Can a kitten transmit rabies from a scratch if it's healthy now?

The good news is that rabies is transmitted through bites/saliva and not scratches. If Ming was infected and shedding the rabies virus a month ago, then he would have died from the disease by now. Considering all of this, I think you should be safe, but it's best to consult with your physician if you have any further concerns. Below is a link to more information about rabies. https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/index.html I hope that helps and all is well.

Yes, it is true that an animal that can transmit rabies will die within 10 days. The animal is typically placed on a 10 day quarantine after the bite. If the animal lives beyond the 10th day, it was not shedding the rabies virus at the time that the bite occurred. Here is a link with more information. https://www.americanhumane.org/fact-sheet/rabies-facts-prevention-tips/ If you have any concerns with your health then you should contact your physician or local health department.

You should contact the health department or animal control in your area regarding your bite - they might recommend a quarantine for your cat to be sure there is no concern for rabies. No vaccine is 100% effective so while it is unlikely that the unvaccinated cat could transmit rabies to your cat it is possible. You should also probably contact your physician - cat bites often get infected!

Hello, this is a question best asked of a physician, not a veterinarian. In general, rabies is not transmitted by scratches as the virus is contained within the saliva. There is always a very small chance that some of the cats saliva was on your skin & the scratch drove it into the tissues, but this is very unlikely. Was the cat acting in a wild & unexplained way? There is a difference in a cat that may scratch out of fear or being defensive vs. being in the furious stage of rabies infection. I assume that the rabies vaccine that you speak of was for you, correct? If so, follow your physicians recommendations, but again, a scratch is very unlikely to infect you with the virus. Cats can be fed minimum amounts of human food, & this includes just about any meat, fish or vegetable we eat. Cats require specific amino acids in their diet which they get from fortified pet ( cat ) foods & hunting, so receiving only human food may not provide everything a cat needs. Make sure your cat eats some regular dry or wet cat food daily. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I am so sorry for the loss of your poor kitty. Her symptoms don't suggest she got infected with Rabies, but instead I suspect she was having a severe anaphylactic reaction to the vaccine, especially since her symptoms started within 24 hrs of her immunizations. The Rabies vaccine is NOT a live virus, so pets can't get rabies from the vaccine. Also even if a pet has a particular vaccine in the past, this does not mean they can't have a reaction in the future unfortunately. Also since the Rabies vaccine has clinically been shown to last a bit longer than the 1 year mark, your pet was likely still protected. Again I am sorry your pet was not able to recover from this sudden turn of events. I send my condolences to you and your family through this difficult time. And unless Scruff was exposed to a rabid animal within 10 days of being symptomatic, then rabies transmission is very unlikely, unless there is more to the story than what you have mentioned here. Feel free to request a private consultation if you need to discuss things further. Best wishes and take care.

Hi there! Without confirmation of rabies infection by very specific testing it is impossible to know with certainty if an animal or person has contracted the virus. With that said, rabies infection must be always be considered when an animal comes in contact with any unvaccinated/unknown or wild animal, especially if said animal is showing neurological signs. Signs of infection typically do not occur until 5 days post initial infection. Rabies is transmitted through saliva/bites, ingestion of an infected animal, urine, and through an infected mothers milk. While it does not sound like there was any penetrating wounds, I highly recommend that you contact your regular veterinarian as soon as possible to discuss how to proceed, as the laws regarding handling potential rabies cases vary from state to state. If Scarlett is up-to-date on her rabies vaccine she may need to receive another rabies vaccine and/or be quarantined for a period of time as a precaution. Remember that people can also become infected with rabies, therefore be sure that you limiting your contact with Scarlett as well as the stray cat until you speak with your regular vet and discuss a plan moving forward.

The rabies virus is transmitted through bodily fluids such as saliva, so there would be a higher chance of contracting it from a bite. But any wound which comes into contact with saliva would be a risk.