Cat, Bat Play Prompts Rabies Shots, Boosters

COURT HOUSE – Cheryl McHale and her husband came home from celebrating their youngest daughter’s fourth birthday party at the Cape May County Park and Zoo April 19 to find a wild animal in their home.
“My husband thought our cat, Tiger Lily, was vomiting,” McHale said. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that Tiger Lily was playing with and biting a bat.
The bat most likely entered the house through a dormer in an attic space and Tiger Lily’s natural instinct kicked in. The bat got away from Tiger Lily and flew downstairs. “We managed to get it in a room and close the door.” Animal Control was called and retrieved the bat.
A few days later, April 22, the McHales got a call from Animal Control telling them that the bat had tested positive for rabies.
“The health department recommended we all (the family and pets) get rabies shots,” said McHale. “So we did.”
“In many cases you can’t really see a bat bite,” said Kevin Thomas, director of the Cape May County Health Department. “We always tell everyone involved with a bat to start prophylaxis preventative treatment. You may or may not have rabies. And once you have it, it’s too late. Humans have a very high mortality rate with rabies.”
In addition to getting their own shots, the McHales took Tiger Lily and their other cat and dog for booster shots.
“All day long, I tell people to get their animals vaccinated for rabies,” said Dr. David Hirsch of Parkway Veterinary Hospital. Hirsch said McHale did all the right things. She had her animals vaccinated when they were young. “We gave (Tiger Lily) a booster shot and sent them home. It’s very unlikely she’ll contract rabies.”
Even though Tiger Lily is strictly an indoor cat, McHale thought it important to have her vaccinated for rabies in the unlikely event that something like this might happen. “Just because your cat is indoors, doesn’t mean something like this can’t happen,” she said.
“When an animal that has not been vaccinated is exposed to rabies, that animal has to be quarantined for six months,” Hirsch said. “It’s so important for pet owners to have their animals vaccinated. Even if they are indoor pets. Bats, raccoons and other animals can get into the house.”
McHale’s cat was the third case the Health Department has seen this year. The other two cases, Feb. 13 and Feb. 26, involved raccoons that tested positive for the disease. Both cases occurred in Middle Township.
A county rabies-baiting program seems to have success. This is a program where the health department drops packets of Raboral V-RG from a helicopter around the perimeters of housing areas. Raboral V-RG is a vaccine that is combined with fishmeal in small packets. “The raccoons gobble them up and it works,” Thomas said.
The program, which began in the late 1990s, was in effect for many years but did not take place in 2012. The result was that 2013 showed 24 positive cases of rabies in Cape May County. When the program was picked up once again in 2013, the number of positive rabies cases in the county dropped significantly, down to just four in 2014.
The cost of the Raboral-VRG vaccine is $50,400 this year, which does not include helicopter or man-hour costs. Thomas said that sometime around the end of May, 33,560 of these packets will be dropped all throughout the county, with the exception of the barrier islands (where raccoons don’t tend to be).
“I want to stress the importance of giving pets rabies vaccines,” Hirsch said. “It’s one of the biggest health concerns I have with pet owners.”
Below are free rabies clinics sponsored by various municipalities for 2015. Owners do not have to reside in that municipality to take their pet to one of these clinics for a shot.
May 2: Stone Harbor, Stone Harbor Fire House
175 96th St., Stone Harbor
2-3 p.m.
May 16: Middle Township, Public Works Building
400 W. Mechanic Str., Court House
2-3 p.m.
May 16: Lower Township, Public Works
770 Seashore Road, Villas
9-11 a.m.
Sept. 26: Middle Township, Public Works Building
400 W. Mechanic Str., Court House
2-3 p.m.