19-07-2025
Rabies awareness must include cats, says MDLBS chairman
A Department of Veterinary Services officer administering an anti-rabies injection during the programme at Sang Ik Methodist Church, Tanjung Kunyit.
SIBU (July 19): Public awareness about rabies must expand to include cats, as the disease is not exclusive to dogs and infected cats can pose hidden threats within homes, said Sibu Rural District Council (MDLBS) chairman Councillor Sempurai Petrus Ngelai.
Speaking at the MDLBS-organised Anti-Rabies Vaccination, Microchipping and Licensing Programme at Sang Ik Methodist Church in Tanjung Kunyit today, he said many people still mistakenly believe that rabies only affects dogs.
'We now know that several recent rabies cases involved cats. People often assume that cats are less dangerous because they live indoors. But infected cats, especially those that have come into contact with stray cats outside and then return indoors, can pose a greater danger,' he said.
Also present at the event were MDLBS Standing Committee Chairman for Environment and Public Health and SUPP Bawang Assan Chairman, Cr Kevin Lau, MDLBS secretary Ng Siang Wei, community leaders and others.
Sempurai explained that while rabid dogs typically show clear symptoms such as excessive drooling or aversion to sunlight and water, signs of infection in cats are harder to detect.
Sempurai (fourth left) observing the Anti-Rabies Vaccination, Microchipping and Licensing Programme organised by MDLBS at Sang Ik Methodist Church, Tanjung Kunyit today. Also seen are Lau (second right), Ng (right), and others.
'I hope MDLBS and the officers from the Department of Veterinary Services can also focus more on cats, so that the public becomes aware that cats can be rabies carriers too,' he said.
He called on the public to spread the word about the campaign to encourage more people to get their pets vaccinated and microchipped.
The microchipping, he said, is crucial not only for controlling rabies but also for tracking the local pet population more effectively.
'We don't want the public to assume that rabies cases are caused solely by stray dogs. In many cases, the animals were actually owned pets that had left their homes, became infected, and bit people. That is even more dangerous.
'During my tenure as MDLBS chairman, we've already seen that most stray dogs were caught over the past two to three years. What we're seeing roaming around now are mostly pet dogs,' he said.
He stressed that microchipping would help authorities track the number of pets in specific areas and respond more effectively to any cases.
'For example, here in Tanjung Kunyit, if we chip every dog, we will know exactly how many are here. If there is a rabies case, we can quickly contain and monitor the situation,' he added.
In conjunction with the campaign, officers from the Department of Veterinary Services were seen administering anti-rabies vaccines to pets brought by their owners.
