Talk to Your Kids About Meth

Methamphetamine (or meth) has reached all corners of the country, moving from rural areas to cities and suburbs. Television stories have reported on mobile meth labs parked across the street from schools. You may live in a "nice" neighborhood, but there may be meth labs in your neghborhood.

Your kids are the pusher's target. While some kids know about the dangers of meth, others don't know what it can do to their bodies. If you haven't talked to your kids about meth do it today. Even if you're talked to them, share these facts with your kids and grandkids.

* Meth is made from toxic stuff: paint solvent, engine starter, gasoline additive, brake cleaner, cement cleaner, drain cleaner, battery chemicals, to name a few.

* One-time meth use may cause instant addiction, according to the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

* Meth causes permanent damage to the blood vessels in the brain. In other words, it makes you stupid.

* The chemicals in meth rot teeth and turn them into black stubs, a condition called "meth mouth." Eventually your teeth fall out.

* Meth causes a dangerous surge in blood pressure and heart rate.

* Meth use also causes dangerously high fever (as high as 110 degrees) and may lead to convulsions.

* Long-term meth use can lead to stroke.

* Meth makes you so jittery you can't sleep. Soon you're tired all the time, not a good match for learning or sports.

* Chronic meth use makes you anxious, depressed, and paranoid.

* Long-term meth use can cause permanent psychological damage.

* Chronic users think "crank bugs" are crawling under their skin, so they pick at their skin and scratch constantly, causing ugly red sores.

* Meth users smell like cat urine.

* Long-term use causes extreme anorexia and makes you look like a walking skeleton.

* Meth makes you look really old really fast.

Because meth is made with toxic chemicals, illegal labs can blow up without warning. Just being near a meth lab is dangerous. If you come across one, do not touch anything, leave as fast as you can, and call 911.

Copyright 2009 by Harriet Hodgson.

Lymphadenopathy - What Are Some Basics on This Condition?

Lymphadenopathy is a term commonly used to describe lymph nodes that are enlarged or swollen. The literal meaning of the word means "disease of the lymph nodes." It is slightly different than lymphadenitis, which is inflammation, however, the difference between the two conditions is rarely made in actual practice. Causes for the condition can be any one or more out of many possibilities, some of which are mentioned later in this article.

There are two forms of the disease, one of which is localized lymphadenopathy. In this case, a particular location of infection can lead to the swelling. On the other hand, in generalized lymphadenopathy, an infection throughout the body can lead to enlarged nodes in various locations. PGL, the "persistent" form of the general type, can stay for a long time with no known cause.

The potential causes of enlarged lymph nodes are numerous. For this article, we a few are introduced. Tumors and cancers are one section of possibilities, including items such as both Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, breast cancer, hair cell leukemia, neuroblastoma, and others. Some bites from venomous snakes and spiders can also bring it about. An acute or chronic infection also can in some cases, such as infectious mononucleosis, cat-scratch disease, and toxoplasmosis.

Treatment methods are often aimed at the underlying medical cause behind the lymphadenopathy. Additionally, symptomatic treatment may be desired by some in order to make the symptoms easier to go through. The main symptom of the condition is the swollen lymph nodes, however, other such as fever are also possible.

Cat Bites - Dangers and Disease

Myth: You can't get a disease from a bite from your own cat.

Fact: Anyone can get an infection from any cat bite.

Cats carry a germ called Pasteurella multocida in their mouths, a bacterium that can cause severe infections in humans. Both humans and animals have a mouthful of germs, but normally the body's own immune system keeps them in their place. The skin is one of the most important natural barriers. When this is disrupted by a bite, especially a puncture wound, bacteria are introduced into the deeper tissues, where they are nourished by a constant supply of blood. Cat teeth are often sharp and needle-like, and may penetrate to underlying tendons and ligaments, where infection can endanger the use of the effected limb.

Any cat bite should be cleaned immediately with soapy water and rinsed for several minutes. Even with thorough cleansing, infection is likely. However, taking antibiotics before signs of infection develop does not seem to decrease the likelihood of a wound becoming infected.

Infections from cat bites spread quickly, especially when the bite wound is on the hand. Within hours redness, swelling, pain, and warmth may develop at the site of the wound. A red streak may extend upwards as inflammation spreads along the lymphatic channels and veins that lead away from the wound. If these symptoms occur, call your doctor right away. He may decide to offer you an antibiotic over the phone, or more likely will want to see you. Either way, you will need an antibiotic. Penicillin or amoxicillin left over from a sore throat or ear infection is not likely to be effective. If you decide to wait a few days and see how things develop, you're likely to end up in the hospital on intravenous antibiotics.

