<p>Thiruvananthapuram: Even as stray dog bites have become a serious concern across the country, when it comes to numbers, cat bites are much higher in Kerala.</p><p>In Kerala as many as 5.90 lakh people suffered cat bites in 2025 whereas the number of dog bite cases was only 3.69 lakhs, of which stray dog bites was only 1.04 lakh and remaining 2.65 lakh were domestic dog bites.</p>.Kerala seeks suggestions on mitigating human-animal conflicts.<p>Animal rights activist Angels Nair who obtained the data through RTI queries from the Kerala health services directorate said that an analysis of the data over the last ten years shows that cat bite cases increased by over five times, whereas dog bite cases only doubled.</p><p>In 2014 the cat bite cases was only 94,971, which has now increased to 5,90,078 in 2025. It shows an increase of over five times. With regard to domestic and stray dog bites, it was 1,19,191 in 2014, which increased to 3,69,272 in 2025, an increase of over two times.</p><p>The death rate of rabies caused by stray dog bites is on the higher side with 16 in 2025, followed by seven by domestic dogs and three by cats. Seven persons died due to rabies caused from other animals</p><p>In 2025, as many as 10.32 lakh people were vaccinated for rabies in the state.</p><p>Nair told DH that there was a general tendency to frame all cases of anti-rabies vaccinations as stray dog bites even as it is much lower than cats and domestic dogs. He also said the number of cat and domestic dog bite cases are on the higher side, possibly due to the tendency among the people to take the vaccination as a precaution even in case of scratching or even licking.</p><p><br><strong>Kerala in 2025</strong></p><p><strong>Cat bites: </strong>5,90,078</p><p><strong>Domestic dog bites: </strong>2,64,544</p><p><strong>Stray dog bites:</strong> 1,04,728</p>
<p>Thiruvananthapuram: Even as stray dog bites have become a serious concern across the country, when it comes to numbers, cat bites are much higher in Kerala.</p><p>In Kerala as many as 5.90 lakh people suffered cat bites in 2025 whereas the number of dog bite cases was only 3.69 lakhs, of which stray dog bites was only 1.04 lakh and remaining 2.65 lakh were domestic dog bites.</p>.Kerala seeks suggestions on mitigating human-animal conflicts.<p>Animal rights activist Angels Nair who obtained the data through RTI queries from the Kerala health services directorate said that an analysis of the data over the last ten years shows that cat bite cases increased by over five times, whereas dog bite cases only doubled.</p><p>In 2014 the cat bite cases was only 94,971, which has now increased to 5,90,078 in 2025. It shows an increase of over five times. With regard to domestic and stray dog bites, it was 1,19,191 in 2014, which increased to 3,69,272 in 2025, an increase of over two times.</p><p>The death rate of rabies caused by stray dog bites is on the higher side with 16 in 2025, followed by seven by domestic dogs and three by cats. Seven persons died due to rabies caused from other animals</p><p>In 2025, as many as 10.32 lakh people were vaccinated for rabies in the state.</p><p>Nair told DH that there was a general tendency to frame all cases of anti-rabies vaccinations as stray dog bites even as it is much lower than cats and domestic dogs. He also said the number of cat and domestic dog bite cases are on the higher side, possibly due to the tendency among the people to take the vaccination as a precaution even in case of scratching or even licking.</p><p><br><strong>Kerala in 2025</strong></p><p><strong>Cat bites: </strong>5,90,078</p><p><strong>Domestic dog bites: </strong>2,64,544</p><p><strong>Stray dog bites:</strong> 1,04,728</p>