My cats have bit a few leaves off of my Chamaedorea Cataractarum and are just fine weeks later. So, I wouldn't worry about it. If you want a better indoor palm though, just look for Chamaedorea Elegans. It's definitely NOT toxic to cats. My cats totally destroyed a couple fronds on mine and are just fine months later. So is the plant, but if you're a beauty freak like me, I'd either train the cats to leave the palms alone, or keep them away. Cheers! A fellow gardener

OP here! I *finally* found out late this evening that my niece's cat tested negative for rabies (plus my niece probably doesn't have scoliosis, and my nephew is back to normal after eating the wrong berries in the yard). Whew! I feel like I've had 100lbs lifted off me; it's been a rough few days, with a whole lot of waiting. Any moment now I'll probably hear that my grandfather is finally resting in peace, and then the waiting will be through. Strange how these things hit all at once, isn't it? Yesterday it dawned on me that I *did* have an official source I could question on the weekends: my childhood friend who's now a vet. She reacted similarly to meigzilla, advised me to bite the bullet and get the shots if the cat tested positive since any remote chance of death-by-rabies wasn't worth taking, and worried all day. Thank you all so much for your support, personal stories, useful links (camlan, I don't think I would have slept last night without your link for the uninsured!), and tough-love advice. It was so helpful to hear from others who have been through similar situations. I started this thread for a few reasons; to get more 'real world' input than I was able to find on official rabies websites, to vent my anxieties, and to inform others who might not realize their pets could be at risk. It's been a hair-raising example of why people should only have as many pets as they can afford vet bills for, and why no one should assume their indoor pets are 'safe'. I'm feeling a little humbler today (no more 'it couldn't happen to me'), and very thankful for the kindness of friends and strangers. It was a very sad lesson for my brother's family, but I'm sure they'll be more conscientious pet owners in the future. And you can be sure that my baby, Tabitha, will be getting her boosters this summer!

To adhmumrgh: You create a contradiction in terms by writing "Cats are not domestic animals, humans have domesticated them." Cats are not domestic. Humans have domesticated them. You even claim to have domesticated a cat. Yet you state that cats are not domestic animals. What ???? ALL home/house/farm/ranch animals were (and mostly are) still found in the wild. This includes dogs, goats, horses, cows, sheep, et. al. Domestication is the process of adapting a wild animal (or plant) for human use. In the case of cats, that use is usually pleasure, companionship, or mousing. House cats and feral cats are of one species (Felis catus). Feral cats are house cats that have gone from domestication to the wild (the opposite direction of domestication), and any of their offspring. So, the great-great-great-great-great-great granddaughter of a house cat from 10 years ago is still Felis catus, even though her bloodline is largely from feral cats. She is no longer a domestic individual of a species that is largely domestic, and is considered feral. I have a cat that was a house cat (domesticated) that I got from a shelter. I also have a cat that was feral (not domesticated) that is now domesticated. So, counter to your original post, this cat is a domestic animal. Oh, and I domesticated it. As an aside, I keep both cats outside year round. They grow wonderful coats in the winter, they hunt, they anger me when they kill my songbirds, they play with my children, and are wonderful outdoor pets. There's very little I can do regarding their killing of my songbirds. The birds are wild, the cats still have wild instinct, and things like coyote spray, collars (break-away, or not) simply do not work. I've tried *everything* for 20+ years. I now accept, with grace, when one of my cats ceremoniously deposits a dead cardinal at my feed after she's viciously killed it -- it's a gift, and it's a cat. :-) Cheers!

Firstly it's not a palm, not even close. It's Dracaena marginata (more closely related to asparagus than to palms). But they should put out new shoots from those stems. You need to be sure the soil drains fast and doesn't stay too soggy. Don't over water, let it dry out a bit between waterings. You can push a wooden dowel down into the soil to check how wet it is deeper down. They like a lot of light, but ease them into direct sun if they've been growing in shade. The broken off branches can be used as cuttings, they strike quite easily.