Cats carry other diseases as well. Cat scratch disease is caused by Bartonella henselae. Infection with this organism produces a crusted, red bump or pustule at the site of the cat scratch or bite within 3 to 10 days of exposure. Swollen glands develop within the next 2 weeks. Bites on the arm or hand produce swollen glands in the armpits, whereas those on the lower extremities cause lymph nodes in the groin to swell. Along with the swollen glands comes fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, and headache. In general, no antibiotics are needed for this infection, which takes 2 to 5 months to resolve.

Contracting rabies from an unvaccinated cat is a possibility. In the US, the highest incidence of cat rabies is clustered in the lower New England states. If your own cat bites you but has been vaccinated, the risk is practically nonexistent. If a ferrel cat bites you, you should contact your doctor or health department right away to see if you are a candidate for rabies immunization. If you wait until you have symptoms, you'll be dead soon. Don't skimp on immunizing your pet - spending $20 now could save you $2,000 or more in the long run.

Copyright 2010 Cynthia J. Koelker, M.D.

Cat Scratch Fever - What is It?

Bringing home a new kitten not only means exposing your kitten to your home, but exposing your pet health issues to your household as well. Kittens are notorious Petri dishes of bacteria and unwanted germs. While most people have images of the song when they hear the term Cat scratch fever, but it is a devastating and terrible bacterial infection which can be fatal in certain individuals.

The bacteria Bartonella henselae is responsible for cat scratch fever in humans, mostly in young children, as they are the ones who have the most contact with kittens. Though the infection is not limited to children only. Adults can contract the infection which causes lymph nodes in the body to swell profusely. While the bacterium has limited stress on pet health, it can be fatal in immune compromised individuals and children.

A cat can become infected with the bacterium through a flea bite, which is why flea control is so important in pet health care. Most individuals contract the bacterium through a scratch or bite from kitten, though some adult cats can expose people to the bacterium. The bacterium is passed into the cat through a flea bite but does not affect the cat in any certain terms. The cat can live with the bacteria their entire life with the bacteria simply living as a flora of their system. It lives within the saliva of the feline and can only be transmitted to a human when saliva comes into contact with broken skin. This is why kitten bites are likely to expose a person to the bacteria. Since kittens are more likely to play and bite, they are more likely to expose their owners to the bacteria. However, once a person is exposed to the bacteria, they will be immune to future exposure.

While the bacterium does not affect pet health, what it can do to human health is agonizing. The person develops swollen lymph nodes that are tender to the touch and can be upwards to two inches in diameter. Depending on the location of the bite, the bacterium will infect surrounding lymph nodes, that is, if a person is bitten on the arm, the lymph nodes in the shoulder and neck area will become infected. A mild fever sometimes accompanies the swelling. The enlarged lymph nodes are generally the indication for diagnosis, though there are a few blood tests which can be run to search for the bacterium. However, if the bacterium is left untreated, it can spread into the liver, eyes and brain, causing greater infection and even seizures. While it can take some time to recover, most individuals make a full recovery with treatment.

There is little an individual can do to ensure their pet health is not exposed to this bacterium. The only thing pet owners can do to prevent any exposure is proper flea control. As fleas can transmit many different bacteria which can affect pet health, it is a good idea to properly manage fleas with flea control. A topical flea control can help keep the little monsters off your cat and household treatments can eliminate and possible future attacks.

Feline Kidney Infection (Pyelonephritis)

Your felines kidneys play an important role and at approximately 20 percent of function is required for survival. I can tell you from firsthand experience that a feline kidney infection (especially in old and/or sick cats) if unrecognized, or recognized and left untreated, can strike quickly and become life threatening in a matter of days.

What to look for?

Every cat seems to react slightly different to a feline kidney infection but there are some common threads that are almost always present. First your pet will tend to have a change in energy and behavior. They will tend to want to be alone, and may not meet you at the door when you come home from work. You may also notice panting or labored breathing. Another common sign is a change in urinary odor (becoming pungent) and voiding in inappropriate places, finding a pool of urine on the floor or in their sleeping area is not uncommon.

In a few instances a feline kidney infection may even cause your pet to become incontinent. Other common symptoms are tenderness around the kidneys and bladder, fever, loss of appetite, excess water consumption, bad breath, and blood in the urine. As mentioned above symptoms vary greatly from cat to cat and much will depend on how badly infected the bladder and kidneys are, as well as your cats personality. But for our cat Holly a noticeable change in behavior and litter box habits told us that something was wrong. What we didn't know was that Holley was very, very sick, falling victim to a serious feline kidney infection.

