Rabid Cat Behavior

Humans can contract rabies if bitten by a rabid cat. Pet Education.com reports that one person dies from rabies every 10 minutes worldwide. These numbers aren't quite as staggering in places where the common practice is to have cats vaccinated against rabies to prevent the disease.

  1. Significance

    • Rabies is generally transmitted to cats through saliva when another rabid animal bites a non-infected cat. Fortunately, cats are only "mildly susceptible" to contracting rabies, and a human bitten by a rabid cat only has a 15 percent chance of contracting the disease.

    Time Frame

    • Cats lick the bite wound constantly, and usually begin to show signs of rabies within two to six weeks from exposure. The virus spreads to the brain through the nervous system. The rabid cat is capable of transmitting the virus through its own saliva once the rabies has reached the brain.

    Types

    • Rabid cat behavior has three separate phases: prodromal, furious and paralytic. Prodromal cats switch personalities--friendly cats become aggressive and aggressive cats become docile. Anxiety, solitude and fever also accompany the prodromal phase, which usually lasts for one to two days.

    Warning

    • Cats are more prone to progressing into the furious phase than dogs. Cats in the furious rabid phase become irritable, restless and hypersensitive to auditory and visual stimuli. Furious rabid felines also begin to roam and become vicious. The cat eventually becomes disoriented, suffers seizures and dies.

    Effects

    • The paralytic phase occurs two to four days after the cat enters the prodromal phase. It can occur after either the prodromal or furious phase and signs include loss of appetite, salivation and inability to swallow, dropped jaw and facial paralysis and labored breathing. Cats suffering from the paralytic phase generally die of respiratory failure.

    Prevention/Solution

    • Once a cat is rabid, and the behavioral signs are present, there is no treatment and the animal eventually succumbs to the disease. Prevention with regular vaccination is critical in ensuring that a cat is not at risk of contracting rabies.