HEALTH-FITNESS

Public Health: Family pets can get rabies - are yours protected?

Kim Horton, communications manager, Henderson County Department of Public Health
Kim Horton

Do you have a cat or a dog or both? My pet family consists of an old white, blind male terrier/chihuahua mix, a new beagle/dachshund female whose age is unknown but seems to have puppy speed and energy, and an elderly calico cat who fortunately tolerates dogs but delights in ambushing the blind one.

As a pet owner, I appreciate the postcard I receive from the vet telling me that it’s time for a particular pet’s vaccine. If the notification lists that my pet is due for the rabies booster vaccine, I pay attention. I know that if I’m even one day late getting this vaccine, then my pet is not current with the law and is at risk for rabies.

North Carolina rabies law requires that all owned dogs, cats and ferrets must be vaccinated against rabies by four months of age. One shot is not enough; rabies vaccinations must be kept current and you must be able to show proof.

Rabies is a dangerous virus spread through the saliva of animals sick with rabies. Anyone can get it if they handle or get bitten by an animal that has the disease.

The Centers for Disease Control and Protection states that more than 90 percent of all rabid animals reported each year occur in wildlife. The animals that get rabies the most are raccoons, skunks, foxes and bats. In 2018, three bats and one raccoon in Henderson County tested positive for rabies.

Dogs have historically been associated with spreading rabies to people, but now more cats than dogs are reported rabid in the U.S. each year. The reason is that cats are often in close contact with both people and wild animals, including those that primarily spread rabies, like raccoons and bats. Because of this, rabies may be more easily spread to people from cats. What’s concerning is that cat owners are less likely to bring their cat to a veterinarian’s office for cat shots.

To make it easy for you to keep your pet current on the rabies vaccine, Henderson County Veterinarians, the Henderson County Department of Public Health and Henderson County Animal Services Center offer two reduced fee rabies vaccination clinics each year.

The first clinic is for cats and takes place the week of March 4-9. All cats four months of age and older require a current vaccine. Fifteen veterinary offices are participating, but you must call and make an appointment. The cost is $10 per cat.

The second clinic is for dogs and will be held May 6-11 by appointment only. Again, call one of the participating veterinary offices for an appointment to take advantage of the $10 cost per dog.

For everyone’s safety, please use a carrier to transport cats to their appointment and keep dogs leashed.

The unfortunate fact is that unvaccinated family pets can and do get rabies if they are bitten by rabid wild animals. Pets have a higher risk of encountering wild animals that may have rabies than people do. This increases the risk of rabies to us because of our close contact with our pets.

To help reduce this risk:

--Visit your veterinarian with your pet on a regular basis and keep rabies vaccinations up-to-date for all cats, dogs and ferrets.

--Maintain control of your pets by keeping cats and ferrets indoors and keeping dogs under direct supervision when outdoors.

--Spay or neuter your pets to help reduce the number of unwanted animals that may not be properly cared for or vaccinated regularly. A great low-cost resource for this is the Spay Neuter Incentive Program that spays or neuters companion animals belonging to Henderson County residents who meet certain requirements. Read more at: hendersoncountync.gov/animalservices/page/spay-neuter-incentive-program

--Call Animal Enforcement at 828-697-4911 to remove all stray animals from your neighborhood since these animals may be unvaccinated. Read more at hendersoncountync.gov/sheriff/page/animal-enforcement.

--Do not feed or water your pets outside and keep your garbage securely covered. These items may attract wild or stray animals.

For more information, dates and a list of participating veterinarians for the $10 Rabies Vaccination Clinics, visit hendersoncountync.org/health and click on Community Interest—Rabies Prevention.

Kim Horton is the communications manager for the Henderson County Department of Public Health. She can be reached at khorton@hendersoncountync.gov.