Several points in an article by Dr. Dan A. Hudson, D.V.M., and me that you published in 1993 bear repeating and emphasizing, as the restraint of cats is being discussed. We pointed out that generations have grown to maturity in North Carolina who have not known the dread that was once associated with rabies. Rabies was dreaded because it was, as it still is, a fatal disease. Rabies cannot be cured, but it can be prevented.
Rabies is now present in wildlife, and roaming cats are more likely than dogs to be bitten by rabid bats, raccoons, foxes and skunks. Cats are the most dangerous of domestic animals when they become rabid, because of their tendency to attack suddenly from hiding, and because of the violence and ferocity of their attack.
State and county laws require the immunization of cats as well as dogs against rabies. They are not vaccinated primarily for their own protection, but for the protection of humans.
