A nine-year-old pet cat living on a farm near the community of Longview has tested positive for rabies after it bit it’s owner and the owner’s child.
According to the Southern Alberta Veterinary Emergency, the Office of the Chief Provincial Veterinarian was notified about a pet cat that tested positive for rabies on November 13.
Officials say that the animal, born and raised at the home, exhibited aggressive behaviour and ended up biting the owner and the owner’s son.
Both sought medical attention after the encounter and commenced rabies post-exposure prophylaxis immediately.
Four other cats and two dogs that also lived at the home are now under a mandatory three-month quarantine and have been given post-exposure rabies vaccinations.
Experts with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency have found that the strain of rabies was most likely contracted from an infected bat that had come into contact with the unvaccinated animal.
So far this year, nine bats have tested positive for rabies following incidents where they came into contact with dogs, cats or humans.
The best protection against rabies is keeping your pet’s vaccinations up to date. Veterinarians say that by doing that, you can also prevent the threat of transmitting the virus between animals and humans.
