Can Cats Get Rabies. Rabies in cats is caused by a bite or scratch to an unvaccinated feline by an infected animal. The General Symptoms of Rabies in Cats. Your veterinarian is required by law to notify the animal disease regulatory authorities. However a definitive diagnosis can only be confirmed after the animals death with a brain tissue sample and a direct fluorescent antibody test dFA.
Stages of rabies in cats. In 2015 the last year for which statistics were available. The virus is transmitted through contact with saliva however so a cat can catch rabies through any open wound. According to the CDC domestic animals including pets accounted for only 76 percent of reported rabies cases in the US. Raccoons bats skunks fox and feral animals are common reserves for this viral disease. It is simply not worth the risk to the cat or your human family members to decline vaccination against rabies.
It is spread through the bite of an infected animal or of wounds during a fight with an animal sick with rabies.
No cat-to-cat rabies transmission has been recorded and no feline strain of rabies virus is known. It is simply not worth the risk to the cat or your human family members to decline vaccination against rabies. Depending on the age of the cat and the place where the infected animal bit your cat symptoms can appear between four and six weeks later. Rabies can also be transmitted if the saliva of an infected animal comes in contact with an open wound or mucous membranes such as gums. To diagnose the rabies virus in cats veterinarians will look for signs of the symptoms and review patient history. Rabies in cats is extremely rare.