Fear of rabies

I badly need advice. I brought into my home a feral kitten of about three months old, two weeks ago. It got out one night and returned in the morning with a big bite on its back. No rabies shots as it is too young. We just got over a rabies epidemic here in april. I feel so scared and have such limited options. The only option i feel satisfied with is to get pre-rabies shots for my entire family, but the dr denied me saying we could only get them if the cat bit one of us after displaying symptoms. Since the incubation period is 6months, and some say even years, quarantine is not an option. Do i keep the cat taking such a big chance with my family , or WHAT WOULD YOU DO????????

yummy520 said:

I have a similar problem as the one described here and i badly need advice. I brought into my home a feral kitten of about three months old, two weeks ago. It got out one night and returned in the morning with a big bite on its back. No rabies shots as it is too young. We just got over a rabies epidemic here in april. I feel so scared and have such limited options. The only option i feel satisfied with is to get pre-rabies shots for my entire family, but the dr denied me saying we could only get them if the cat bit one of us after displaying symptoms. Since the incubation period is 6months, and some say even years, quarantine is not an option. Do i keep the cat taking such a big chance with my family , or WHAT WOULD YOU DO????????

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I got bit by a cat that hadn't had its shots, so he was quarantined for 10 days to looks for signs of rabies. You can usually tell within a few days. Ask your local health department, who may step in and do the quarantining. They usually work with the vets for this. Make it clear this is not your cat or they may charge you for the services. You can tell the officials that once the cat is cleared, you want to adopt it. Otherwise, it will go to the local shelter.

The cat that bit me is now a happy, fat barn cat.

Even if the kitten tests positive, your and your family are safe unless bitten. I wouldn't try to do this on your own. I would either contact the health department or a vet about quarantining it.

It is in everyone's best interest to identify any animals with rabies. It is a vicious disease and the animals who contract it really suffer.

Every unvaccinated animal that is bitten in the wild gets put to sleep or quarentine for 6 months (at the owners expense). What do i do? I feel stuck.

yummy520 said:

Every unvaccinated animal that is bitten in the wild gets put to sleep or quarentine for 6 months (at the owners expense). What do i do? I feel stuck.

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It is the six months that stumps me.  Why so long - it only takes a few days for rabies symptoms to appear.

But if this is the policy in your area, then you have to make a choice.  Can you quarantine the cat in a shed - or perhaps a big dog crate in the garage?  Working with your vet, you will be able to identify symptoms and then make the decision.

This will not work if you can't work with the cat.  If you can't afford the six months quarantine by the the vet or health department and can't do it yourself, then you need to bring the cat in for euthanasia.  It is sad but there is no sense in letting the cat suffer and allowing your own family to feel threatened.

Please do not feel badly about whatever decision you make.  You have stepped up to the plate when no one else did.

The chances that a rabies infected animal bit your kitten are incredibly small, the chances are much higher it was just a normal animal.You have no idea what bit your kitten, so why the quarantine? I would think that would be for getting bit by an animal that is acting strange.  I would just keep an eye on the kitten and if it gets sick or acts strangely, THEN worry about it. Definitely bring it in for rabies shots as soon as it is old enough, then there won't be any problem. If I worried about rabies every time one of my cats got bit, that is all I would do. All the luck!

Thank you for your responses! The incubation period is different in cats, dogs and humans. A cat will begin showing the symptoms 2 to 6 weeks after the bite, but sometimes up to 6 months later. That is the reason for the long quarantine period. I cant afford this but luckily we live near mexico and they have a rabies control place that takes animals on the basis of donation. Still, what would you give for a 6 month period of time, and what will this kitten be like when it comes out after that long of a period? So, last night the cat started acting all crazy, running around like a nut and my family and i were terrified! I put him in a cage for the night and this morning he's fine, but how scary!!!! It's a heavy burden on me constantly. Thinking of building a semi-large cage on the back patio up against our kitchen window for regular visits!

All cats have what I call teh 'crazies', they run and jump and attack things all over the house! This is perfectly normal! My 8 year old still does it. I truly think he will be fine, cats and dogs are always getting bit and in fights and with no long term consequences. If you could build that cage it would be better then having him so terrified in quarantine. The number one thing to watch for is him wanting to drink and can't, hydrophobia (rabies) is a fear of water. Drooling is another sign. 10 days is the quarantine, so I can't imagine having to go 6 months. If there are no changes in 2 weeks I would think you are fine. 

