Conference misery::feline_v1

    When will you find out if you have to go through the shots?
    
    Were you petting a stray cat?  (Sounds like something I would do)
    
    Thanks for the information.  Hope things go well for you.
    
    Regards,
    Barbara

    Even if the risk in RI is low, you should still try to bring the
    cat in for examination.  Rabies is nothing to fool with.  As you
    said in .0, once the disease has you, it's fatal.  (I believe there's
    one case of survival in recorded history.)
    
    The only reason I can see for gambling on this is if you believe
    you might have a serious reaction to the immunization shots.
    Otherwise, the series of shots is far less painful than the
    alternative.  I'd be very surprised if health officials would advise
    against the shots, except in Great Britain (where I believe rabies
    has been eradicated).
    
    
       Gary

    You're right, there is no rabies in the UK.  This is the reason
    for the strict quarantine laws.  But how long this will last once
    the Channel Tunnel has been built, is anyone's guess.
    
    Just out of interest, is rabies common in the US?  And do pet cats
    have rabies innoculation as a standard?
    
    To get of the point altogether, what innoculations do US cats have?
    My cats have annual vaccinations against Feline Infectious Enteritis,
    and Cat Flu (can't remember its proper name).
    
    Helen.

    It is very common (epidemic) in some areas' wild populations of
    mammals. Particularly beset are skunks, raccoons, squirrels, etc.
    They infect the feral cats and dogs, and who knows...
         
    Inoculations are mandatory in virtually all jurisdictions for household
    pets.
    
    Gary
    
    P.S. Do WHATEVER you can to keep clean - it will be worth it, no
         matter what the possible loss of tourist revenue.

    Are Rabies shots mandatory for cats?????  I know they require rabies
    vaccine to license a dog, but I didn't know that they were required
    for cats.
    
    I have given rabies shots to my cats only when taking them across
    the boarder to Canada to show.
    
    purrs
    cin
    

    Actually, I am not sure now that you ask.  We always have had them,
    and they are always inside cats.  It has been so long that I assumed
    (never...) it was required - it certainly has always been recommended.
    
    Gary

    I have been informed as follows by an unimpeachable source (my wife,
    who handles these matters):
    
    Maryland	  - Required
    Massachusetts - not certain
    New Hampshire - not certain
    
    Gary

    They are not required in Maine, N.H. or Massachusetts. I know that
    my parents vet gives it to all cats as a matter of "yearly shots",
    but down here in MA, my vet will always say "if the cat goes out
    he/she must have it, if the cat stays in, it is recommended just
    in case the cat ever gets out". I might add that he usually urges
    people to get the shots at the annual clinic for $5 instead of his
    office for $20.
    
    By the way, Waltham's annual clinic is Saturday 11 AM to 3 PM at
    the civil defense building on Lexington St. (just off Rt. 20). 
    My 6 cats will be traveling there, two at a time (saving me $90).
    
    Deb 

    There is a rabies clinic in Merrimack, NH at the Town Ambulance
    Garage on Friday, April 8 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m..  
    
    Other services provided include :
    	Parvo (dogs)
    	Distemper (dogs & cats)
    	Heartworm screening (dogs)
    	Pet licensing.
    
    Inoculations/booster vaccinations are $8.00 each.  For more information
    you can call (603)429-2099 or (603)424-2765.

    ref 1242.3 - I also have these misgivings about the Channel Tunnel.
    
    I object to it on a number of grounds but the principal one is the
    above.  I can just remember rabies scares in Britain where large
    areas of wildlife and pet animals were decimated.
    
    Does anyone know what provision they are making for wandering French
    wildlife?  (They must surely have taken five minutes out from the
    profit motive to consider things like this).
    

    MA, NH, and ME may not require rabies shots, but my vet made it very
    clear that they would not treat my cat without complete innoculations,
    including rabies vaccinations.  My previous vet omitted the rabies shot
    for my indoor cats only on my strong insistence, but against their
    preferencwe. 
    
    I can understand why a vet would want every cat treated to have a
    rabies shot.  They are probably scratched by more pets than anyone! 

    in re .11
    
    Isn't rabies spread by biting not scratching?
    
    Bonnie

Contact with saliva of infected animal into any open cut will do the trick.
Therefore, a scratch (which infers close contact with the scratcher) is
considered a dangerous situation requiring medical intervention.