Yes, a rattlesnake bite can be fatal to a cat. Dogs have a bit more tolerance for the initial envenomation, being larger, but a bite can still kill a big dog. Many dogs don't die from the initial bite, but from gangrene and infection that sets in when the tissue starts to die, so a rattlesnake bite is still a medical emergency, no matter how big the dog is. I breed Catahoula Leopard Dogs, and males of this breed often hit the "century mark" in terms of weight, yet some of mine have had some close brushes with the Grim Reaper following rattler or Cottonmouth bites. NO rattler bite should ever be taken lightly.
I have never seen Guinea Fowl attack a snake, and we have had Guineas on our property for as long as I can recall. I've seen a Black Ratsnake, on more than one occasion, stealing eggs right out from underneath a setting Guinea hen, and a Guinea hen with eggs or chicks is something *I* won't even go near! I guess that the birds would eat really small snakes, like Ringnecks or something, but those are harmless. I have caught HUGE Canebrake rattlers on this same property, with a flock of Guineas feeding nonchalantly a few dozen yards away, so I am really skeptical about that claim.

Sharon McKenzie

A snake could injure (or perhaps even kill) a cat. More often the cat will kill the snake.

Thanks for the information Sharon and Keith. Well I suppose as far as cats go, we will just see what happens. The dog though is my special friend, and wee will have to have an emergency vet in case of an accident. I am surprised about the guineas, from the advertisements I have read, and what (suposedly Knowledegable) people have told me,---- Well I guess that goes to show you.

By the way Keith, I have the utmost respect for your opinion, so I am certianly not questioning experience or knowledge. But I just wonder how a housecat could kill a rattlesnake. Are they fast enough to avoid the strike? are the snakes afraid of the cat? I know that rattlers would rather be left alone and I suppose are somewhat timid. But I just cant get my mind around a cat killing a rattler, could you explain this to me. I have no experience with rattlers other than seeing a few. It is always a surprise scareing the daylights out of me. I do enjoy watching them and am facinated by them.

Cats can be very quick and efficient killers and will often kill snakes before the snake has a chance to strike. Also snakes can be pretty slow to antagonize to the point of striking, especially in cooler weather.

There is such range in individual cat (and snake) personalities though that it would be hard to predict the outcome of any specific encounter.

A quick cat can be an efficient predator and may kill the snake while it is trying to flee or while it is basking. A snake that is aroused and poised to strike poses a greater risk but often cats, raccoons, possums and other predators will deliver a lethal blow before the snake even attmepts to strike. Of course a wild or feral cat will probably be more apt to kill a snake than a tame house cat.

Cats are smart too, they'll pin the head down with their claws and then bite the neck til it dies. Then carry it off and deliver it to you as a present :)

I have live in rattlesnake (and cottonmouth and copperhead and coralsnake) country for most of the last 30 years. We have had cats and dogs during those years. Not once in all that time has any of our cats or dogs ever run afoul of a rattlesnake.
Insect-borne disease, cars, other dogs, people, etc. are all real threats that face the average dog and cat. Rattlesnakes are way down on the list.
Don't worry about it.