Rabies shot for an outdoor cat?

There isn't a difference in the actual vaccine for the 3 year and 1 year rabies vaccine, it's just based on local laws, how prevalent rabies is in the area, the age of the cat, and previous rabies vaccines, if any. The first rabies vaccine given is good for 1 year. After that, it depends on where you live if it's considered good for 1 year or 3. In places like California, where rabies is nearly nonexistant, it's good for 3 years, and in some areas isn't even mandatory by law. In places in the midwest, south, or east coast of the US, it will be considered good for only one year, since rabies is fairly common. They vet's office that gave it should have it in the paperwork.

While any mammal can technically carry and contract rabies, chipmunks are not common rabies carriers. If she left part of the animal, you can call your vet's office for instructions on what to do with the dead chipmunk to have it tested by the state lab. Do NOT touch it with your bare hands! The head must also be intact for testing to be done for rabies, as it involves examining the brain.

A rabies vaccine after exposure won't do any good. Protocol after suspected rabies exposure is to quarrantine and observe the animal for 10 to 14 days, depending on where you live. You can pretty much do this at home. Just keep the kitty inside and away from other animals and kids. If she starts showing any weird symptoms, get her to the vet. There is no test for rabies that can be done on a live animal. Vaccines do last longer than 1 year in some cases, though not all. If you want, you can take the kitty to the vet for a vaccine titer, to check the level of vaccine still in her system.

Unless the chipmunk was acting strange or seemed sick, it is highly unlikely it had rabies. As for updating kitty's shots, most vet offices will require an exam with vaccines, as it can be unsafe to vaccinate an animal that is not totally healthy. Most areas have vaccine clinics that are open a few days a week, either at a vet office for clinic hours, or at pet supply stores. Most vaccines run between $10 and $20 apiece. If she hasn't been updated on her other shots, she should definitely also have an FVRCP (5 in 1) and Felv (feline leukemia) vaccine, and possibly an FIV shot if she likes to fight or play with strange cats. These will protect her from potentially fatal diseases she can catch from other outdoor cats.

Note: There are several different manufacturers of both modified live and killed virus vaccines. Different vets have different opinions of safety and effcacy. A vet office will generally carry one kind that they mark as either one or three years based on above info. I actually have completed tech school, gotten certified, and worked in real vet offices for 12 years, as well as the three years before that. If I wanted to sound important I would have picked initials that pay better! whem in doubt call the vet and ask what wa given. It's easy to look up.

Actually, all the answers you have received are wrong.

The first rabies vaccine a cat gets is good for one year no matter what type of vaccine it is.

Now for the tricky part: There are two types of rabies vaccines. One is a killed virus vaccine - it's cheap but it has the risk of causing cancer. It is good for one or three years depending on whether you live in a rabies endemic area or not. If you have a lot of rabies, they vaccinate every year. If you don't, they vaccinate every three years. Vets that still use this vaccine are "behind the times" because there is a BETTER vaccine available that does not cause cancer.

The other type of rabies vaccine is a recombinant vaccine called "Purevax." It does NOT cause cancer. It lasts for one year. It is expensive compared to the cheap vaccine. Most "quality" veterinarians use this vaccine - or at the very minimum educate their clients and give them a choice as to whether they want the cheap vaccine (longer lasting, less expensive with cancer risk) or the more expensive vaccine (shorter acting, more expensive but SAFE).

Doing vaccine titer tests, as the other poster suggested, is extremely expensive for rabies. It would cost over $200. There are only two or three labs in the country that perform this test - one is at Kansas State University. This is what you have to do if you want to export your pet to a rabies free island such as Australia. In a nutshell, that "RVT" is trying to sound important but has no common sense.

There is no problem re-vaccinating a cat even if they are current on their rabies - which this cat is NOT.

Thank you for caring for this kitty! Just take her to the vet and they will know what to do. :-)

The vaccines do last longer than 1 and 3 years, though as more time goes by it would reduce the efficiency. A one year shot would not be protecting the cat 5 years later, for instance, though some titers may still be in the blood.

The shots cost $18 here.

if your cat is strictly indoors, it would be wonderful to get rabies. They get rabies from bites from an contaminated animal. inspect alongside with your vet, the cat become as quickly as maximum often vaccinated while she become as quickly as spayed. Cat bites can nevertheless be volatile. Their tiny tooth push the micro organism on your epidermis into the wound, then it closes up once you communicate approximately that the puncture is so small. this could reason an awfully unfavourable ailment. it will be a in simple terms splendid concept to have a surgeon study the bites. Be especially careful if there is any redness, swelling, warmth, or soreness. never %. up or attempt to relief a nervous or annoyed cat, which you will be able to desire to get bitten. If the cat is injured, use leather-based gloves, hide her head with a towel. placed her in a service and take her to a vet. If she is perplexed or scared, leave her on my own. she will come to you while she is over her hassle.

Once they get kitten shots they are good for life. Core vaccines last a lifetime. I mean think about it. People don't get vaccinated every year/3years except for the flu but the flu is always changing. Rabies is not. If you don't feel comfortable with that you can get vaccines more often but I wouldn't give it more than every 3 years and that's just because its required by law (though I don't get my cats vaccinated anyway but they are indoor cats and are not going to bite anyone or cause problems). Here is vaccine info

http://www.catinfo.org/?link=vaccines