In New York City an outdoor cat is a dead cat. From childhood to today, my family has always had two cats at a time. We adopted each of our cats when they were kittens and they never leave the apartment again, except in a cat carrier. Except for one -- a feral kitten I found in the park -- none of the cats ever minded the lack of access to the outdoors. Hey, they sleep 18 to 20 hours per day and that's best accomplished on someone's lap.
So why, if my cats never set paw outside, do I keep their rabies shots up to date? Because my cats are home exchangers. Rabies vaccinations are required by law in each of the 50 United States of America. I do not know what the rules are in other countries, but I do know that if your pet bites someone staying in your home and there is no proof of rabies vaccination you could come home from vacation to find that your pet has been quarantined, or even euthanized.
In our case, the rabies vaccine requirement is similar to the New York City law stating that every newborn must go home from the hospital in a car seat -- even though four out of five Manhattanites don't even own a car (city-wide only about one-third of households has even one car). There is absolutely no chance whatsoever that our cats could possibly contract rabies. But the vaccination is the only way to prove that.
If you have a dog or cat you must vaccinate it according to the schedule required by law. If you love your pet you'll do it anyway. And if you're a home exchanger, make sure you both vaccinate and have proof on hand that you have done so.
More home exchange pet tips to follow.
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