Diagnosis

When we did get over to vet he ran all the standard tests including a manual hand palpitation, a urine analysis, a blood workup, and insisted she stay a night or two to give him a chance to figure out what was wrong. He also put her on intravenous fluids and with vitamin B12 to try to restore her strength. After all she was 16 years old and very weak.

The first set of tests came back negative but our vet decided to run another bacterial culture and sure enough the escherichia coli bacteria (the bacteria responsible for urinary tract infections) showed up. He explained that sometimes the bacteria can be so deeply embedded in the bladder lining that it may not be detected initially. He went on to say that this was not common, but in our particular case additional testing was called for.

Treatment

Once identified a feline kidney infection is treated with antibiotics such as amoxicillin or baytril. In very sick or old cats the antibiotic likely will be administered intravenously until the felines condition starts to improve. Once better your pet will be sent home and may need to stay on antibiotics for 6 weeks or longer to completely eradicate the infection.

What else? Along with antibiotics many pet owners have found homeopathic urinary tract supplements containing berberis and cantharis to speed recovery and help prevent future infections. Additionally, all stress should be eliminated from your felines life until they recover completely.

Lower Back Tattoos Pain - Just As Needles Hurt, So Will Getting Lower Back Tattoos

Lower back tattoos are one of the sexiest forms of body art, but with that, comes the pain that you have do endure for this privilege. People ask all the time if it's going to hurt, how much it will hurt, and how long it will hurt. Some areas will feel like a sharp pain, others like a sunburn, and yet others like a cat scratch or bee sting.

Yes, getting a lower back tattoo design hurts, as any tattoo will. Imagine being poked by a needle just once. That would hurt, right? Now think about being poked thousands of times repeatedly... you get the idea.

A tattoo machine works similar to a sewing machine, in that a foot pedal is used to turn the needle off and on. While the needle will only need to go 1/16 of an inch into the skin to be sufficient, it can be very painful in certain areas.

The first part of the tattoo, the outline, is usually the most painful. Perhaps that's because this area takes the longest. Or maybe because it's the first session of needle penetrations, and your natural endorphins haven't had a chance to kick in yet to cause you do get a little numb.

During the Process of getting the outline of a lower back tattoo, the vertebrae area is very painful because of the thin layers of skin over the bone, which feels just like what it is, a sharp poking pain. Just outside of the bony area is a different kind of, and less pain. At first it feels like a constant deep cat scratching session on the same spot. But after a few minutes, the area becomes a little numb, and therefore much more tolerable.

Toward the outside of the lower back tattoo design, the love handle area, is yet another kind of pain. This area is less painful than bony areas, and feels like a bunch of bee stings. This area will eventually become more tolerable also.

The worst of the pain instantly stops once the needle stops; you will feel like you have a sunburn though. Just let the tattoo artist know when you need a break, and he/she will stop.

Songs About Cats (Or Are They?)

Perhaps the most famous Cat Song is The Siamese Cat Song recorded by Peggy Lee. The song is from the Walt Disney 1955 classic "The Lady and The Tramp", an animated film about a classy Cocker Spaniel named Lady who falls for Tramp a scamp of a mongrel. The song however is about two arrogant cats, Si and Am, who have given Siamese cats a bad name ever since.

The Siamese Cat Song was penned by Lee along with Sonny Burke and over the years has also been recorded by Freddie and The Dreamers, Mitch Miller, Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin, Haylie Duff, and Bobby McFerrin. "We are Siamese if you please, We are Siamese if you don't please."

Both The Turtles and Petula Clark stepped into recording studios to make very different versions of The Cat in the Window, a song that compares a cat trying to get out of a window with the singer wanting to fly away. "There's a cat in the window, and he's watching all the birds go passing by, he'd love to fly out the window, go where the wind goes, and so would I."

Who can forget the Muppets recording of The Cat Came Back, a song about a kitty that just kept finding its way back no matter how far it was taken from home. "But the cat came back, she wouldn't stay away, she was sitting on the porch the very next day."

In 1950 folks were flooding into record stores and asking for I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat. Mel Blanc recorded the song, written by Alan Livingston, Billy May and Warren Foster, about the cartoon cat and canary duo Sylvester and Tweety. "I tawt I taw a puddy tat a creeping up on me, I did I taw a puddy tat as plain as he could be."

