# Question about not taking cats to vet. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 9, 2006, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-not-taking-cats-to-vet/375837 "2006-10-09T21:03:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-not-taking-cats-to-vet/375837/21 "2006-10-11T15:17:20Z")
[QUOTE=RSSchen] Hmmm. Are we certain that rabies vaccinations are mandated for cats? When I took my newly-adopted feral to the vet for her first checkup that I paid for, he said that it was up to me. At the time, I was questioning whether she’d be inside-only or able to wander once in awhile. Doc told me that if there was a possibility that she’d get outside that she should get the shot. I imagined that yes, it would be _possible_ that she could escape and it would be in everyone’s best interest for her to be protected. But he in no way said it was mandatory. [/QUOTE] I’m not going to speak for California because I haven’t researched it, but it is mandatory in Georgia and Hawaii. Additionally - if your pet bites someone and is not up-to-date on vaccinations, you run a large chance of your animal being euthanized. If your animal has had vaccinations the authorities will usually do a 10 day quarantine. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-not-taking-cats-to-vet/375837/22 "2006-10-11T19:32:27Z")
Re: rabies vaccs - even if it isn’t required by state law (I am fairly sure it is in WI), it is an advantage to have it, honestly, rabies sucks and is so preventable. Never say never about a cat getting out or an intruder animal getting in. [QUOTE=SnakesCatLady] Additionally - if your pet bites someone and is not up-to-date on vaccinations, you run a large chance of your animal being euthanized. If your animal has had vaccinations the authorities will usually do a 10 day quarantine. [/QUOTE] ^^ That too. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-not-taking-cats-to-vet/375837/23 "2006-10-11T20:06:55Z")
[QUOTE=SnakesCatLady] I’m not going to speak for California because I haven’t researched it, but it is mandatory in Georgia and Hawaii. Additionally - if your pet bites someone and is not up-to-date on vaccinations, you run a large chance of your animal being euthanized. If your animal has had vaccinations the authorities will usually do a 10 day quarantine. [/QUOTE] AFAIK, rabies vaccinations aren’t required for cats in California. I insist on getting them for my cats, though. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-not-taking-cats-to-vet/375837/24 "2006-10-11T20:21:50Z")
[QUOTE=Anne Neville] AFAIK, rabies vaccinations aren’t required for cats in California. I insist on getting them for my cats, though. [/QUOTE] It looks like it goes by [county in CA](http://www.acr.saccounty.net/rabies-clinics/index.html). From the link: “It is a Sacramento County regulation that all dogs and cats over four months of age be vaccinated for rabies and licensed.” ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-not-taking-cats-to-vet/375837/25 "2006-10-11T20:43:56Z")
[QUOTE=SnakesCatLady] **To RSSchen, Location: SF Bay Area, CA, USA:** I’m not going to speak for California because I haven’t researched it, but it is mandatory in Georgia and Hawaii. [/quote] Good thing, because it is not mandatory for cats in California. > [@](#): > > [ODA : About Animal Health, Feeds, and Livestock Identification : Animal Health, Feeds, and Livestock Identification : State of Oregon](http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/AHID/animal_health/dog_cat_import.shtml) > > Rabies vaccination is required for cats by all states, except Arizona, California, Illinois, Iowa, and Oklahoma. > [@SnakesCatLady](#): > > Additionally - if your pet bites someone and is not up-to-date on vaccinations, you run a large chance of your animal being euthanized. No he doesn’t. In California, this is what would happen to **RSSchen’s** cat if it bit someone: > [@](#): > > [Laws and Regulations Relating to > RABIES > Excerpts from the > California Health and Safety Code > and the > California Code of Regulations](http://www.dhs.ca.gov/dcdc/disb/pdf/Rabies%20law%20and%20regs.pdf#search=%22feline%20rabies%20vaccination%20requirements%20california%22) > > **(2) Isolation of Biting Animals**. At the discretion of the local health officer any animal which bites or otherwise exposes a person shall be isolated in strict confinement in a place and manner approved by the local health officer and observed for at least 14 days (dogs and cats 10 days) after the day of infliction of the bite, with the exception that the following alternative to the 10 day isolation of dogs and cats is permitted – dogs or cats which have been isolated in strict confinement under proper care and under observation of a licensed veterinarian, in a pound, veterinary hospital, or other adequate facility in a manner approved by the local health officer, may be released from isolation by the local health officer after five days of veterinary observation if upon conducting a thorough physical examination on the fifth day or more after infliction of the bite, the observing veterinarian certifies that there are no clinical signs or symptoms of any disease. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, a local health officer may authorize, with permission of the owner and other legal restrictions permitting, the euthanasia of a biting animal for the purpose of laboratory examination for rabies using the fluorescent rabies antibody (FRA) test in an approved public health laboratory. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-not-taking-cats-to-vet/375837/26 "2006-10-11T23:38:22Z")
[QUOTE=Shayna] Good thing, because it is not mandatory for cats in California. No he doesn’t. In California, this is what would happen to **RSSchen’s** cat if it bit someone: [/QUOTE] I suspect that, as **romansperson** noted, county laws supercede the state law. I know that Illinois does not have a state law for rabies vaccination of ferrets, but Cook County does, and Dane County does not. The vet I take my ferrets to requires Cook County residents to get yearly rabies vaccinations for their ferrets. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-not-taking-cats-to-vet/375837.md?page=1)