Cat has to have rabies shot

[Guardian]

Our cat has to get her rabies shot tomorrow. I do understand the dangers of the rabies vaccine, but we live in a state where Rabies shots are required by law. It's an instant death sentence if she so much a scratches someone's dog or cat and doesn't have proof of vaccination.

She's also an outdoor cat who likes to go hunting in the woods, and we have a very serious problem with rabies in fox, racoons and bats in our area. The bats especially concern me because I've seen her leap 8-10 feet off the porch and almost get one that was swooping at the light. If she was an older, indoor cat with a long history of vaccinations, it would be different (I'd just get a titer test)...but in this case, the risks associated with her not getting the shot outweigh the risks of giving her the shot.

Is there anything I can give her that will help her deal with the toxic side effects of the vaccine?

 

[Lirpa]

Our cat has to get her rabies shot tomorrow. I do understand the dangers of the rabies vaccine, but we live in a state where Rabies shots are required by law. It's an instant death sentence if she so much a scratches someone's dog or cat and doesn't have proof of vaccination.

She's also an outdoor cat who likes to go hunting in the woods, and we have a very serious problem with rabies in fox, racoons and bats in our area. The bats especially concern me because I've seen her leap 8-10 feet off the porch and almost get one that was swooping at the light. If she was an older, indoor cat with a long history of vaccinations, it would be different (I'd just get a titer test)...but in this case, the risks associated with her not getting the shot outweigh the risks of giving her the shot.

Is there anything I can give her that will help her deal with the toxic side effects of the vaccine?

You can check with your local county animal control licensing and check to see if they will accept a blood titer test showing immunity (antibodies) to Rabies as proof of Rabies Vaccination. How many Rabies vaccines has your cat had in its lifetime? If it has had several then it should be immune still.

I recall reading somewhere that there is a certain kind of Rabies vaccine that is safer to use that most holistic veterinarians use. I will have to see if I saved the article somewhere.

You can also get your veterinarian to write an exemption due to a medical issue. If your cat is old or has any medical condition that would exacerbated by vaccinations then the vet can write an exemption letter.

 

[Guardian]

You can check with your local county animal control licensing and check to see if they will accept a blood titer test showing immunity (antibodies) to Rabies as proof of Rabies Vaccination.

I did. A positive Titer would meet the legal requirement and keep me from getting a ticket, but if she scratched another person's pet (or a person, although that's unlikely) she would still immediately be killed and sent off for testing. The only thing that can save her from that possibility is a current rabies vaccination. Unfortunately, she really does not like the neighbor's dog....and she's not shy about it. She's already taken a couple swipes at yappy dogs that annoyed her, but her vaccination was current, so there was no problem. It expires at the end of March and I'm risking her life if I don't get it renewed, regardless of whether the Titer was high enough or not... and it probably wouldn't be.

She's a rescue, so we only know of her having the shot we got her 3 years ago. The vet says she only looks about 6-7, and since she was a stray, it's unlikely the Titer would come back positive....and it's very expensive.

 

[Lirpa]

I think the killed rabies virus vaccine is the safer one? It is also recommended to give the Rabies vaccine alone and follow up with the homeopathic Lyssin 30c remedy.

 

[Lirpa]

You can check with your local county animal control licensing and check to see if they will accept a blood titer test showing immunity (antibodies) to Rabies as proof of Rabies Vaccination.

I did. A positive Titer would meet the legal requirement and keep me from getting a ticket, but if she scratched another person's pet (or a person, although that's unlikely) she would still immediately be killed and sent off for testing. The only thing that can save her from that possibility is a current rabies vaccination. Unfortunately, she really does not like the neighbor's dog....and she's not shy about it. She's already taken a couple swipes at yappy dogs that annoyed her, but her vaccination was current, so there was no problem. It expires at the end of March and I'm risking her life if I don't get it renewed, regardless of whether the Titer was high enough or not... and it probably wouldn't be.

She's a rescue, so we only know of her having the shot we got her 3 years ago. The vet says she only looks about 6-7, and since she was a stray, it's unlikely the Titer would come back positive....and it's very expensive.

Feisty Kitteh...like her mum ;)

 

[Guardian]

Feisty Kitteh...like her mum ;)

LOL, well she did chase the neighbor's dog back down into his yard, and was whooping his butt on his own front porch when his owner came out. She's a typical mountain cat, if he hadn't come up here and challenged her in her own yard to begin with, he wouldn't have gotten his nose tore up.

OK, maybe we are a little similar.

 

[Z...]

It looks like you will have to do it Guardian.

There is a lot of controversy in homeopathic circles about preventative use of remedies and everyone has their own theories. Some homeopaths believe one should wait till
there is damage and try to repair the damage after it is done.
Most of the homeopaths advise use of Thuja routinely to prevent vaccinoses for all vaccinations, including vets who use it routinely for Rabies. But this is based on Burnetts results with Thuja and small pox vaccine. At that time there were no other vaccines and it has become a myth that Thuja is good for all vaccines.
I tend to follow the school of thought that recommends giving Lyssin (hydrophobinum) which is the remedy obtained from the saliva of rabid dog. The idea is that its "vibratuion pattern" will give vital force some notice to prepare for the shock from the vaccine.

