Are cute cats and puppies in Asia safe to pet? #TravelTips
Concerns about Rabies in Asia
Living in the Philippines Experience
Have you ever heard of the real threat of rabies in Asia? Living in the Philippines for years, I witnessed numerous tourists getting scratched or bitten by cute animals. Vaccines can be hard to find and dealing with the stress is something you definitely want to avoid.
Neighbourhood cats in Singapore are safe to pat. Please pat them and give them lots of love.
that’s why you need a rabies vaccine when you travel to places where rabies is common. i got the series of three back in ’01 and they don’t need a yearly booster like the one for dogs and cats.
“Something you don’t want” is if you don’t get treated pretty much straight after getting bitten and end up contracting rabies, you _will_ die. It’s extremely fatal.
Japan is rabies-free, pat away
My friends were so horrified when I told them my friends in Sierra Leone will kick a dog away if it comes near them. I was like my bros these are not cute fuzzy American dogs, they’re disease-riddled curs visibly infested with parasites. And the people don’t feed them because their children are starving, not because they’re cold and cruel to the cute doggos
I live in Cambodia, and yes – every child (including mine) gets in with the breastmilk that “you do not touch or play with unknown animals”, at 3yo my son is very aware that all animals are potentially dangerous. The chance of rabies are even here quite slim, but the result if not taken care of within MINUTES can be fatal, and not heart-failure, weeks of agony followed by guaranteed death.
Monkeys are not your friend, even though you give them food. I cringe when I see tourists having a monkey jump on their shoulders while giving them a banana. Yeah… cute, but you dont know if 2 other monkeys sees this as an insult and attacks you – they have far longer teeth than a dog, and can use their claws just as good as you can manipulate your fingers. They can tear your eyes out in seconds. And yeah… they can have rabies, as an added bonus.
I’m a local here in the Philippines. Yeah don’t touch the strays. Even though the chances are slim, a small scratch / minor bite is an automatic trip to the hospital for shots. Good thing its availability is not an issue in the cities.
…and if you see a symptom, you’re already dead.
There is nothing they can do for you at that point.Â
If you even think you could have gotten bit by a rabid animal (this includes any bats whatsoever) you need to seek immediate medical attention.Â
Middle management in operations at a small company with a SaaS product.
Don’t pet strays in ANY country.