OK, I looke dup rabies on the Centers for Disease control site, and found out the following - Rabies can only be transmitted AFTER the onset of clinical signs (aggression, drooling, etc.) Bites during incubation do NOT carry the risk of rabies because the virus has not made it to the saliva yet, it needs to affect the brain first and this will cause UNMISTAKABLE signs of of rabies, within 3-5 days is the usual. (that;'s why 10 day incubation) It can take longer, but that is highly unusual. So until your cat shows signs of rabies you are fine, and if you do get bitten you will be fine too, you'll receive the vaccine before the virus reaches your brain. You need to have your cat vaccinated! The first vaccination is at 12 weeks, 3 months, that would solve everything! I hope this helps!

Just to clarify and f.y.i., the virus rabies is only contagious once the symptoms begin to show. That can be anywhere from two weeks to six months after the bite. (An animal bitten by a rabid animal doesnt always mean the bitten animal will contract the virus, but there is a high chance). Once symptoms start, the animal remains contagious for the duration of the disease which is only about ten days after which the animal dies. That is where that ten day observation period comes in. I've done so much research on the subject. I wanted to pass on the info. Since we are new in an area where rabies reaches epidemics, I've been trying hard to understand it all.

Hi I personally would be more worried that your kitty didn't get FIV Which comes from a bite wound.Incubation you must be talking about humans as rabies like others have said takes no time at all to kill a cat.Not transferabble to humans.Did you bring your feral home in hopes that this kitty will be an indoor kitty or outside?.Just how feral is he? I works with ferals every day. So is pettable etc or are you leaving food & water outside and leaving it at that? C.

Sorry I meant to say FIV is not transferrable to humans not rabies.FIV being huge in attacks & bite wounds for cats.C

I had a similar scare once. One of my indoor cats was overdue for his rabies vaccination by at least a few months. A baby bat got inside my house and when I awoke, he had it in his mouth. I don't believe it bit him, but bat bites are hard to detect. I brought him to my vet and they vaccinated him, but did not suggest euthanasia or a quarantine, thank God. I knew that symptoms could appear as long as 6 months later, but more likely within a few weeks, so I just watched him carefully. He was fine. The incidence of rabies in cats is actually extremely rare--you can research it online--and no human has been infected by a cat in many years. I would not take the kitten to an official organization because it will be euthanized, and even if he isn't, he will be caged for 6 months, which is cruel for a feral because of his wild nature.  Can you confine him in a room for the next month and see if he displays symptoms? If you have other cats, keep him separated from them for a month, and limit family contact. Is there anyone with a garage or spare room who would be willing to foster him for a month? Raccoons and bats are the primary spreader of rabies. A bat would not attack your cat on the ground at night, and it's unlikely your cat would have gone after a bat outside. If a raccoon had attacked him, there would be very little left of your cat--it would have ripped him apart. The most likely scenario is that he got into a fight with another cat. But I understand your concerns for your family, so I will understand if you decide to not keep him.      

The bite marks are deep and at first i only saw the fang marks. After i was better able to do some petting, i could feel the lower teeth marks. The size indicates to me that it must have been a dog. The one fang mark became infected and started to swell into a protruding ball. I gave 500Mgs of vit c daily and started hot, cottonball compresses. Within 2days the pus drained out, alot (super gross!!!!) and now the wounds look good. This was a feral cat i worked daily for over a week to come out of the drainage pipe it was living in. After i gained some trust and was able to feed it out in the open, i put its food on the lid of a large tupperware container. As it ate, i popped the container overtop of it and took it home. When i opened the container at my house, literally it went crazy with fear running all over theplace in terror. This whole thing was so brand new to me. I never even heard of a feral til like three months ago. By now this kitten is turninginto a house cat. I wont let it outside til it gets its rabie shots. I have now found that there is another kitten, probably from the same litter, that lives in the drainage tube. This one comes into my yard every night to eat the food i put out for it. I dont know if im up for the daily coaxing job it takes to win their trust and capture again. Maybe in time i work a little harder with it but right now i have my hands full.

Thanks to everyone who posted here. After much worry and investigation on the subject(which brought me to this site) i have reasoned that my kitten was bitten by a dog. The chances of that dog being rabid and in that small 10 day window of contagiousness are slim. Animal control has only had two cases of rabies recently, and they were skunks. Thank you for your posts that helped me through this confusing time.

You will surely be blessed fro taking care of these little ones, THANK YOU!