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A vet of course can refuse to treat an animal that is not up to date on shots, but I find it is rare for a vet to do this, also, it is not uncommon for animals, especially cats, to have a reaction to the rabies vaccine, so they cannot ever get a booster or risk facing death or serious issues requiring care.
In door cats can get out, but as the stats show, rabies in cats and dogs is rare, very rare, and of course the vaccine program has assisted greatly in this, but I do not think it should be over done.
My cats of course can never get out by accident, unless they figure out how to to get on the elevator and press the correct floor, lol.
I get my dog vaccinated just in case she bites someone.. hasn't but you never know.. dog could have a tooth ache and get very cranky and you would never know it.
I don't vaccinate my dog every year.. every three years. I think they put too many shots for dogs that compromise their immune system making all those antibodies to fight every disease .. One vet gave my poor dog 10 different viruses in one shot.... and she started scratching and biting and pulling out her hair.. no fleas. I use a good flea med that is mild to her system and it works.. It took months for my dog to stop pulling out her hair. These shots should be limited ..Having to make 10 different kinds of antibodies at one time will compromise anyone 's system... her system was overtaxed..
Poor thing.
I have a tiny dust mop of a dog, and I try to space out his shots as much as possible for this reason. The last vet I had wanted to just do everything at once, but I'm not doing that with a 5 lb dog.
I also believe rabies shot is for profit and I feel guilt of letting my 5 years old dog to get this kind of shot. I mean why some people who keep their dogs in their own fenced property and walk dogs every day need to get shot? When I looked what vet is putting in my dog, I felt very uneasy. I think honest vet do not mind to tell truth if they are not for profit just like honest trust worthy vet who cares about well being of cats never declaw cat. These vets educate people about damage and suffering of declawed cats.
A fence does not keep wild animals out, in most cases.
I have mixed feelings about most vaccines, but my dogs are always current on their rabies shots. I will admit I've been less diligent about the cats, only because they literally never leave the house, nor is there a way for them to escape unless someone deliberately let them out. I do think it's possible to over-vaccinate, and the vaccines for some diseases are horribly ineffective. I try to stick with the 3 year shots for that reason.
I've never lived anywhere that didn't have some sort of law regarding rabies shots. I think it would be extremely impractical to attempt to implement such a law on a national level.
A fence does not keep wild animals out, in most cases.
I have mixed feelings about most vaccines, but my dogs are always current on their rabies shots. I will admit I've been less diligent about the cats, only because they literally never leave the house. I do think it's possible to over-vaccinate, and the vaccines for some diseases are horribly ineffective.
Also, bats get indoors all the time. Unlike humans, pets are likelier to get curious about the dying bat having seizures on the kitchen floor. And if they get bitten, it's usually on their face or front paws since they're sniffing or batting it around (no pun intended).
Rule of thumb is, the closer the site of contact with the rabid animal is to the brain, the less time you have to get them the post-exposure shots, especially if they aren't up to date on their pre-exposure shots.
Also, bats get indoors all the time. Unlike humans, pets are likelier to get curious about the dying bat having seizures on the kitchen floor. And if they get bitten, it's usually on their face or front paws since they're sniffing or batting it around (no pun intended).
Rule of thumb is, the closer the site of contact with the rabid animal is to the brain, the less time you have to get them the post-exposure shots, especially if they aren't up to date on their pre-exposure shots.
I know about the possibility of bats, but in my 52 years of life, I have only seen one bat get in a house, and that was in a house that had direct access from the attic to the living space. This house does not, nor do the cats have any direct access to a door leading outside. It would be very difficult for a bat to get into their living space. My cats have all had the shot, they just don't get it every year. I have had a cat react badly to it in the past, and I don't want that to happen again. You won't find many vets who will admit it openly, but there are some who say the annual booster is not necessary for any sort of illness.
I wish titer testing was more widely available.
Last edited by Catgirl64; 08-05-2017 at 02:26 PM..
A vet of course can refuse to treat an animal that is not up to date on shots, but I find it is rare for a vet to do this, also, it is not uncommon for animals, especially cats, to have a reaction to the rabies vaccine, so they cannot ever get a booster or risk facing death or serious issues requiring care.
In door cats can get out, but as the stats show, rabies in cats and dogs is rare, very rare, and of course the vaccine program has assisted greatly in this, but I do not think it should be over done.
My cats of course can never get out by accident, unless they figure out how to to get on the elevator and press the correct floor, lol.
In NY, where I live, if an animal has an adverse reaction to the vaccine, the owner can get a medical exemption. They cannot just assume it, though, it has to be documented.
