Be carefull cat owners. Dumb thing I did.

[Liquidsilver]

I thought Mr. White's story was funny... but yeah I'd be looking for that racoon with a golf club. And then the rabies reminder lost all the fun.

Watching the mice invade my barn in the cold weather, it'd sure be nice to have a few carnivorous kitties out there.

 

[Jstpssng]

My dog woke me up just after dawn one AM going ape***t looking out the glass door toward the turkey coop. Looking out I saw a skunk with the young poultry, so I grabbed the first gun & shells I got my hands on and ran out in my underwear. In hindsight the #4 buck through the turkey choke in my 12 gauge may have been a bit of overkill., but it got the job done.

I put the carcass in a grain bag, burned the blood and area around it with my 100K BTU propane torch and IFW picked up the remains. 2 weeks later I got a call telling me that the animal was rabid. I sure am glad that my dog didn't tangle with it, even though his shots are up to date. Fortunately poultry isn't susceptible to the disease.

That was the first skunk I had ever seen on my property. Oddly enough this summer I dreamed about driving down my road and seeing my second skunk here; 2 weeks later I saw one in the exact spot of my dream. I don't believe in "the power of dreams" yet that sure was eerie.

 

[John White]

Well I spent most of my day trying to decide what to do. First I called our local health dept. They said it had been a good while since they have had a coon that showed rabies but they get bats quite often. They talked like the shots are around $500 each 4 or 5 shots, and suggested I get them. Next went to see my family doctor, he wouldn't commit but said I ought to get them. Said I would have to go to the emergency room at hospital to get them. Next I went to my local V.A to see if I could get it through them.. They said no. So right now I am between a rock and a hard spot as they say. As things stand right now I am inclined not to get them. I am basing it on previous past 30 days. I have seen this coon (I think) in the cat food a couple of times. I have run him off (young coon, never aggressive) I set a live trap out side the door about a week and he flipped the trap over and got the food. So I started putting the cat food away at dusk. I have a monitor that I can watch the cat food table and had to run him off a couple of times. Its too dangerous to fire a gun inside the garage and once he goes out the door he doesn't stick around to get a shot in the dark. I can't use a leg hold trap because of the cats and I can't lock them in at night because they go outside to do their business. From the information I have gathered most coons when they have rabies just wander sort of aimlessly around and wont run. I have set the trap again tonight but I don't expect him back for awhile because I gave him a pretty good whack with a bat. All our cats have had their rabies shots. I guess it sounds like I am playing the lottery (I have never played it) on this or Russian roulette.

 

[4570Man]

What’s your window of no return on getting the shots? If there’s enough time and you’re certain you could get the same coon I’d be patching the 12 gauge holes in the garage wall.

 

[oosik]

John - nothing anybody can say will help much. That's because - " it's almost zero, but it's never ABSOLUTELY zero". At least, now you know where you stand regarding the providers. I wish the shots cost less. Do you have health insurance?

Shooting an animal suspected of rabies carries two unknowns in your case. Was it the same coon? If shot in the head, the coon will not be able to be examined. Rabies examination requires a totally intact head because a portion of the brain is examined.

I know how hard a decision this is because I've seen MANY have to make the same decision. It's never easy. Go with God, John.

 

[MossRoad]

Well I spent most of my day trying to decide what to do. First I called our local health dept. They said it had been a good while since they have had a coon that showed rabies but they get bats quite often. They talked like the shots are around $500 each 4 or 5 shots, and suggested I get them. Next went to see my family doctor, he wouldn't commit but said I ought to get them. Said I would have to go to the emergency room at hospital to get them. Next I went to my local V.A to see if I could get it through them.. They said no. So right now I am between a rock and a hard spot as they say. As things stand right now I am inclined not to get them. I am basing it on previous past 30 days. I have seen this coon (I think) in the cat food a couple of times. I have run him off (young coon, never aggressive) I set a live trap out side the door about a week and he flipped the trap over and got the food. So I started putting the cat food away at dusk. I have a monitor that I can watch the cat food table and had to run him off a couple of times. Its too dangerous to fire a gun inside the garage and once he goes out the door he doesn't stick around to get a shot in the dark. I can't use a leg hold trap because of the cats and I can't lock them in at night because they go outside to do their business. From the information I have gathered most coons when they have rabies just wander sort of aimlessly around and wont run. I have set the trap again tonight but I don't expect him back for awhile because I gave him a pretty good whack with a bat. All our cats have had their rabies shots. I guess it sounds like I am playing the lottery (I have never played it) on this or Russian roulette.

