I live in Texas, USA. There is plenty of wildlife around here, and thus considerable records of rabies incidents transmitted by them. We have a cat less than a year old, and had 1st rabies vaccination. He goes out almost daily and sometimes even spends the night out. He has an independent nature, and trying to restrict him indoors is likely to cause him abandon us. I have 3 kids ages ranging from 3 to 10. They all love to play with him. He is very playful. But he sometimes bites either as part of playing or to express displeasure, e.g., if my 3 year old held him against his will. It does not cause bleeding but it is likely to penetrate the skin. There are also rare incidences of scratching that cause bleeding. Should I have my kids have pre-exposure rabies vaccination as a preventive measure?
Based on what I am reading, even if the cat is exposed, rabies would not make its way to his saliva because he is vaccinated. But then, there is the chance of his rabies vaccination did not work. Even if it did work, I assume it could be possible to carry and transmit externally, e.g., nails and teeth.
Overall, if there is 1% chance over the course of say 10 years, I would take it as a considerable chance because it is a life and death matter and we may not notice our kids exposed before it is too late. In that case, would the cost and side-effects of vaccination for kids worth it?
