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I remember when I was a kid, in the 80's, a small neighbor kid got bitten by an animal and received emergency treatment. No witnesses to the encounter but the kid, and the bite pattern was small but inconclusive. The child described a "long" animal that sounded like a ferret or weasel.
There was a lady living in the area who was an instructor in a vet college, I used to visit her (and more importantly her many animals) frequently. It was well known that she had ferrets. The child had to have the abdominal injection, which was still common back then, as a prophylactic measure, and the parent raised cane about this woman who had ferrets, insisting that they be seized for testing. Nevermind the fact that the ferrets were kept in the house, in secure enclosures, at all times, never ever went outside, and the child didn't visit this lady's house like some of us did (he was too little.) It was not possible that any of her animals were the culprit, and the child's description was rather vague. But because Mom was hysterical, and wealthy, the local authorities tried to take this lady's animals. She "hid" them with various people until it all blew over. I wonder if she had to pay fines...she was certainly not locked up for denying them access to her animals. She was told that they would be euthanized and the brains tested for the virus, no option of quarantine was allowed. She was understandably upset, and I remember it very clearly. She ran a whole campaign against it and had t-shirts made.
If my cat bit me, which actually he does all the time, just has never broken the skin with teeth, only claws...I would wash/Neosporin/bandaid, and I wouldn't go to a doctor unless I saw signs of blood poisoning.
Of course if my cat began to show signs of "neurological symptoms" of any kind, his butt would be off to the vet in a heartbeat. I'm more on top of his healthcare than my own. But then I'm a Mom like that. I can't remember the last time I saw a doctor, for my own sake.
I remembered the ferret's name (which my friend "hid" for the owner) was Coke. I did a Google for "ferret named Coke" and the very first result was this actual case. Amazing.
I remembered wrong, she was a student at the time, not a vet. To be fair, I was 8-9 years old at the time. And she did go to jail.
EDIT:
Wow, my memories are either extremely, incredibly unclear, or I wasn't told the truth back then. I'm betting it's my brain to blame, I did smoke a lot of pot as a teenager after all.... Here is another article, one very angry article about how Au would not produce her ferret for testing. It is odd reading it, knowing that at the time I totally knew where this ferret was at.
(Warning, it does produce a popup ad if your browser doesn't block it.)
EDIT, EDIT: I know this forum is about cats, sorry if this is off-topic somewhat, but it was my only personal brush with people protecting their pets from the authorities due to rabies scare, and so I thought it was somewhat relevent. Plus it's fascinating to me that I can find articles specifically about something I only vaguely recall from my childhood.
Last edited by Sonic_Spork; 04-02-2013 at 03:49 PM..
Wow, sounds like the nanny state is gonna have us all quarantined before it's all through. But anyway this is a good heads up for those who might innocently tell the doctor about a harmless nibble from a beloved pet.
You are absolutely right, Annie53. Fight the power! lol But really, we don't need bureaucracy breathing down our necks and getting into all our business.
unfortunately it has little to do with how effective/likey the vaccine is...and everything to do with people that lie...
so many pople lie about their animals being up to date on vaccines...
when working at the vet office we had one woman bring in cat claimed it was vaccinated, turned out it wasn't, the vaccination record she brought I was for her sisters cat because she knew she oculd get in trouble...
it happens a lot more than youd thing, people with multiple cats vaccinating 1 and then using the same tag as "proof for all"
that being said...
if you get bitten by an anima (particularly a cat, cat bites are SERIOUS even if tiny) go to the dr...
if your that worried about your pet, tell them it was a stray you tried to rescue...problem solved, animal control rarely bothers with stray cats, youll get the NESSICARY medical treatment and done...simple.
when you lie about howyou got an injury, particularly an animal bite which not only has risk of rabies and tetnus but serious bacterial infections, you cannot be treated correctly,
I fell on a pile of wire will liely result in a tetnus shot...but what happens if you end up with a serious bacterial infection thts incredibly common in cat bites (and can be incredibly serious) you end up going back to the er for serious complications and have to tell them you lied and its an animal bite...
save yourself the greif, if your worried about your pets safety tell them it was a stray and at least youll et the correct treatment a a just incae rather than simpy hoping for the best.
unfortunately it has little to do with how effective/likey the vaccine is...and everything to do with people that lie...
so many pople lie about their animals being up to date on vaccines...
when working at the vet office we had one woman bring in cat claimed it was vaccinated, turned out it wasn't, the vaccination record she brought I was for her sisters cat because she knew she oculd get in trouble...
it happens a lot more than youd thing, people with multiple cats vaccinating 1 and then using the same tag as "proof for all"
that being said...
