Why Rabies Vaccinate

Hey, Doc! I don’t understand why I need to keep giving my cats their rabies vaccine. They don’t go outside, they mostly just sit around on the couch and eat. My friend says it’s a cash grab. What’s the story?

Hi, Friend! This question comes up a lot, believe me, especially for those indoor kitties. So let me explain.

Rabies is required by law for dogs and cats (and other domestic animals) in the United States, because it is an endemic virus—one that is fully established as part of the ecosystem—throughout North America. And South America, and most of the world that isn’t islands. It is a non-species-specific mammal virus, which means that most mammals can carry and spread it. In New England, the most common carriers of rabies are raccoons, skunks, woodchucks, and bats, but all of us here at Pawsome Vet Care have seen rabid cats—in fact, we used to work with a technician who was bitten by a 10 week old rabid kitten! 

The big deal with rabies is that it is, essentially, 100% fatal to anyone who gets it, including humans. There are a couple of people who survived after literal years on a ventilator in a medically-induced coma, but that is not the norm. It can be spread through saliva or blood, and in 2004, four people died because they were recipients of organ donation from someone who had died of encephalitis, and unfortunately the donor had not been tested for rabies prior to the donation. Why had the donor not been tested? Because the only way to test for rabies is to test the brain after death, which takes about 24 hours, and organ donation is extremely time-sensitive.

So here’s a disease that is 100% fatal, fairly easily transmissible from animals to humans, and hard to test for. The one thing that we have going for us is that it’s incredibly easy to prevent. Vaccination is highly effective, has a very low rate of adverse reactions, and is inexpensive and widely available in our patients. In humans, vaccination is highly effective, has a low rate of adverse reactions, but is expensive and not as widely available. Therefore, we recommend and the states require the vaccination of domestic animals as that drastically reduces the risk of humans contracting and dying from rabies.

See, the thing is, most people will seek out medical care if they are attacked by a wild animal. But they might not if their pet bites them, especially if the pet isn’t showing the movie version of symptoms, and many of them don’t. Post-exposure prophylaxis—vaccinating after a bite—is very effective, but only if it’s done fairly quickly, within a few days. So if someone’s cat is acting a little off, seems lethargic, not wanting to eat, maybe is hiding a bit, and the person goes to touch the cat and he or she bites them, it might not occur to them to go get rabies prophylactic injections, even if their cat isn’t vaccinated. After all, their cat lives inside. No chance of rabies, right?

Not quite, and for a couple of reasons. The most common problem is bats. Especially in older homes, it is not uncommon for bats to get in, and cats think bats are great fun to play with. Bat teeth are tiny, and won’t really leave a mark, especially through fur. Think that this risk is overblown? We at Pawsome know someone who picked up a dish towel, and was bitten by a rabid bat that was hiding underneath it. We also all dealt with a cat who was found playing with a bat. Some members of the household wanted to let it outside, but one of the people called animal control, who euthanized and tested the bat. Rabies positive, and the cat was not current on his vaccine because—you guessed it—he had never been outside. Cue immediate revaccination and a 6 month quarantine! 

The other problem is the occasional escapee cat. Even if your cat never blinks at an open door under normal circumstances, sometimes something scary can happen that can have them bolting for the nearest trees. A house fire, a visiting dog, a cat carrier that breaks or isn’t secured, a falling lamp—these are all reasons I’ve known strictly indoor cats to end up in the great outdoors. 

You can tell your friend it’s not a cash grab. Heck, I don’t care if you get it done with me or at the town rabies clinic or the local pet store (as long as it’s by a licensed veterinarian), I just want your pets, and by extension you, protected. And yes, my indoor-only cats who have never been outside receive their rabies vaccine. The risk is tiny, but it’s not zero, and in my opinion, not worth taking.