So, lemme get this straight...The Putnam County Department of Health recognizes rabid feral cats pose a significant public health threat and to combat that has decided to coordinate efforts with cat rescue groups to implement a trap, neuter, return program which will also give the feral cat one rabies shot. One. One. One. One rabies shot and no boosters, no boosters, no boosters does NOT prevent a feral cat from catching and spreading rabies!
Are ya kiddin' me?
Will somebody please tell Putnam County Commissioner of Health Dr. Allen Beals the following.....New York State Law requires cats to be vaccinated against rabies within 4 months of birth AND given a booster shot within the year AND given booster shots every 1-3 years thereafter depending on the type of vaccine for the entire life of the cat! Even a cat that is current with all of those boosters is still required to get yet another rabies booster shot within 5 days of contact with a suspected rabid animal. A cat that is not current with it's booster shots is required by NYS law to be euthanized or quarantined.
True, this NYS law does not apply to feral cats but shouldn't it?!
In the interest of public health, if domestic cats are required by NYS law to have regularly scheduled rabies booster shots and another shot within 5 days of contact with a suspected rabid animal, why then are feral cats not subject to the same laws and guidelines? Do feral cats not need as many rabies shots as domestic cats to protect them, other wildlife, pets, and people from rabies? Do feral cats in a TNR program receive one MAGIC shot that protects them for life from rabies?
The unnaturally existing huge numbers of feral cats in NYS makes it even more crucial for feral cats to be completely protected from rabies because there is a much greater chance they would come in contact with other wildlife, pets, and people! 8-year-old Precious Reynolds who contracted rabies from a feral cat last year in a California schoolyard can attest to that.
And so this introduction of such a populous species that is not natural to the environment is changing the dynamics of how fast and how much rabies is spreading. Please see my blog entitled "Rabies Outbreak in Westchester County and the Connection to Feral Cats" for further clarification about this issue.
About a decade ago a mother raccoon dragged her two starving pups to my door in the middle of the day. So starving she couldn't even make milk for her own pups. Unwanted cats on my land had destroyed the complete food-chain. Just a handful of wildlife was left on my land. Everything else was just cats. This alerted me to just how bad the cat problem had become, and how devastating cats can be to any ecosystem. That mother and her 2 pups started me off on what ended up being a decade-long venture to restore the native wildlife back to my land. Toward the end of my wildlife restoration project, as many as 60 assorted raccoons, fox, opossum, skunk, and other assorted critters could be counted in my yard most evenings. The raccoons in particular, during whelping season especially, will forage any hour of the day. They do this to find a safe time-slot so they don't run into other raccoons which might harm their offspring. In fact, just 15 minutes ago I gave some cornbread to a raccoon that stopped by for a treat. It's well past sun-up. The animals that have visited my yard or home during the day (fox, skunks, raccoons, any hour of the day) have NEVER BEEN SICK NOR RABID. This is a senseless myth about daytime wildlife that needs to stop. No doubt started by some urban idiot who lives in their mommy's basement. Wildlife have it rough enough without you destroying perfectly healthy animals for no reason.
Read this fun story of what happens when you harvest an outdoor cat, vaccinate it, and then adopt it out to someone. www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/09/23/2631106/rabid-cat-adopted-from-wake-county.html Even vaccinating your own outdoor cat against rabies won't prevent it from finding the nearest rabid bat or other small mammal dying on the ground from rabies, to rip it to shreds for its daily cat's play-toy. Then bringing back a mouthful or claws full of fresh rabies virus to you, your family, neighbors, other pets, or other animals. ANY cat allowed outdoors can transmit rabies to others, vaccinated or not.
The Direct Connection Between Raccoon to Cat Infection of Rabies Based on the information from the Wadsworth Center Rabies Laboratory, 2011 Rabies Summery, the direct correlation between raccoon to cat infection of rabies is undeniable. You may conclude that if rabies is stopped in raccoons, cats will less likely be infected. “All rabid cats submitted to the rabies laboratory during 2011 were infected with the raccoon variant of rabies virus.”… . page one report: 2011 RABIES ANNUAL SUMMARY, Wadsworth Center Rabies Laboratory New York State Department of Health, Robert J. Rudd I respectfully suggest the county take into consideration the Cornell University, Nassau and Suffolk Counties Raccoon Rabies Project as a vetted, successful way to stop rabies in raccoons in Westchester & Putnam County, there by reducing the chance that family cats, abandoned and homeless cats will contract rabies. Bats are still the second highest positive testing. And it must be noted that there are less animals tested overall. The percentage of rabid raccoons is down overall because of the successful wildlife vaccination program.
Issa a 22 may be better than a shot gun, but still kill it, protect your hand with a glove or rag bag it and bury it, the virus will die shortly after the host is dead...
http://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2009/07/articles/animals/cats/leave-the-rabid-cat-at-home-next-time/ I'm not opposed to TNR in rural areas where the cats won't infringe on the rights of neighbors, but the trend in animal welfare seems to ignore the public safety part of the equation, and is dangerously encouraging TNR in our urban and suburban neighborhoods. I can accept TNR in a suburban setting if there is a community buyin, BUT only if it includes microchipping and registration to ensure it is monitored properly, and that should even be limited to semi-social cats that can be trapped for re-vaccination.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qSHNx2cH2I&feature=relmfu So in addition to the TNR dangers that are already becoming apparent to many, we will also be faced with the dangers of dogs at-large when owners dump their pets because shelters won't take them. It's sad that we are taking such large steps backwards in animal welfare. One only needs to see a picture of an emaciated dog who has been on his own, or a sickly feral cat with ulcerated eyes from infection to see that this trend is not only bad for public safety, but also for the animals that suffer at the hands of misguided policies like TNR and limited intake for shelters.
The other disturbing part is the fact that I fenced my yard as a responsible dog owner to keep my animal from running at large. But if one of their cats is in my yard and my dog goes after, even though he's always up to date with his shots, he will still be punished with a 45 day quarantine due to free roaming cats, whether feral or not. Yes, a raccoon or possum can also come in my yard, but in 5 years at my current residence we have had 1 possum, but multiple near calls with cats. And rabies is not the only issue. One swat by a cat at the eyes, and my dog suffers for it, and I will bear the financial burden. That's exactly why TNR always fights vehemently against microchipping. They don't want to accept responsibility for their actions.
Please check out my newest blog for another side to the rabies issue..."Undiagnosed Human Rabies Deaths?" And thank you for all your informative comments and links!