If by “incidents” you mean “human cases,” a big factor in that is that people who are bitten by stray cats and dogs tend to seek medical advice, get the vaccine, and avoid contracting full-blown rabies, while people who have been bitten by bats (the most common source of human rabies cases in the U.S. by far) may not even be aware that they’ve been exposed until symptoms develop.
A lack of recent human rabies cases attributable to cats shouldn’t be confused with a lack of recent human rabies exposures by cats. CDC data indicate that rabies in the U.S. is three times more prevalent in cats than in dogs. In fact, this month has been a big one for cats exposing people to rabies:
- South Carolina has recorded four rabid cats this year, the most recent of which caused a human exposure.
- Another rabid cat was responsible for two human exposures on Staten Island two weeks ago.
- According to authorities in Trumbull County, OH, “feral cats, cats that are out roaming that people have attracted to their property because they’re feeding them” recently bit and/or scratched three people, exposing them to rabies.
The worse news for TNR advocates comes from last September, when a kitten from a TNR colony at a state park in Jamestown, RI was responsible for exposing its adoptive family to rabies.
