One of the most dangerous diseases affecting both people and animals is rabies. Its pathogen disrupts the nervous system, cells of the brain and spinal cord. Unfortunately, today there is no medicine that would completely cure patients. Only preventive measures have been developed. The features of the course of this infection, its types and symptoms are described in sections of the article.
General characteristics of the virus
The microorganism that causes the disease does not tolerate the effects of the environment. Under the influence of low temperatures, it remains viable for only four months, and then dies. In dead bodies, the pathogen is present for several weeks. The virus is also destroyed as a result of boiling, the action of alkali, formalin. The victim of the disease can be both a person and an animal. The sources through which the microorganism enters the cells of the body are salivary secretions. Therefore, if you process clothing that has been exposed to drops of this liquid with the above substances, the risk of infection is excluded. You can also boil things. Then the virus will die.
Both wild animals and pets suffer from this disease.
The article is about rabies in cats, symptoms, types, prevention of this danger.
When are signs of malaise?
The causative agent can be in the body of the victim for six to twelve days. However, there are no symptoms of the disease. Then it begins to infect nerve cells. The microbe enters the salivary ducts approximately five days before the moment when the first signs of infection are detected in the animal or person.
The incubation period for rabies in cats is two to three weeks. After this period, severe symptoms of malaise occur.
However, sometimes the disease manifested itself only a few months after the microbe enters the cells of the body.
How does infection happen?
Pets can become a victim of infection, especially if they walk a lot in the wild. For example, an animal receives the virus through the bite of a sick beast (fox, wolf, raccoon, badger). Infection carriers are small rodents (squirrels, rats, mice), as well as hedgehogs and ferrets. Therefore, when hunting, eating such a prey, the pet is likely to get sick. However, not only wild representatives of the fauna can infect a pet with a deadly virus. The source of the microorganism is sometimes goats, rabbits, horses, dogs.
Unfortunately, a rabies vaccination for a cat is not a guarantee of complete safety in the future.
Characteristic symptoms
There are several common signs that indicate the presence of infection in the animal. Among them can be listed:
- A strange, atypical manner of behavior.
- Increased saliva.
- Negative reaction to water and its sound.
In wild animals, the disease does not manifest itself as in pets. And if with rabies in cats the symptoms usually include anger and irritability, the inhabitants of the forest, on the contrary, become too bold and trusting. They can approach a person, try to contact with him. However, do not iron such a squirrel or a fox. Most likely, the animal is infected.
The owner of the cat needs to be immediately alert when a pet develops tendencies for attack and aggression. For example, if a four-legged friend throws himself at a sleeping master or jumps on people from elevations. A pet may bite or scratch for no reason. This means that changes have begun in his body. Unfortunately, a single answer to the question of how to determine rabies in a cat in the first stage does not exist. After all, it is absolutely not necessary that she will behave strangely or embittered. Sometimes the signs of infection resemble problems with the intestines, poisoning, getting a foreign object into the digestive tract. In such cases, it is very difficult to determine the presence of this particular virus.
Early stage of fatal infection
When the incubation period of rabies in cats ends, the first signs of the disease are detected. The animal becomes lethargic, eats little, interacts poorly with the outside world. In the absence of interest in food, it with pleasure absorbs objects from wood, straw, pebbles. The area of the body that has been bitten is itchy and inflamed. The beast grows anxiety, suspicion and excitability. The pet can constantly turn around, listen, attack the owners for no apparent reason. This is explained by the fact that the virus affects the cells of the nervous system. This condition lasts no more than four days. Then there are pronounced signs of the disease.
Varieties of rabies
There are several options for this fatal infection:
- Atypical. It is characterized by the appearance of vomiting and loose stool with an admixture of blood. Such a disease can be confused with inflammation of the stomach or intestinal virus. With this form, the pet’s well-being worsens, exhaustion and death occur.
- Easy. This type does not lead to a pronounced and prolonged malaise. However, the owner notices a sharp change in the mood of the pet (obsession, excessive tenderness). This variety does no less harm than others, and the disease still ends with the death of the animal.
- Violent form. She is considered the most formidable. With such rabies in cats, symptoms include anger, anxiety, and irritability. Animals become dangerous to others. They can bite other animals as well as owners. Therefore, this type of disease requires immediate contact with a veterinarian.
The stage of the most dangerous type of disease
An infection of this kind can torment an animal for eleven days. It is characterized by pronounced malaise. With the most formidable type, signs of rabies in cats develop as follows:
- At the first stage there is lethargy, attempts to hide, to get away from communication. Sometimes the animal is too active. There is a decrease in interest in food, there may be diarrhea, vomiting reflex, fever.
- The second stage is characterized by the appearance of anger, the desire to bite and scratch. The beast does not recognize its owners. Attempts to reassure him, threats and voice enhancement do not affect behavior. The cat attacks the owners and other pets. She can run away from home and travel long distances. There is an increased separation of saliva. It is difficult for the animal to consume water. The coat around the mouth becomes moist, rolled up and greasy.
- When the disease goes into the last phase, the pet suffers from motor disorders. Paralysis covers the legs, eye muscles, and larynx (because of this, the pet is not able to swallow). Then comes a fatal outcome.