Rabies in cats is NOT rare. In NY they are the most common domestic vector.
In NY, where I live, if an animal has an adverse reaction to the vaccine, the owner can get a medical exemption. They cannot just assume it, though, it has to be documented.
Rabies in cats is NOT rare. In NY they are the most common domestic vector.
Yes, but what percentage of those cats are either ferals or pet cats that are allowed outside?
In NY, where I live, if an animal has an adverse reaction to the vaccine, the owner can get a medical exemption. They cannot just assume it, though, it has to be documented.
Rabies in cats is NOT rare. In NY they are the most common domestic vector.
How many bats are getting into NYC apartments? How many NYC pet owners let their cats outside to roam city streets? You can probably include the immediate suburbs in that.
I had a 22 year old cat who was only vaccinated, or ever saw a Vet, when he was a kitten. Indoor Only Cat his entire life. We moved when he was 17 from NY to Florida in our car. The first, and last, time I ever brought him to a Vet was when he was when he was 22.
The Vet Techs told me that the Vet would not even exam him without being up to date on a Rabies shot. Fortunately, she overhead the conversation. "I will check him without a rabies shot." "Do you want to kill this poor, sick, old man?" Vet said he was the oldest cat she had ever seen in her practice.
So you are saying that if he regularly had seen a Vet and gotten his vaccinations he would have lived a longer life? You mean like maybe 30 years old????? Basically Old Age killed him. His body wore out, same as it will in all HUMANS; doctor visits, vaccinations, or not.
Edit: All other the cats I have had in my adult 68 years died in their mid teens. Indoor Only cats their entire lives too. They didn't go to Vets or get vaccinations either. What do you think Indoor Only cats are going to catch Rabies from? Their Humans?
How many bats are getting into NYC apartments? How many NYC pet owners let their cats outside to roam city streets? You can probably include the immediate suburbs in that.
I had a 22 year old cat who was only vaccinated, or ever saw a Vet, when he was a kitten. Indoor Only Cat his entire life. We moved when he was 17 from NY to Florida in our car. The first, and last, time I ever brought him to a Vet was when he was when he was 22.
The Vet Techs told me that the Vet would not even exam him without being up to date on a Rabies shot. Fortunately, she overhead the conversation. "I will check him without a rabies shot." "Do you want to kill this poor, sick, old man?" Vet said he was the oldest cat she had ever seen in her practice.
So you are saying that if he regularly had seen a Vet and gotten his vaccinations he would have lived a longer life? You mean like maybe 30 years old????? Basically Old Age killed him. His body wore out, same as it will in all HUMANS; doctor visits, vaccinations, or not.
Edit: All other the cats I have had in my adult 68 years died in their mid teens. Indoor Only cats their entire lives too. They didn't go to Vets or get vaccinations either. Who do you think Indoor Only cats are going to catch Rabies from? Their Humans?
I'm glad someone spoke up for your cat. I would never vax a 22 year old cat for anything, unless I was forced by circumstances to take him or her on a plane.
How many bats are getting into NYC apartments? How many NYC pet owners let their cats outside to roam city streets? You can probably include the immediate suburbs in that.
I had a 22 year old cat who was only vaccinated, or ever saw a Vet, when he was a kitten. Indoor Only Cat his entire life. We moved when he was 17 from NY to Florida in our car. The first, and last, time I ever brought him to a Vet was when he was when he was 22.
The Vet Techs told me that the Vet would not even exam him without being up to date on a Rabies shot. Fortunately, she overhead the conversation. "I will check him without a rabies shot." "Do you want to kill this poor, sick, old man?" Vet said he was the oldest cat she had ever seen in her practice.
So you are saying that if he regularly had seen a Vet and gotten his vaccinations he would have lived a longer life? You mean like maybe 30 years old????? Basically Old Age killed him. His body wore out, same as it will in all HUMANS; doctor visits, vaccinations, or not.
Edit: All other the cats I have had in my adult 68 years died in their mid teens. Indoor Only cats their entire lives too. They didn't go to Vets or get vaccinations either. What do you think Indoor Only cats are going to catch Rabies from? Their Humans?
Why the focus on NYC? When I say I am from NY, I am referring to NY STATE. Just above Albany to be exact. I was born and raised in upstate NY. And there are a LOT of places upstate where it is common practice for people to let their cats out. Like the more rural areas.
And I do know one person in Albany who had a bat get in her apartment. Luckily, it was before she acquired any of the 4 cats she now owns. Minus the fact that it is common for bats to be rabid, bats are not animals I would want my cat to be tangling with.
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