ROCHELLE – The Rochelle Veterinary Hospital will be holding an informational open house event to discuss the new state law requiring all cats that interact with humans to be vaccinated against rabies. Anyone looking to learn more about vaccines, rabies or the new state law is urged to attend the open house meeting.
The meeting will be held at the Rochelle Veterinary Hospital on Thursday, Jan. 30, from 6 to 7 p.m. to discuss what rabies is and some of the risks it presents to animals and humans, why all rabies vaccines aren’t created equal and why the state has made this change to the law.
There will also be dinner provided as well as speakers Dr. Warren and Tracey from Boehringer Ingelheim to answer any questions or concerns attendees might have. The event is free to attend, but the veterinary hospital kindly asks that people RSVP by Jan. 28.  They can do so by phone at 815-562-5207 or through email at rochellevet@mail.com.

“We are excited to educate the community a little bit on the vaccines and give them a better understanding of why there is a change and why the state is requiring it now,” explained Dr. Marquardt, doctor at Rochelle Veterinary Hospital.
According to the Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association, there are about 250 to 300 cases each year, and each case is 100 percent fatal to the pet. The animals most likely to spread the disease are bats, skunks, raccoons, foxes and coyotes. While these are all outdoor animals, rabies can affect indoor cats, since many rabid bats are found in homes where cats are present.
Even if someone is looking into getting their cat vaccinated, the Rochelle Veterinary Hospital wants people to be careful since there are two different kinds of vaccines out there, adjuvant and non-adjuvant vaccines. Adjuvant vaccines have the risk of cats developing vaccine-induced sarcomas, a type of cancer. But with non-adjuvant vaccines, there is no risk associated with them. In order to provide the safest vaccines possible, the Rochelle Veterinary Hospital only uses non-adjuvant vaccines.