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- Jun 11, 2019
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I went through the rabies PEP this summer; it is ideal to seek treatment for the human straightaway, but you can wait until after the 10 day quarantine of the animal is up (in my case, we were waiting to see if the cat would return but she didn't). Rabies is a pretty slow moving virus, especially in humans so you do have a little bit of time.
I think vaccinating indoor cats is probably threefold: 1) it's always possible the kitty could get out and you'd want them to be protected, 2) some places have issues with bats getting into houses and that could put indoor pets at risk, and 3) even though everyone on this site is certainly honest and responsible about their indoor only kitties, the general public may not be, so they may say their cat is indoor only when that's not true.
I do agree that the vet in question needs better handling procedures put in place, and I do think it's a bit "jumping the gun" to immediately decide to report it, but I'm not sure if the laws in your area require that. If they trusted you as a client, they certainly could have just asked you to either monitor Juno for 10 days (or even bring her back after 10 days) if they were concerned about the risk.
Honestly, the strictness of the policy makes me wonder if they require any tech or vet who is bitten by a pet to go to either urgent care or the ER, and they know those places will require a report so it was just heads up to you that that might happen, but who knows.
As frustrating as the situation is, I will say I think your local animal control/health department seems to be doing a great job. I'm sure it's cost effective as well, but letting Juno stay at home is definitely a great thing, and they aren't going to disrupt either of you by coming to your house either. Which is both very nice and probably a testament to how likely they think it is she actually might be a risk (meaning, if they thought she really did have rabies they'd be a lot more strict).
I think vaccinating indoor cats is probably threefold: 1) it's always possible the kitty could get out and you'd want them to be protected, 2) some places have issues with bats getting into houses and that could put indoor pets at risk, and 3) even though everyone on this site is certainly honest and responsible about their indoor only kitties, the general public may not be, so they may say their cat is indoor only when that's not true.
I do agree that the vet in question needs better handling procedures put in place, and I do think it's a bit "jumping the gun" to immediately decide to report it, but I'm not sure if the laws in your area require that. If they trusted you as a client, they certainly could have just asked you to either monitor Juno for 10 days (or even bring her back after 10 days) if they were concerned about the risk.
Honestly, the strictness of the policy makes me wonder if they require any tech or vet who is bitten by a pet to go to either urgent care or the ER, and they know those places will require a report so it was just heads up to you that that might happen, but who knows.
As frustrating as the situation is, I will say I think your local animal control/health department seems to be doing a great job. I'm sure it's cost effective as well, but letting Juno stay at home is definitely a great thing, and they aren't going to disrupt either of you by coming to your house either. Which is both very nice and probably a testament to how likely they think it is she actually might be a risk (meaning, if they thought she really did have rabies they'd be a lot more strict).
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