Can rabbits carry rabies?

Dr. Marie replied:

Sorry to hear that your cat got scratched by a rabbit. While rabbits can carry rabies, the chances that this little rabbit had rabies and transmitted rabies to your cat are really small.

We rarely see bunnies with rabies and that is because in order for them to get rabies they would have had to have been bitten by a rabid animal. If this happened, then the bunny likely would have died and would not still be running around. Next, in order to transmit rabies, saliva has to be injected into the animal. In other words, a scratch would not transmit rabies, but a bite possibly could.

So, if your cat was scratched by a bunny I would not be worried much about the possibility of him contracting rabies.

The biggest concern I would have would be for infection. I wouldn't do anything for the small scratch at this point, but if you notice it getting red and sore or if your cat is lethargic and doesn't want to eat then you'll need to see the vet for some antibiotics. Most likely everything will be fine though!

Dr. Marie

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