If rabies vaccination is forced my protocol is to give Lyssin 30c 24-48h prior to vaccination, one dry dose in the mouth. Then 5 min after vaccination one dry dose of Ledum 200c.

As long as the Rabies vaccine is not given yearly or at least every 5 years there is normally very little damage. Unfortunately in some countries yearly vaccines are recommended ( although research suggests that vaccine immunity lasts at least 5 years )

 

[shellycheval]

Thank you for the timely and supportive advice Herr. E. I am in a similar situation as Guardian and also live in an area with a very high incident of rabies (relatively speaking). My cats and dogs will be getting rabies vaccine today. They have free range to the wilderness in the isolated, rural area we live in and come in contact with all manner of wildlife. Rabies is the only vaccine I give my animals these days and that includes my horses. It appears to be a evil necessity in Maryland as well NC and other SE US states.
shellycheval

 

[Guardian]

If rabies vaccination is forced my protocol is to give Lyssin 30c 24-48h prior to vaccination, one dry dose in the mouth. Then 5 min after vaccination one dry dose of Ledum 200c.

Dern, I should have posted sooner. I didn't think about it until the appointment reminder popped up. She just got her shot about an hour ago, so I suppose it's too late?

As long as the Rabies vaccine is not given yearly or at least every 5 years there is normally very little damage. Unfortunately in some countries yearly vaccines are recommended ( although research suggests that vaccine immunity lasts at least 5 years )

In NC the max available is a 3 year dose, which is what she got. The good news is that she's a very healthy, strong kittie, with no known issues. The vet say's she's about 4 years old or so?

 

[Guardian]

It appears to be a evil necessity in Maryland as well NC and other SE US states.
shellycheval

Yeah, rabies has become a serious problem in the Mid Atlantic and SE. Rabid animals are even attacking people in broad daylight.

_http://naturalunseenhazards.wordpress.com/2012/02/23/several-people-in-north-carolinas-new-hanover-county-chased-and-one-is-bitten-by-rabid-foxes-other-rabies-reports-from-connecticut-2-florida-minnesota-new-jersey-north-carolina-2/

 

[Z...]

I am sure she will be fine.
It seems that risk of rabies in USA outweighs the risk of vaccinosis.
While in the rest of the world cats almost never transmit rabies to humans, according to some statistics, for some reason in the USA, cats are the most common source of infection for humans.
In any case both you and Shelly if you are approached by auspiciously friendly racoons, skunks, possums, squirrels or foxes with no fear of humans whatsoever, run for your life.
The same applies if you see bats flying out in broad daylight.

*Added for clarity: -cats are not most common source of infection for humans but are most commonly affected domestic animal in USA

No cat-to-cat transmission of rabies has been recorded, and no feline rabies virus variant is known. However, cats are the most commonly reported rabid domestic animal in the USA. Virus is present in the saliva of rabid cats, and people have developed rabies after being bitten by a rabid cat. Reported cases in domestic cats have outnumbered those in dogs in the USA every year since 1988.

 

[shellycheval]

H.E.

In any case both you and Shelly if you are approached by auspiciously friendly racoons, skunks, possums, squirrels or foxes with no fear of humans whatsoever, run for your life.

Will do. Although I have a "live and let live" approach to the local wildlife I, outside of maintaining a wild bird feeder, I am careful not to do anything else that may attract coons, possums, and skunks, like leave horse feed out, or garbage unsecured. As a mini-farmer, as cute and interesting as coons, possums, and skunks may be, they fall under the category of "varmints" and their presence is not encouraged. For better or worse, my dogs will encounter any wayward, possible rabies infected varmint before I would notice it, and would be fulfilling their traditional dog duty to protect me whether I want that to happen or not.

An older woman I know once described for me how when she was a child she witnessed how her uncle died at home of rabies, tied to a bed to keep him for harming others. As the locals would say "it put the fear of rabies in me something fierce."
shellycheval

 

[Guardian]

In any case both you and Shelly if you are approached by auspiciously friendly racoons, skunks, possums, squirrels or foxes with no fear of humans whatsoever, run for your life.
The same applies if you see bats flying out in broad daylight.

Yeah, I had to shoot a rabid raccoon a few years ago. It was clearly sick, running in a tight circle with its head on the ground...it was very sad, and also dangerous. It was in the middle of the day, very near to someone's RV.

The Health Department came and got it and confirmed it was rabid. We poured gas on the ground around where it was running and drooling and burned it down to the dirt. Killing an innocent critter a terrible thing to have to do, but if a wild thing (fox, raccoon, etc.) openly shows itself in the daylight, we shoot it. No healthy fox or raccoon will come out in the open like that, and they're going to die from the illness eventually anyway.

 

[Z...]

Killing an innocent critter a terrible thing to have to do, but if a wild thing (fox, raccoon, etc.) openly shows itself in the daylight, we shoot it.

I agree, better be safe then sorry. BTW there is no need to burn the ground, virus cannot survive outside the host for more then few minutes. Bite is the only way of transmission and possibly aerosol via olfactory nerves in caves overpopulated with bats.

 

[Guardian]

I agree, better be safe then sorry. BTW there is no need to burn the ground, virus cannot survive outside the host for more then few minutes.

Really? The Health Department guy told us the rabies virus could survive for quite some time without a host, especially in moist areas? He's the one who recommended the burn off so no other animals would walk through it.