my cat caught and killed a rat today. she had shots only once 10 years ago. can she get rabies or hantavirus?

Question

she is a calico and has always been indoors (except to get fresh air an hour a day outside supervised.) she is spayed.

Answer 1

Let me ask you this...do you like shots? well Id say your cat is very much at risk. If your worried talk to a vet about maybe quarantine.

Answer 2

If she is not an experienced hunter the rat may have been poisoned and easier for her to catch. That would be the greatest danger. Can you determine if she bit into the rat at all pr ate any part of it. If not she is probably safe. Secondary poisoning can be as fatal as eating the poison herself.

I do not believe that rats are vectors for rabies. I know where I live bats are the only carriers. Check with your animal control. There is usually a person on duty at night so phone now and they may be able to answer tell if rats carry rabies.

I also think that the hantavirus is carried in mice, not rats.

Answer 3

Shots 10 years ago are of no protection for your cat. At best she should get feline distempers shots annually.
It is very rare for a rat to carry the rabies virus, some say they can spread rabies though. It was the fleas on rats that spread the plague, not the rats.
I would be more concerned about all the other little "nasties" your cat could contract from a rat.

Answer 4

Dont panic!
Outdoor cats usually should be vaccinated every year for general vaccines, like FIP,chlam,rhino, etc, and every other year for rabies.
Its safer that way, if the cat spends a lot of his time outdoors.
You say she dint get her shots in 10 years, this means she is over 10 years old. You should evaluate if its worthed the stress of the trip to the vet if she does'nt go outside that much.
Its up to you really. If she doesnt stay outside for long periods and especially if you keep her supervised, I think the chances of deseases are very slim.
Tough rabies is rare, its always best to have any "frequently outdoor" cats vaccinated.

Answer 5

why has she not had a rabie shot in 10 yrs.??!! just because she is .mostly kept indoors doesn't mean that she doesn't need one. since you let her roam around for about an hour each day then God knows what she could encounter that might have rabies!!! my 2 yr. old female is strictly kept indoors but I take her every August to have her yearly checkup and get her rabie shot!!!! I don't know if she could get rabies or hantavirus or not!! but, you seriously need to think about getting her a checkup and having your vet give her a rabie shot!!!

Answer 6

Unlikey that she would get rabies! Very rare nowadays and rats are not common carriers. Also, wild mice more often carry hanta virus than rats. But, if she is going outdoors in areas were other cats have been you should get her some vaccines.

Answer 7

merely as each and every physique else has reported, particular it could kill them, yet you additionally can get penitentiary time for animal cruelty. additionally on ultimate of the penitentiary time, you should be required to pay some hundred to three thousand money a cat. i might recommend continuously calling animal administration and the police. If not then %. up as many as you could and circulate away them on the spca's door step.

Answer 8

I doubt she will need shots. Rabies and hantavirus are very rare now days.

Answer 9

i would take her to get shots just in case. its better to be safe than sorry, its only once a year, and the shots are relatively cheap. plus, you never know how many rats your cat has eaten, as well as birds!!

Answer 10

Rabies vaccine is required BY LAW!! Get her updated on the vaccine. Hanta is not vaccinated for.