The Rooftop Singers followed up their 1963 number one hit Walk Right In, with Tom Cat a ditty about 'Ringtail Tom' who liked to go "strutting round the town" "And when he steps out all the other cats in the neighborhood they begin to shout." Fast forward to 1981 and the Stray Cats record a musically different song but with a very similar theme, the rockabilly Stray Cat Strut. "Stray cat strut, I'm a ladies' cat, a feline Casanova, hey man, that's where it's at, get a shoe thrown at me from a mean old man, get my dinner from a garbage can."

Norma Tanega apparently owned a cat that she named 'Dog' and liked to take that
cat for walks, hence her 1966 hit Walking My Cat Named Dog, which does seem to be about her real life experience of strolling around town with her pet feline.

Most songs though that include the word Cat in the tile, are not truly about cats at all. A great example is the fine song, Cats in the Cradle by Harry Chapin. No cats make an appearance in this song; instead the lyrics contain a very chilling message that every dad should pay heed too.

Bent Fabric, real name Bent Fabricius-Bjerre, had a hit in 1962 with Alley Cat, but this was an instrumental recording so it's not a song about cats. Instrumental too was Aaron Copeland's The Cat and the Mouse.

Cat People (Putting Out Fire) by David Bowie was recorded for the 1982 remake of the film Cat People. Great dark and menacing feel to the song but the words have no relationship to cats.

The cat in The Cat Crept In, recorded by Mud was actually a girl, as was the cat featured in The Rolling Stones' Stray Cat Blues, this one with exceedingly sharp claws.

They Call Her the Cat, by Elton John is about, well it's not about cats! Neither is Honky Cat, another Elton tune, that one is about a country boy moving to live life in the city.

Three Cool Cats, is a song that was first recorded by the Coasters in 1958 and covered by The Beatles in 1962 (but not released until 1995.) Of course this song is not about cats, but about three teenage boys and three teenage girls. The Beatles also recorded Little Willie John's Leave My Kitten Alone, no surprise to find that the song is not about a kitten.

U2 recorded a song titled An Cat Dubh, which apparently means The Black Cat in
Gaelic, no cat in the song though, black or otherwise.

No cats are in Year of the Cat by Al Stewart, Cat Scratch Fever by Ted Nugent,
The Lovecats by The Cure or in Cool for Cats by Squeeze. Who can say what The
Cat's In the Well by Bob Dylan is about?

There must be countless other songs that have the words Cat, or Cats, in the title but are not actually about our feline friends. No doubt there are more songs that are about cats than those listed on this page, but those songs sadly seem few and far between.

But wait . . . wasn't there a stage musical all about cats. Cats, the musical by
Andrew Lloyd Webber, was first shown in London, England in 1981. Based upon T.
S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats the show features song after song about . . . Old Gumbie, Grizabella, Mungojerrie And Rumpelteazer, Skimbleshanks, Old Deuteronomy, Gus, Macavity, and Mr. Mistoffelees. All of these characters are, of course, . . . Cats.

Where is the Most Painful Place to Get a Tattoo?

This question can actually refer to two different things. One, where (as in location of studio) is one aspect of this question. The other, where (on the body) is the least painful place to get a tattoo is the other aspect of this question.

Attacking the first reference, obviously, the least painful place to get a tattoo is in a licensed, professional tattoo studio. A lot of people will ask why. Here's the reasons. If you go to someone doing tattoos out of their home, or perhaps in a flea market, or an outdoor event, where a tattoo artist is working out in the dirty environment, you risk having an inexperienced tattoo artist butcher your skin. One of the reasons they don't work in a licensed studio may be because their skills just aren't up to par with what is expected of an artist in a studio. Another reason may be that they are just learning. Another reason may be that if they did tattoos in a studio like they do in their homes, chances are they would get no repeat business and this would have a negative effect on the studio. Another reason may be that they cause scarring when they tattoo because of the mistaken assumption that to get the ink to stay better in the skin, they have to go real deep. This is not so.

A professional tattoo artist has been trained to put the ink below the dead layer of the skin at the outside. If the ink is put into the dead layer that sloughs off the ink will not stay and lines and fill in areas will appear splotchy and weak. If the artist puts the ink below the living layer where new skin cells are generated, they are going too deep. This can cause the ink to spread under the skin so edges become spider webbed or there is a bluish or greenish glow around the edges of the tattoo. By going too deep, they also risk causing permanent raised scars on the client. Inexperienced tattoo artists have difficulty in controlling their needle depth and clients complain that the tattoo experience hurts excessively. It also causes healing to take an unusually long time to heal and because the ink is put too deeply into the skin, the tattoo can appear murky and indistinct, colors appear dull, and spread in uncontrollable ways under the skin in the fat layer below the skin.

