Infected animals can be very calm and tame. Improved vaccination programs have been effective in preventing rabies in pets. Other wild animals with significant numbers of rabies cases include mongooses in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean Islands, coyotes, and groundhogs. Other wild animals can contract rabies. In recent years, cats have become the most common domestic animal infected with rabies because many cats are not vaccinated and are exposed to rabid wildlife while hunting.
Rabies also occurs in dogs and cattle in significant numbers.
The disease has also been diagnosed in horses, goats, sheep, swine, and ferrets. Rabies can be prevented in cats, dogs, ferrets, and some livestock with the use of licensed rabies vaccines. With the approval of the state agency responsible for animal rabies control, the use of licensed oral vaccines for the mass immunization of wildlife is possible in selected situations. Rabies and Humans Improved rabies vaccination programs for pets and better treatment for people who have been bitten have dramatically reduced the number of human rabies cases in this country. The majority of recent human cases, which were acquired in the United States, have resulted from exposures to bats.