Kitten

[justbugged]

I would also wonder if the kitten had help with the kill. If it is very young, the mother cat wouldn't be very far away. It should still be learning hunting skills from it's mother. So it may have learned that the birds are a food source. Your friend sounds like she knows how to care for the kitten, so it sounds like a great option for you.


I thought that rabies is extremely rare in the USA. Though that maybe only talking about deaths.

 

[crosbygroup]

Compostqueen,

I agree with Thefox. I would catch the kitten and contact the local animal control. Let them know that it bit and scratched your husband. Depending on what part of the country you live in rabies could be a real threat. There is no cure if you come down with it. It is 100% fatal. Why would you take a chance? The only option is rabies shots. I'm not sure of the time frame, but the window for getting the shots is fairly short. Contact animal control and find out what you need to do. ASAP

 

[justbugged]

Wikipedia says:

Worldwide, the vast majority of human rabies cases (approximately 97%) come from dog bites.


In several countries, including the United Kingdom and Japan, rabies carried by animals that live on the ground has been eradicated entirely. Concerns exist about airborne and mixed-habitat animals including bats.


Treatment after exposure, known as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), is highly successful in preventing the disease if administered promptly, generally within ten days of infection.[1] Thoroughly washing the wound as soon as possible with soap and water for approximately five minutes is very effective at reducing the number of viral particles. “If available, a virucidal antiseptic such as povidone-iodine, iodine tincture, aqueous iodine solution or alcohol (ethanol) should be applied after washing...Exposed mucous membranes such as eyes, nose or mouth should be flushed well with water.”[19]

Rabies was once rare in the United States outside the Southern states[citation needed], but as of 2006, raccoons in the mid-Atlantic and northeast United States had been suffering from a rabies epidemic since the 1970s, which was moving westwards into Ohio.[51] In the midwestern United States, skunks are the primary carriers of rabies, comprising 134 of the 237 documented non-human cases in 1996.

If you alert the authorities you may very well have all the chicken put down because they are much more likely to have been exposed to the kitten. As I said earlier We had friends that had a bat in the house and because they couldn't prove that the bat hadn't bitten the cat, the CDC made them put their 15 year old cat down. Most kittens are the product of domestic cats that have been dumped. It is a rather unlikely scenario. IMHO

 

[8ROYALS]

My sister's daughter got cat scratch fever from their cat that went in and out of the house after they moved to a rural area. I always thought it was just a song, but she got very sick from just a scratch from the cat jumping down from her arms. So that is also an issue. I have been biten many times and scratched by cats and never had a problem, but it only takes one. good luck with your chicks

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
Birds cannot get rabies; it is strictly mammalian disease.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Folks, the rabies stuff is getting WAY out of hand. THere are no indications that the kitten has rabies. I will certainly not say impossible, but without symptoms, it is improbable. OTHER infections are FAR more likely. The kitten is simply doing typical kitten things--hunting for its food--and is being more successful than most would anticipate from a cute young thing.

If you catch it, certainly examine for signs of ill health (as would any rescue orgainization) and deal with that appropriately, but lets not lose all common sense,

 

[bibliophile birds]

feral or not, the kitten would most likely attack some stranger who had cornered it. that isn't meant to make it seem like a perfectly safe, innocent being, just saying that it's extremely normal behavior. if you can live trap it, that's the route i'd go, but if you corner it before it's live trapped, a towel is a must have item.

simply throw the towel over the kitten and then use your hands to press it to the ground (gently, just enough so it can't make a run for it). slowly pick the kitten up, always keeping the towel between your hands and it. this should work in two ways: 1. it should instantly calm the kitten (this won't last long, but the darkness and the lack of visual stimuli will calm it for a bit) and 2. it will give the kitten something other than valuable flesh to sink it's claws and teeth into.

then proceed however you see fit. this is exactly how i caught my cat Ollie 9 years ago. he was living in some bushes and put up a tremendous fight when i caught him. towel over his body and he went limp. i thought he was dead! i picked him up, wrapped in the towel, and he instantly started purring like he was fit to burst. he spent that very night snuggled in bed with me. turns out he was only 4 weeks old... so they can be pretty ferocious even at a very young age. he has been the sweetest, most affectionate cat we've ever had. he let's my 9 month old niece pull his ears and tail as much as she wants and has never once scratched or bitten her.

i'm not saying you should keep the kitten, but i wouldn't assume it's a monster either.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

I agree with the rabies stuff... I work for a rescue and we do feral cats as well. I attended a Rabies seminar about a month ago with a world renowned immunologist, who stated that rabies in cats is almost unheard of. There hasn't been a documented case in something like the last 25 years... (in the US)... Not that it CAN'T happen but is extremely rare...

 

[mommyofthree]

Here's a link with info on trapping a feral cat/kitten. And if you need any additional info just send an email to the email address at the top and this lady will gladly help you with suggestions, she's awesome and has been helping me TNR strays. I've caught a few ferals, but most of the strays I've caught were semi-feral or friendly since people dump them off at the barn across the street. Good luck!!
http://www.carolsferals.org/cat-trapping-101/

 

[ShrekDawg]

I agree with the others, I would trap him and the either take him to the SPCA or a local shelter or take him to your friend, your friend sounds like she knows what shes doing so I think that would be the best bet but if for some reason that doesnt work out, then take him to a shelter. good luck!