Now on to the second part of this question. Where does it hurt the least to get a tattoo? The places on the body that seem easiest for clients to tolerate are the upper back, outer arms, outer calves, and buttocks. These areas get more friction in normal daily actions and so are more used to being touched. On the arms and legs, some of the more painful areas are the elbows, inside the elbows, the knees, inside the knees, the wrists and ankles.
Ribs, front torso, underarms are very uncomfortable. Feet and hands are not easy either. Necks can be good or bad, depends on the person. Lower backs seem to also be painful.

Pain is a funny thing. If you have had pain in your life, you tend to take the feeling of getting a tattoo better. If you are young, never had significant pain in your body or are one of those with a low tolerance for pain, chances are you will be uncomfortable no matter where the tattoo is put. Women in general tolerate the feeling better than men. But, men who have been through military or law enforcement training seem to do better.

If you have never had a tattoo, it is difficult to describe the feeling. Some relate it to a cat scratch or bee sting. Some say it feels like being burned or branded. Some say it feels like razor cuts. Without a doubt it is an acquired taste. Since the body has never had this sensation before, it tends to try to relate it to something within your realm of experience. After you get one or two, it gets easier to take. The trick is to relax during the process. A relaxed body is not fighting the pain by tensing up. Tensing up makes the surface of the skin harder and thus makes it harder to get the tattoo ink in the proper layer of skin. Holding your breath will make you pass out. By all means, make sure you have a good meal about 2 hours before starting the tattoo process. Getting a tattoo on an empty stomach can cause problems. The sensation of pain releases endorphins from the brain that is the body's way of protecting itself from pain sensations. It can also cause a drop in the blood's sugar level that can lead to passing out. Many people claim to be addicted to tattoos, and this may suggest that they are really more into getting the endorphin release than the tattoo, imho.

The best thing to remember when getting a tattoo is that there is an end to the process. A small tattoo can take under 10 minutes. Larger pieces take longer. My experience has been that the body has a natural tolerance barrier. This is about 3 hours. After 3 hours, I find that clients become more uncomfortable, more of the plasma leaks from their skin, this dilutes the ink and makes it harder to get good coverage. At this 3 hour mark I also notice that the skin can become pebble-like with areas where it appears to be harder thus making giving the tattoo more difficult.

Large tattoos can be broken into several sittings. The first sitting usually will involve getting all the outline work done. This is because matching up stencil pieces can be difficult to nearly impossible and if only part of the outline is completed in one sitting, chances are the second sitting produces inferior results. Once the outline has been completed, there is no problem letting the outlines heal before beginning any of the fill in process. Dark colors seem easier to get into the skin. Lighter colors may sometimes need to be gone over twice to get the full effect of the pigment. It is not uncommon when doing large black tribal pieces and pieces with large pastel colors to have the customer come back within 3 weeks to have a second 'coat' of ink put in the tattoo. This gives the artist a good look at how you take care of the tattoo during the healing process and the opportunity to 'touch up' any small spots that may need it.

Clients will swear that they followed the after care instructions, but as a trained professional in the business for many years, I have come to recognize the tell-tale signs of neglect or picking at the tattoo during the healing process. Letting the tattoo dry out, using petroleum products, picking at the scabs, exposure to sun and water, wearing tight clothes or shoes over a fresh tattoo, not washing the tattoo frequently, and using too much lotion on the tattoo during healing can all have adverse effects on the final outcome of the healed tattoo.

The final result of where hurts the least are variable. A lot depends on whether it is your first tattoo or not, where you desire the tattoo to be placed, how large the tattoo is, how well you tolerate pain and how well you take care of it during the healing process. During the actual process of tattooing, if you need to take a break, remember, don't take too long of a break or once you sit again to continue the tattoo, you may find it more painful than if you took no break at all. Getting tattoos in unusual locations on the body can be more painful than getting it in the normal locations. You must weigh your desire for placement with how well you tolerate pain. You must make logical decisions based on how large the tattoo will be and whether you are up for sitting for a longer period during the process. You must decide what is best for you. Unfortunately, I know of no areas on the body where it doesn't hurt to get a tattoo, but it doesn't hurt that much, and as an adult, you can always let your mind wander instead of concentrating on the sensation. Go to your happy place and you'll do fine!