Other types of infection are not characterized by pronounced symptoms. However, disruptions in the work of the stomach and intestines, a strong separation of saliva, and refusal of food are soon discovered. The pet suffers from movement disorders, weakness, cannot swallow and soon dies. Symptoms of infection in cubs almost do not differ from those that occur in adult pets.
If you see signs of rabies in cats, you should contact the veterinary service.
Atypical disease development
Cases of a similar course of the disease are quite rare. Such an infection lasts up to six months. Moreover, sometimes the owners of the pet may seem that he is recovering. However, even at the first stages, the animal becomes weak, quickly gets tired, loses interest in food. Nausea, bouts of diarrhea with blood appear. Sometimes there is a delay in bowel movements. Convulsions of the whole body or its individual parts are observed. To determine the presence of the virus in this case is difficult even for veterinarians. Despite the long development of the disease, the pet still expects death. Here, both the medicine and the rabies vaccine for cats are powerless.
Threat to human health
Unfortunately, if the animal is sick, he can no longer be helped. The same statement applies to people. Therefore, one must be extremely careful when communicating with representatives of the fauna. Is there a danger to humans with rabies in cats? Of course, yes. However, even in cases when infected animals bite people, they manage to save these patients if they immediately go to the clinic.
You can save life only at the stage when there are no signs of the disease.
A person becomes infected from animals through salivary fluid. Discharges penetrate the cells of the body as a result of bites, scratches, injuries. If the virus enters the body, the patient has the following symptoms:
- Increased anxiety, anger, or tears for no apparent reason.
- Difficulties with speech.
- Muscle cramps.
- Visions, disorders of consciousness.
- Unusual body position while falling asleep.
- Feeling of fright.
- Violations of motor functions.
- Pain in the area of the body area that has been exposed to saliva.
- Laryngeal cramps. As a result of this phenomenon, the patient cannot take food and even water. In the future, he experiences a panic from the sight and sound of water, cups.
There is always a risk of rabies in a person after a cat bite. Therefore, if there is a risk of infection, the patient needs treatment in the form of injections. It should last about six months. This is the only way to secure your life.
What to do when a pet is diagnosed with a disease?
First of all, at the slightest suspicion of an ailment, the pet is sent to the isolation ward, where it is located for about ten days.
The doctor needs to find out if the animal is suffering from some other problem with similar symptoms (ingestion of a foreign object, inflammation of the intestine, concussion, parasites, lack of vitamins). For this, a thorough inspection is carried out. If rabies in cats does not show symptoms, they are given injections for prophylaxis and returned to the owner.
Unfortunately, in case of detection of a disease, the pet will have to be euthanized. If he is healthy, the doctor writes out the appropriate certificate. However, after a while, the pet will have to be shown to the veterinarian again and vaccinated.
There is no analysis for rabies in cats. The causative agent propagates only in the cells of the organs of the nervous system. It can be detected only by opening a dead body. The bodies of animals that had to be euthanized are usually burned. In this way, you can protect yourself from the spread of the virus.
How to prevent the disease?
You can not completely protect your pet from such misfortune. The microorganism that causes the infection has been known to science for many years. However, the experts failed to find a means to defeat the formidable virus. The rabies vaccine for cats is the only possible protection.
It does not provide a guarantee, but can significantly reduce the risk of infection. Such injections are done twice. Between injections you need to maintain a gap (14 days). Doctors do not recommend this procedure to young children under the age of three months. Do not expose females awaiting offspring or feeding them to such an event. Weakened pets who have recently suffered a serious illness and have not had enough time to recover, it is also better not to enter the medicine.
An adult rabies vaccination is given to a cat once a year.
Phenol-containing vaccine used to be used. However, the animals felt unwell after this injection. Today, doctors use a milder drug. In state veterinary hospitals, the procedure is free. Certain costs will require an improved version of the vaccine. It contains not only substances that protect against such an ailment, but also additional useful components. They are able to protect the cat from other equally dangerous diseases.
The owner needs to remember that if he takes a pet from the street, which in most cases is not vaccinated, he should keep the new resident of the apartment separately from other domestic animals. Shoes in which a person goes outside should be kept out of the reach of four-legged friends. After all, licking the surface of the boots, the animal risks becoming infected. If possible, it is necessary to limit the cat's communication with other representatives of the fauna (especially wild ones). However, some pets often walk in nature, in the country. However, even if the vaccinated pet has been bitten, an additional dose of the medicine given on time is likely to save his life.
conclusions
Rabies is one of the most formidable viruses that infects many of the world's inhabitants each year. The causative agent is able to exist for some time in the cold, as well as dead bodies, but then dies. You can stop the life of the microbe by boiling or exposure to phenol. Both animals and humans can become victims of this infection.
A radical means of dealing with it has not yet been invented. Once signs appear, the infected creature is guaranteed to die. The answer to the question whether cats suffer from rabies is affirmative. The virus enters their body after eating prey or bites (through saliva). There are several forms of the disease. The most dangerous of them is characterized by aggressive behavior, others by less defined symptoms (intestinal upset, salivation, lethargy). The animal suffers from infection for about 10 days, then there is paralysis and death. Rabies in domestic cats cannot be detected by analysis. The only measure to prevent this problem is a special vaccine.