Rabies is a particularly dangerous disease of domestic and wild animals and humans, which occurs with damage to the cells of the central nervous system of a sick body. Cats, like other animals, suffer from this disease. Domestic cats accustomed to the street have the opportunity to contact with a variety of animals, including those with rabies. This must be borne in mind and constantly monitor the health status of your pet.
Signs of
rabies in cats depend on the nature of the disease itself and are divided into three conventional forms - atypical, light and violent. The atypical form of the disease is manifested by atypical signs for rabies, and sometimes it is not accompanied by practically none at all. The animal may experience vomiting, diarrhea, and bloody discharge from the mouth. With this form of flow, rabies is very difficult to determine.
In a mild form, the clinical manifestation of the disease is also completely not characteristic of rabies. Typical signs of rabies in cats with this form are also practically absent. A cat is affectionate and playful. Suddenly, pharyngeal paralysis may occur, leading to the impression that the cat was choking on something. A person can become infected by trying to examine the animal’s throat or by trying to get a foreign object out of it. After pharyngeal paralysis, some symptoms characteristic of rabies appear, signs of excessive salivation, sagging of the lower jaw, phobia and paralysis of the limbs.
The first signs of rabies in cats with a violent form may be: lethargy, loss of appetite, excessive shyness and irritability. In the future, they develop into a pronounced aggression. At the same time, the animal grabs and gnaws inedible objects, sometimes breaking its teeth, tends to attack any moving target. An especially characteristic sign of rabies is rabies.
Fear is a characteristic very characteristic of rabies. It does not occur in any other disease. Even if there are no other signs of rabies in a cat, but there is a phobia, the diagnosis may be unambiguous. If a small amount of water is splashed onto the animal, the patient has a completely inadequate reaction - a fright bordering on hysteria.
An equally characteristic sign of rabies is the drive forward. A sick animal can run several tens of kilometers per day, biting and scratching everyone in its path.
It should be remembered that with any form of the disease in the saliva, the rabies virus appears 10 days earlier than any other signs of the disease. Thus, when a person bites a seemingly healthy animal, rabies infection is not excluded. In the following days, the cat should not have characteristic signs of rabies, in addition, the animal should not disappear, since the desire for running will be developed at a subconscious level under the influence of the disease.
Since signs of rabies in cats may or may not be present, in any cases of inappropriate behavior of the animal, it is necessary to conduct its veterinary examination to exclude rabies. This must be done in view of the extreme danger of the disease to humans. As well as animals, medical care for a bitten person can be provided only during the incubation period of the disease, that is, even before the first signs appear. After their detection, the disease is not amenable to treatment, therefore, the outcome will always be fatal.
When a cat returns from the street, does an examination of her body reveal bite marks or scratches? This is an occasion to contact a veterinary clinic for urgent measures that can prevent the onset of signs of the disease. The transmission of the pathogen from a sick animal to a healthy one occurs in most cases through bites. The pathogen can be transmitted through saliva in the event that a sick animal causes injuries with its claws, but from its mouth saliva gets on injured skin.
Laboratory diagnosis of rabies is difficult, and this is due to the difficulties of virological research. As a rule, research on rabies takes several weeks, and in some cases even months. Therefore, you can not wait for the results of laboratory tests. Waiting can take precious time, which is very limited and must be spent on healing activities.