Adopted a kitten, outside cat advice

[FunClucks]

The one vet told me that they wouldn’t vaccinate a cat against rabies once it was already bitten. I found this really odd, does anyone know if this is typical protocol??

Once the cat is vaccinated, the antibody to rabies will show up in their blood. If the cat was bitten by an animal that had rabies, antibodies may also show up in their blood. So if the cat has already been exposed to rabies, no point in vaccinating it. That's why it's important to have a record of vaccination so if the vet sees the antibodies he will know it's from the vaccine, not from having the disease. I think for people heavy doses of antibiotics are required to cure rabies and are only effective shortly after the bite. I would expect your vet to confirm the infection in your cat by checking for antibodies and then massively dose antibiotics if he thinks it will do any good.

But then I'm not a vet, just had outdoor cats for years and had to deal with these issues.

 

[KRack]

Once the cat is vaccinated, the antibody to rabies will show up in their blood. If the cat was bitten by an animal that had rabies, antibodies may also show up in their blood. So if the cat has already been exposed to rabies, no point in vaccinating it. That's why it's important to have a record of vaccination so if the vet sees the antibodies he will know it's from the vaccine, not from having the disease. I think for people heavy doses of antibiotics are required to cure rabies and are only effective shortly after the bite. I would expect your vet to confirm the infection in your cat by checking for antibodies and then massively dose antibiotics if he thinks it will do any good.

But then I'm not a vet, just had outdoor cats for years and had to deal with these issues.

They said the only way to confirm rabies was to put her down and examine her brain. They wouldn’t do a blood test. I would have vaccinated her sooner but we just got her and this was to be her first appt. She was a stray wandering around town so I have no real idea of her history.

 

[FunClucks]

They said the only way to confirm rabies was to put her down and examine her brain. They wouldn’t do a blood test. I would have vaccinated her sooner but we just got her and this was to be her first appt. She was a stray wandering around town so I have no real idea of her history.

The only other way to see if she has rabies is to crate her or keep her confined for a while and monitor her behavior. After a certain period of time, if she has it, it will manifest. You can ask the vet how long this would take and what the symptoms are to watch for. Some animals can live with rabies their whole lives and have no symptoms (skunks for instance), but I don't think cats can, so it would eventually show up.

There is a risk that she could bite you while you're figuring this out, and then you'd need rabies treatment, but if you want to try and keep her alive, wait and see is the only option really that I know of.

 

[KRack]

The only other way to see if she has rabies is to crate her or keep her confined for a while and monitor her behavior. After a certain period of time, if she has it, it will manifest. You can ask the vet how long this would take and what the symptoms are to watch for. Some animals can live with rabies their whole lives and have no symptoms (skunks for instance), but I don't think cats can, so it would eventually show up.

There is a risk that she could bite you while you're figuring this out, and then you'd need rabies treatment, but if you want to try and keep her alive, wait and see is the only option really that I know of.

Yeah, those are pretty much my options. Put her down or keep her isolated and confined in some capacity for 6 months.

 

[FunClucks]

Yeah, those are pretty much my options. Put her down or keep her isolated and confined in some capacity for 6 months.

We had a scare with one of our cats, we knew she'd come home daily for food and to sleep, so we just did life as usual and kept and eye on her. In our case, she never changed her behavior, so we dodged that bullet. Good luck.

 

[KRack]

We had a scare with one of our cats, we knew she'd come home daily for food and to sleep, so we just did life as usual and kept and eye on her. In our case, she never changed her behavior, so we dodged that bullet. Good luck.

Thanks! I’m glad your cat ended up being ok!!