (at the expense of the owner). After 3 months the owner may be allowed to finish the remaining 3 month quarantine at home under certain conditions. He also told me that the rabies virus can actually show up after a year and those animals still have to be watched.
Almost every poster on this thread in which you have posed this very question has answered: YES! You need to be concerned about rabies!
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Have you thoroughly searched the area your cat may have gone to, for remnants of the bat? My cats frequently leave the head behind when eating mice they've caught. It's the head that's checked for rabies; don't know how long after the kill the head would be usable.
well my cat ate a bat and the vet says he is on the gray line because there was blood contact so even if he vomited right after is in quarantine for 45 days and the rest of the bat left is having its brain tested for the sickness and if the bat dose have it we will have to fight to keep my cat alive until we see signs at least if i were u i would do the same u would not want hem to suffer and the vet says if there is no bite they are 99% clear he is good but still just for safety reasons
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sounds like a bad childrens story
but seriously, I don't know how and I don't know where she caught it but about an hour ago when I went to let the cats in for the night I noticed that little miss Finnifer (AKA Finn) was happily munching on a BAT on the front porch.
I didn't even think Finn was going to BE a hunter, because she has shown no interest (to my knowledge) and pretty much ignores my mice, unlike Paint and Emry who do hunt and are eyeballing the mice all the time.
anyways, I tried to take it from her, but ofcourse she gave me a swat and cloistered herself somewhere in the dark abyss that is the tree line in front of the house to finish her presumably hard won catch
now, I am under the impression that the ONLY way to get rabies is to be bitten by the infected animal/animal carrying the desease, and that you cannot get rabies by eating said infected animal, that's why it's ok to eat Racoons and possums so long as you're ok with a gut full of parasites.
Finn is up to date on all of her shots EXCEPT for her rabies shots, which she hasn't even had yet since my preferred vet doesn't like to give rabies shots until about a year old.
she's been acting fine since, save for what seems like an upset belly, but then I've heard not much eats bats because they taste so bad, I checked her face/mouth for bites and nothing is bleeding.
so should I concider calling the vets in the morning or is it nothing to worry about?
I know this thread is older, but I think one should act as if the cat was bitten or scratched by the bat. We found a dead, half eaten bat on our living room, three weeks ago. Now, our cat will not eat and appears to have lost her ability to stand, walk, or jump and is bobbing her head. I am assuming the worst, and we are taking her to the vet. Will let you know what happens. She is a total indoor cat and not vaccinated for rabies.
Good luck to you, I hope your cat is OK. Bats are what pushed me over the edge in the "do I vaccinate an indoor cat for rabies" dilemma. I live in an old farmhouse and we do have bats outside. We have only had bats inside twice in 40 some years, but still... My cat loves to hunt and if there's a bat around she will be after it. Figured I should be safe, even though there was a distant possibility of her getting a bat.
