Feline Rabies Prevention

Feline rabies is always fatal. The deadly effects of the rabies virus are carried through the saliva of other animals. Your cat cannot contract rabies simply from being around an animal that is carrying the rabies virus; however, he can be infected if he is bitten by an animal that is carrying it. The only way to avoid this deadly virus in your cat is to take the appropriate preventative measures.

Rabies Vaccination

The best and most effective way that you can prevent rabies from affecting your cat is to have him vaccinated. The vaccination is actually required by law in most states and is required to be given to cats every year or two.

The rabies vaccination is actually the injection of a dead rabies virus into your cat. When the virus enters the body, the immune system begins to create antibodies against it. The vaccination becomes effective by training the immune system how to react to this foreign invader. If your cat were to be in a questionable situation while under the influence of the vaccination, the immune system would immediately begin to create these antibodies and the virus would be warded off.

The rabies vaccination is relatively cheap, in most cases only costing around $10 per year, and is a simple fix to a potentially fatal problem.

Keeping Your Cat Indoors

Another great way that you can keep your cat free of the rabies virus is by keeping him indoors. When your cat is indoors, you have the ability to supervise and know exactly what your he's getting into. Because your cat is inside the house, you also know that nothing in the home has the ability to infect him with the rabies virus.

When your cat is allowed to roam free outdoors, there is no limit to the amount of animals that he can come into contact with. Cats, dogs, squirrels, possums, rats and even raccoons are notorious for carrying this virus. If your cat happens to get into a fight with one of these animals, he can be infected with the rabies virus.

For these reasons, it is always best to keep your cat indoors to help avoid the spread of rabies.

Separate Food and Water Bowls

If your cat is allowed to run free outdoors, you should absolutely make sure that there is a separate, clean water source available for him to drink. The problem with outdoor cats is that you cannot stop them from drinking at other sources of water, such as from ponds or the neighbor's water dish. However, you can at least provide a clean source for them to drink from at your house.

Again, because the transmission of the rabies virus occurs only through the transmission of saliva, you need to ensure that your cat is the only animal drinking and eating from his food and water bowls.

 

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