How long before I know if my cat has rabies?

Question

So.. we recently adopted a straty cat.. one that was found in the woods of national state park. The cat seemed extremely tame, craved human attention and responded as a domestic cat would. We immediately took this new addition to the 24 hour vet to have him checked out and all shots... while there, he bit his new found owner on the finger in an effort to get to food. We of course were advised to immediately receive rabies vaccinations since the status of rabies was unknown and the cat had been found in the wild. Now the question is... 10 days is considered the "quarantine" period but all the literature indictes that the rabies virus can "incubate" over a much longer period of time... how long do we really have to watch the cat? Should we be concerned? There is some snappy behavior recently in response to human petting, but othertimes completely affectionate. This of course could be normal cat behavior -- leave me alone right now -- but we still wonder.......

Answer 1

Please don't wait; go to the VET....

Answer 2

A vet once told me that he'd never heard or read of a case of feline rabies that took more than two weeks to become symptomatic. Cats often show symptoms within hours of infection.

Chances are your new kitty doesn't have rabies. BUT, keep in mind that in the entire history of human medicine there are only three (3) known cases of humans surviving rabies once it became symptomatic. One was a recent case of a girl in Canada whose treatment involved being put into an induced coma for months, and she is apparently not expected to ever make a full recovery.

If rabies is present in your local area, even if it's not very common, I would strongly recommend that you get the shots. I would in your position. You just can't be too careful about rabies.

I would also suggest that you NOT tell the treating facility or practitioner how you got bit. They will want to kill kitty and send the head for testing, and depending where you live, the law may require that. Tell them you got bit by a feral that ran away and escaped. Maybe even say it was something other than a cat, if there are any critters in your area that have teeth about the same size as a cat's. Maybe a skunk or a small racoon...

Answer 3

Statistically the incidence of rabies in cats is very low even for those who live in the wild. The 10-day period is standard at shelters if a cat bites someone.

Since the cat itself did not have any symptoms of rabies he is probably not infected. Have you checked out wikipedia for information?

Answer 4

the once a year shot your puppy receives from the vet contains a rabies vaccine to boot as different vaccinations necessary for the well-being of your puppy. So, it even although the vaccine is likely nonetheless helpful for some time after one three hundred and sixty 5 days it may nicely accept each and every three hundred and sixty 5 days even as they get their examine up.

Answer 5

yes it can incubate for longer but once the symptoms start to show then its faster...
I assume your cat is under the manditory rabies hold and a special vet will come to look at him and release him when ready
he probably had an owner at one time and was abandoned in the park - hopefully he was given a rabies shot earlier in his life

Answer 6

rabies make the animal react to noise like it bothers or hurts the animal so notice how he does around noise.will make it bite or get aggrasive,foaming from the mouth.but i doubt he has rabies just doesnt sound like it but thats what the vet is for.

Answer 7

You should be fine.

And every animl has different personailities. I had a cat that would love all over you till you pet her then she was known for taking hunks of flesh.

Be sure to get him neutered it will help domesticate him and the sooner the better so he doesn't strat spraying in your house.

Answer 8

All you need to know about rabies:
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=1&cat=1316&articleid=346

Answer 9

in a week or two