I feel for you. It's about $3000 for the entire shot series here. There were 4 of us that had to get the shots. So we were looking at $12,000. We had a $2500 deductible per person with a $7500 out of pocket maximum per year. And as I mentioned, it happened at the end of the year, so the shot series went into the next year, and we had to start another deductible. We were out the full $12,000. Fortunately, we had an HSA account that we had rarely tapped into. That's what it's there for; medical emergencies. So we spent it down and only had to pay out around $1000 from our savings account.

It's one of the gambles we take with high deductible insurance, HSA's that we only funded up to the maximum of one year's total deductibles, never considering what would happen if there were two instances that would require the maximum deductible payment at the end and beginning of two consecutive years.

Is your life worth risking $2500? Do you have anyone that depends on you? Would you like to stick around for a while with no worries about what might pop up in a few months?

Yes, the chances are slim. But in the rare instance that you would catch it, by the time it's detected, there is no cure. None.

You have to answer those questions for yourself. I wish you well. I've been there and it sucks. Try and find a little humor in it.

Just think of it as buying a lemon car, sell it as a loss, and take the lumps.

$2500 is about the cost of one college course. Think of it as educational expenses.

Hope that helps.

 

[EddieWalker]

Animals with rabies are sick. They act sick, they behave oddly, their are signs that should be obvious. The odds that you where bit by a rabid racoon that ran away after the bite, and that the bit happened after "YOU" touched the animal in an location that the animal was not out in the open, and probably thought that it was safe, all indicate that the racoon was not sick.

As I mentioned earlier, I was exposed to a dog that tested 100% positive for rabies. I was given pre exposure shots, and then after being bit and scratched up, given the shots afterwards.

In your case, I'm not sure if I would bother with getting the shots, but that would greatly depend on the behavior of the racoon when you saw it, and if you see it again and it's acting sick. Even worse, if you find it dead. If those things happened, then I would get the shots no mater what they cost, but since there was no evidence of odd behavior, I'm thinking that you where bit by a healthy racoon.

Here in Tyler, the news will report a couple times a year about a rabid animal being found. It is always obvious that there is something wrong with that animal. That animal is always caught and tested. It always comes back positive for rabies. It's always obvious that there is something wrong with the animal.

 

[Redbug]

Once you get the shots...how long does the immunity last? Ten years or for life or what?

 

[s219]

Don't remember if I told the story here, but last fall I was on my way down the driveway in my RTV and I spotted a raccoon sitting there. He didn't budge. I pulled up about 5 feet from him and honked the horn, and he didn't even flinch. I could see he was shaking and drooling. Combined with the the fact he didn't react to the horn, I was 100% sure he had rabies, so I backed up to the house to get a gun. That little bandit followed me down the driveway for 20-30 feet, with teeth bared, before he wandered into the woods!!

I debated which gun to use but decided my 22 rifle was the best option since it's super accurate and wouldn't be too noisy (other choices were shotgun or 30-30, both overkill I thought). I also grabbed a pistol (just in case he got the drop on me). By the time I got back outside a couple minutes later, he was gone, so I went about my business. About 45 minutes later, my wife called and said she saw the raccoon out by the street when walking our dog, so I came back over and shot it. The poor thing was curled up in the ditch, shaking and looking pretty sad and sick, and I truly felt bad for it. A couple deadeye shots to the head and his troubles were over.

A passerby called our county animal control to see if they had instructions, and they just said to bury it. So I went and got some rubber gloves and a trash bag and handled the raccoon very carefully. Buried him extra deep to hopefully avoid issues with scavengers or coyotes digging up the carcass.

From what I read, if you've been bitten (or exposed to saliva) by a suspected or possible rabid animal, or been in the presence of them and can't account for every little detail, you should get shots. The saliva is what carries the disease. In other words, you need to be 100% certain you were not exposed to saliva somehow. This can be especially challenging with children who may not be able to account for everything. I think that's why people are so conservative about this. If in doubt get the shots.

 

[s219]

From the information I have gathered most coons when they have rabies just wander sort of aimlessly around and wont run.

Does anyone know if a raccoon can have rabies but not exhibit obvious symptoms? Is there a period of time where they can appear normal but actually be carrying the disease? That would be my concern if I was in your shoes.