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fixaclm t1_ja3vulr wrote

They are notorious for carrying rabies, and people don't even realize they were bit a lot of times. There has only been one documented rabies survivor after symptoms start showing. You might want to think about getting the shots.

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LinaEveLina t1_ja4jm18 wrote

Updated- Let me add that my cats have always been vaccinated with the rabies shot. I should have added in the original comment that they were due that month for their shot again, after 3 years from their last vaccine. We ended up bringing them in earlier because I was worried. I know the importance of having them vaccinated for their own health and any human that comes in contact with them.

I'm in upstate NY. Over the summer, a bat had flown into my screened in porch. Both my cats had ran into the porch before we realized a bat was inside. My cats were not going to come inside once they spotted the bat. We couldn't do anything about it because it was flying around like you see on TV, all crazy and erratic. My cats ended up killing the bat. I was so worried I took my cats to the vet. I mailed the dead bat the bat to the health department where they would test to see if it carried rabies. Luckily, the bat didn't have rabies, so my babies were safe.

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jupitaur9 t1_ja7kcby wrote

Your cats don’t get rabies shots? They should.

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Cautious-Rub t1_ja853sp wrote

They absolutely should andit’s required by law in every state unless a veterinarian deems there is an anaphylactic risk and in some states there are no exemptions.

Not sure why you are getting down voted. I’ve had the same argument with clients for a decade “bUt ThEy DoNt Go OuTsIdE”. Doesn’t matter, it’s the law, and animals escape outside all the time; also do you want your unvaccinated pet to have to go on a 6 month round of quarantine if it bites someone? (Don’t give me that shit; if they have teeth they can fucking bite).

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LinaEveLina t1_jab0bie wrote

Of course they do. When all this happened, they were actually due that month for their shots again. Last shot was 3 years ago from that point.

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AuryxTheDutchman t1_ja4su9x wrote

There have been like two dozen survivors, but that’s out of thousands of cases. Mortality rate is almost 100%.

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fixaclm t1_ja57ir3 wrote

Yep. Looks like it. They really started counting since the girl in New England survived. I bet the shot would still be a good idea, though.

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Sackyhack t1_ja52obq wrote

They aren’t likely to carry rabies, however if you find one away from the rest of its group it may have rabies. They typically stay in groups but if one gets rabies they shun it from the pack.

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Feyranna t1_ja72aw6 wrote

Eh depends on particular species. Not all bats stay in a big pile lots spread out for hunting bugs which could easily lead to it winding up in a pool alone. Still would keep several layers of towel between me and it for safety and contact the local wildlife rescue. They can quarantine it.

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arsenix t1_ja6lg1r wrote

Bats pretty much never have rabies if they are flying around/healthy. People who get rabies from bats are typically picking them up off the ground when they are in the process of dying (ie POTENTIALLY JUST LIKE THIS ONE). I love bats but would never touch one!

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UngaBunga-2 t1_ja51klu wrote

theres have been 29 rabies survivors

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7266186/#sec1-1title

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inuhi t1_ja551ff wrote

It's not like they were taking naps outside they found it in a outdoor pool and probably got it out with a pool rake. They would know if they were bit in this situation.

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bulboustadpole t1_ja6rhkw wrote

That's pure fear-mongering.

Rabies cases in humans are extremely rare and only about 3-5 people a year in the United States die of it. The "didn't realize they were bit" is also bullshit and there are no cases I can find of it happening.

If unnoticed bites transmitting rabies was common, there would be more than 3-5 deaths a year in a country of 330,000,000 people.

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fixaclm t1_ja83i92 wrote

The woman from New England that lived (first documented case) got bit by a bat and didn't know it. Not fear mongering.

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