Oh what a relief!
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.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.
Hey thanks for this link. It's great information for looking up any disease!
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 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 mo innths. In fact, I think it's required by 4 or 6 months in this state. . .I should look that up.
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.
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.
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?