The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) - Division of Animal Health offers these guidelines for the prevention of rabies.


Rabies is a preventable disease through vaccination. Vaccination for pets should be done any time after around three months of age and then again one year later. After these two shots your veterinarian will develop a vaccination plan for your pet that complies with local laws.

How to Prevent Rabies
You can help prevent rabies through the following steps:
  • Vaccinate your pet.
    • Pets who have not received a rabies shot and come into contact with a potentially rabid wild animal may need to be quarantined or euthanized.
    • Pet owners should also be aware of the cost and legal implications of a dog or cat bite. Whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, a dog or cat bite requires the animal be quarantined for 10 days and have three veterinarian examinations. For an unvaccinated cat or dog an additional cost of an isolation facility is needed for the 10-day quarantine and a rabies vaccination. These costs are covered by the animal owner.
  • Enjoy wildlife from a distance.
  • Cover garbage cans securely and do not leave pet food outside.
  • Keep your pets indoors.
    • Walk your pet on a leash or keep it in a fenced yard.
    • Pets kept indoors should still be vaccinated. Every year indoor-only cats still develop rabies because of bats in the home.
  • Prevent bats from entering your home. If you find a bat in your home, follow these instructions to safely catch the bat.
These steps are also provided in a coloring book for parents to teach their children how to protect against and prevent rabies exposure. With news stories across the nation of children bringing bats to school, parents should help children understand that it is never safe to handle unfamiliar animals, wild or domestic, even if they appear friendly. 
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Rabies Basics
Rabies is a viral disease that affects the central nervous system. It is transmitted from infected animals to other animals and humans. The exposure is nearly always through a bite, but rabies can also be transmitted if a rabid animal scratches a person or if its saliva comes into contact with broken skin. All mammals are susceptible to rabies. In Wisconsin, skunks and bats are the most likely animals to carry the rabies virus, although rabies also has occurred sporadically in dogs, cats, foxes, raccoons, and livestock.

Signs of Rabies
Signs of rabies in animals may include fearfulness, aggression, excessive drooling, difficulty swallowing, staggering, paralysis, and seizures. Aggressive behavior is common, but rabid animals may also be uncharacteristically affectionate. Horses and livestock with rabies also may exhibit depression, self-mutilation, or increased sensitivity to light. Rabid wild animals may lose their natural fear of humans and display unusual behavior, such as an animal that is usually only seen at night may be seen in the daytime. Rabies infection of an animal can only be confirmed after death, through microscopic examination of the animal’s brain.

WI STATE LAW REQUIRES A 10 DAY QUARANTINE ON ALL ANIMAL BITE CASES

Rabies is a deadly viral disease that can be prevented but not cured. The virus attacks the brain of warmblooded animals, including humans. It is usually transmitted through the bite of an animal that has the virus in its saliva. When a healthy dog or cat bites a person, there is a remote possibility that the dog or cat could have the disease without showing outward signs of rabies. In these rare cases, the animal will develop recognizable signs of rabies in a few days allowing time to treat the bite victim preventively for rabies exposure.

Because rabies can take time to show its effects, Wisconsin law requires that any dog or cat that bites a person be quarantined for ten days so that it can be observed for signs of rabies.

Why require a 10-day quarantine period?

Wisconsin state law requires that any dog or cat that bites a person be quarantined for ten days so that it can be observed for signs of rabies. The requirements of the quarantine vary depending on whether the animal is current on its rabies immunizations. The 10-day quarantine period ensures that the dog or cat remains available so that it can be observed for signs of rabies. If the animal remains well during the 10 days, this indicates it did not have the rabies virus in its saliva at the time of the bite, and therefore the bite victim does not have to receive an expensive and unpleasant series of shots to prevent rabies. This is why it is so important that the dog or cat under quarantine be strictly confined at all times to ensure that it cannot run away or be injured. The 10-day confinement and observation period for dogs and cats that bite humans has stood the test of time as a way to prevent human rabies. This quarantine period avoids the need to destroy the biting dog or cat in order to test its brain for the rabies virus.

Owners of the animal that bit someone are required to pay all quarantine expenses. WI State law provides for a fine of $100 to $1,000 or 60 days imprisonment or both for failure to comply with a quarantine order. 

More Information
DATCP’s Division of Animal Health monitors animal health and disease threats, promotes humane treatment of animals, and provides licensing and registration regulation for animals in Wisconsin. For more information about rabies visit DATCP’s website.