if you get bitten by an anima (particularly a cat, cat bites are SERIOUS even if tiny) go to the dr...
if your that worried about your pet, tell them it was a stray you tried to rescue...problem solved, animal control rarely bothers with stray cats, youll get the NESSICARY medical treatment and done...simple.
when you lie about howyou got an injury, particularly an animal bite which not only has risk of rabies and tetnus but serious bacterial infections, you cannot be treated correctly, I fell on a pile of wire will liely result in a tetnus shot...but what happens if you end up with a serious bacterial infection thts incredibly common in cat bites (and can be incredibly serious) you end up going back to the er for serious complications and have to tell them you lied and its an animal bite...
save yourself the greif, if your worried about your pets safety tell them it was a stray and at least youll et the correct treatment a a just incae rather than simpy hoping for the best.
The bacteria from an animal bite will be killed by the same antibiotics that would be used to prevent infection from the vast variety of bacteria that could be found on old, dirty, wire and yard tools found laying around in a shed.
Think about it: Old wire and yard tools....laying in an old shed where mice and all kinds of other critters, including cats, could have crawled all over it.....peed on it, slobbered on it. Yard tools.....that could have come into contact with all kinds of animal waste found in the dirt they were used to dig or rake.
If there is a specific antibiotic used for bacteria ONLY found in animal's saliva, I would like to hear about it.
And.....I am talking about a bite from a pet that you know is vaccinated and rabies isn't a concern.
My cat bit me while in the vet's office. The vet reported it to animal control, now my cat is quarantined for 10 days, and someone from Animal Control will be coming to my home for an inspection.
As I understand it, it's theoretically possible for a vaccinated cat to get rabies, but in reality it never happens.
Does anyone know any verified examples of a vaccinated cat contracting rabies? I saw a couple examples earlier in this thread of dogs, but what about cats?
Even if someone is able to cite two or three examples, that still means the chances of a vaccinated cat contracting rabies are extremely remote, perhaps one in a billion. Therefore, the rule requiring the quarantining a vaccinated cat is based on fear, not sound science.
Someone may argue: "Sure, the chances are so small as to be practically non-existent, but better be safe than sorry."
That's absurd. Government resources are limited. As a taxpayer, I don't want my government wasting time and money on a hazard that is statistically so remote as be practically non-existent. It should concentrate on threats that have a realistic chance of occurring, such as the flu.
The world will never be 100% safe. There's a million times greater chance I will fall down the stairs and break my neck, or be killed in car crash, or be crippled by a falling tree branch. Yet the Department of Public Safety hasn't (and shouldn't) outlaw stairs, motor vehicles, or walking under trees.
I'm not suggesting the rule for quarantining animals be done away with completely. But it should not be blanket, one-size-fits-all regulation that fails to distinguish between species or vaccination status. Animal Control should be given discretion to make risk-based decisions, treating each case individually.
That is just horrible. Quarantine should not be required for vaccinated pets.
And.....WTH does a home inspection have to do with rabies? Or whether your pet is vaccinated or not?
If someone wanted to inspect my home under the circumstances you describe.....I would get a lawyer.
Something is fishy, if you ask me. Does your vet have reason to believe you are abusing/keeping your pets in filth?
My cat was on my lap last night and bit me--
I went to doc-in-box today for some antibiotics--
it was small puncture bite and even though I cleaned it right way--puncture wounds are difficult to clean up
they had me complete an animal bite report
told them it was my cat and all shots current
they said it is the law
sent the report to the city animal shelter--got call from woman there wanting more info
gave it--gave her the rabies tag and serial shot number
she said cat has to be in quarrentine for 10 days--starting when the bite occurred last night
can either be inside the home (totally--no outside time)
can be at our vet--we pay of course
or at the animal shelter
called our vet but front desk person whom I have known for 8+ years said she has to check with the vet and would call back which makes me think they won't take him to board...
has anyone else had to follow this policy
I can understand quarrentine for unknown animals, especially feral ones--
but this cat hasn't missed a rabies vaccine in all his years
is there any reported case of a dog or cat getting rabies after being vaccinated???
Vaccines for animals, like those for people, are not 100% effective. I just went to a conference today about infectious diseases. Rabies in humans is very serious. The vast majority of patients die. This is SOP.
I understand that and don't expect people to take my word for it. The vet who called in the bite is the same vet who vaccinated the cat, so they have absolute proof.
Also, if the cat had bitten another person, I would be more understanding. But the cat bit me. If I, the victim, don't care, the government shouldn't either.
If you get rabies and die, your heirs may sue the govt. for inappropriate rabies control.
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