How can a cat get rabies

Furious rabies is characterized by extreme behavioral changes, including overt aggression and attack behavior. Paralytic rabies, also referred to as dumb rabies, is characterized by weakness and loss of coordination in the cat, followed by paralysis.

This is a fast-moving virus. If it is not treated soon after the symptoms have begun, the prognosis is poor. Therefore, if your cat has been in a fight with another animal, or has been bitten or scratched by another animal, or if you have any reason to suspect that your pet has come into contact with a rabid animal even if your pet has been vaccinated against the virus , you must take your cat to a veterinarian for preventive care immediately.

The rabies virus is a single-stranded RNA virus of the genus Lyssavirus , which is in the family Rhabdoviridae. It is transmitted through the exchange of blood or saliva from an infected animal, and very rarely through breathing in the escaping gases from decomposing animal carcasses.

Contracting the virus in this way is rare but it can occur, often in caves with a large population of bats, where the virus is widespread. If you suspect your cat has rabies, call your veterinarian immediately. If it is safe to do so, cage, or otherwise subdue your cat, and take it to a veterinarian to be quarantined. If your pet is behaving viciously, or is trying to attack, and you feel you are at risk of being bitten or scratched, you must contact animal control to catch your cat for you.

Your veterinarian will keep your cat quarantined in a locked cage for 10 days. This is the only acceptable method for confirming suspected rabies infection. Rabies is diagnosed by testing fluids of the brain, skin, saliva and urine of an animal, not its blood serum. Diagnosis in the U.

Your veterinarian will collect fluid samples if your cat dies while in quarantine, or if it begins showing progressive signs of rabies; in which case, your veterinarian will opt to put your cat to sleep or euthanize it.

If your cat has been vaccinated against rabies, provide proof of vaccination to your veterinarian. If anyone came into contact with the cat's saliva, or were bitten by your cat yourself included , advise them to contact a physician immediately for treatment.

Rabies often affects wildlife like raccoons, skunks, and bats, but it can easily affect domesticated cats and dogs. Reports of cats with rabies exceed those in dogs, perhaps because more cats are allowed to roam free and may come into contact with rabid wildlife or stray animals.

After a cat has been exposed to rabies, it can take weeks to months for signs to appear. Once the signs of rabies appear in a cat, death usually occurs within about a week. There is no treatment for rabies in animals. This is why rabies vaccination is absolutely essential for all cats. The signs of rabies in cats are typically seen in three stages: prodromal, excitative, and paralytic. Before signs of rabies appear, you may notice a bite wound or abscess on your cat.

This might have come from wildlife, another cat, or even a dog, any of which may carry rabies. Any bite wound or other injury should be treated by a veterinarian as soon as possible. Discuss your cat's rabies vaccination history with your vet so you can understand the risk of them contracting this disease.

If the cat has previously been vaccinated against rabies, your vet may recommend re-vaccination after the bite, especially if the vaccine is overdue. This can boost immunity and prevent rabies from infecting the cat. If the cat has never been vaccinated for rabies, then there is no treatment available.

These animals typically need to be quarantined and observed for signs of rabies. Sadly, humane euthanasia is the only option once signs of rabies begin. The typical incubation period of rabies in cats lasts one to three months after exposure, but it may last longer in some cases. During this time, the virus travels through the body to the nervous system, eventually reaching the brain.

The signs of rabies infection appear after this incubation period. Once signs of rabies appear, death typically occurs within about a week. Note that cats may be able to spread rabies several days before signs appear. This is when the first signs of rabies affect the cat's behavior. You may notice that your outgoing cat is suddenly shy and hiding. Fearful cats might even become more confident. The other way that rabies can be spread is through the saliva of an infected cat.

The virus can live in saliva for up to two hours once leaving the body and infect other mammals if it comes in contact with a mucus membrane or open wound.

It can take up to a year for symptoms to materialize after the initial bite that infects a cat. How quickly the symptoms of rabies develop may depend on the following:. The site of infection. The closer the bite is to the brain and the spinal cord the faster the virus reaches the nervous tissues and causes symptoms. The further the wound is from the brain, the longer the incubation period. The incubation period the time between infection and development of clinical signs in cats is typically weeks, although there can be some variability.

Loss of appetite, apprehension or nervousness, irritability, hyperexcitability. No fear, possible hallucinations this is when a rabid cat poses the greatest danger to humans and other animals. Larynx becomes paralyzed: the cat is unable to swallow, causing drooling and foaming at the mouth. When the muscles that control breathing gradually become paralyzed, death occurs within a few hours.

The early stages of rabies can easily be confused with another disease or simply aggressive tendencies in general, making diagnosis difficult in living animals. The only way to accurately confirm the presence of the rabies virus is to test the brain of the deceased animal.

Cats usually contract rabies through the bite of an infected animal. At this point, the virus is more evident in all body secretions, including saliva. A fully accurate diagnosis can be obtained only by testing the brain tissue of a deceased animal; it is currently impossible to test for the virus in any living animal.

If rabies is suspected, or a cat showing symptoms of rabies dies suddenly, your veterinarian may suggest testing. Some general precautions to take:. If a cat shows or develops any signs of rabies, he must be evaluated by a veterinarian and reported to the local health department. Humane euthanasia is strongly recommended. If a cat bites a person or another animal and its vaccination status is unknown, the cat should be confined and kept under observation for a period of 10 days.

A rabies-infected cat will only transmit the disease after clinical signs have developed. If the cat is still alive or is not exhibiting any clinical signs of rabies after the day observation period, then the bite could not have transmitted rabies since the cat was not shedding the rabies virus at the time of the bite.

If your cat is bitten by a stray cat or wild animal, the cat should be confined inside for six months. If your cat is not vaccinated and was bitten by an animal highly suspected to be rabid, humane euthanasia may be directed by the health department or animal control.

However, it is more likely that the recommended course of action will be a series of rabies vaccines to prevent post-exposure infection, followed by a period of quarantine. Unfortunately, there is no treatment for a cat that has been infected with rabies and is showing symptoms. If you or your cat has potentially been exposed to the rabies virus due to a bite from an animal suspected of having rabies, seek medical treatment immediately.

Again, there is no cure once signs of the infection begin to materialize. If your cat has been bitten, your veterinarian may take the following precautions:. One or more rabies vaccinations may be recommended for a cat who has potentially been exposed to the virus. Additionally, immediate disinfection of bite wounds may help decrease risk of infection.