Keeping Up With Your Pet's Health - Vaccinate With Rabies Shots

A slow, agonizing virus leading to extreme lethargy, madness, and an eventual, but certain death - doesn't sound very appealing, does it? If you do not vaccinate with rabies shots, your dog or cat faces an uncertain future. Rabies is one of the worst viruses that can affect your pet, and with no preventative measures, such as its annual rabies shots, mortality is, unfortunately, assured. When you vaccinate with rabies shots, you are choosing to extend the life of your pet, protect the community, and follow the letter of the law.

All pet owners should know that rabies is a disease that is caused by a virus that is transmitted from animal to animal and animal to human via a scratch or bite that causes a break in the skin. The virus is in the saliva of an infected animal. Because rabies is fatal to the animal or a human who contracts it, it is vitally important for pet owners to have their vet vaccinate for rabies with either a one year or three year vaccine. In certain regions and/or states with high levels of rabies reports, such as Texas, Virginia, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania (1), you must vaccinate with rabies shots at least once a year.

What Is Rabies Anyway?

The rabies virus is spread through the saliva of infected animals. A huge problem in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America, rabies kills more than 50,000 people and animals worldwide each year; however, most pet owners do not vaccinate for rabies in these regions. Once contracted through a bite or scratch, the virus begins attacking the peripheral nerve cells and central nervous system, which largely consists of the spinal cord and brain (2). The virus works fast, but it is a drawn-out, painful death at best.

Depending upon where the animal was bitten, it may take awhile for symptoms to show. Without any preventative rabies shots, the symptoms begin to appear and the animal normally only has a week to a week and a half to live. Contraction of the rabies virus in animals is broken down into three phases: prodromal, furious, and paralytic (3). During the prodromal phase, the dog or cat will show signs of apprehension and anxiety as well as develop a fever, although cats often exhibit more irregular behavior. The furious phase sees cats and dogs highly irritable, more vicious, and lashing out at anything that moves. The paralytic phrase can occur after either the prodromal or furious phases - breathing becomes more labored and vital organs freeze up. There have been stories of pet owners trying to dislodge a foreign object from the animal's mouth because they were unaware that the dog had contracted the rabies virus. The animal eventually lapses into respiratory failure and dies (4). When you vaccinate for rabies, you help your dog or cat avoid all of this pain and suffering, which can easily be prevented with annual rabies shots - quickly and rather inexpensively.

Practice Caution - Vaccinate for Rabies Regularly

Animals most at risk for exposure to rabies are stray dogs and cats that frequently roam in and around wooded areas that bring them in close proximity to wildlife that are the carriers of rabies. Wildlife carriers often include raccoons, foxes, coyotes, skunks, and bats.

Pet owners should also be cautious by avoiding contact with wildlife that are normally nocturnal (active at night) and are normally fearful of and avoid contact with humans. Rabid wildlife are not fearful of humans and may aggressively attack. Be careful of leaving food outside for cats and dogs, which tends to attract wildlife and brings them up close and personal with our pets. Also, be careful about approaching cats and dogs that appear to be feral or roaming about. One bite or scratch is all it takes for exposure to rabies to occur, and if the animal that bites cannot be captured, prophylactic treatment for rabies may be necessary. Unfortunately as well, any preventative measures in the form of rabies shots are far too late to be administered at this point.

It is also vitally important to report all animal to animal and animal to human bites to the animal control agency in whichever county or area the bite occurs. Many people are reluctant to do this if the offending animal belongs to a neighbor or someone they know. However, if the vaccination history of the dog or cat that bites is not known, then the animal or person bitten is at risk for exposure. Pets should be safely confined and dogs should be on leash when off their property. Finally, once you vaccinate for rabies, make sure your pet wears its rabies tag at all times.

Neglect is Costly: Maintain Current Rabies Shots

Rabies shots for dogs and cats are required by the law for the life of the pet. Neglecting to keep you and your family, your pet, and your community safe from rabies is a costly mistake and one that should never be allowed to occur. You have the power to vaccinate your pet from this easily preventable virus. Remember, keeping up-to-date and choosing to vaccinate with rabies shots is the first line of defense to keep the public safe from this deadly disease.

Sources

1. CDC.gov/ncidod/dvrd/kidsrabies/Statistics/usmap.htm
2. CDC.gov/ncidod/dvrd/kidsrabies/TheVirus/rabvir.htm
3. PetEducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1556&aid=347
4. Ibid.