Bite or scratch from feral

I had a feral kitten too close to my face today (transfering between cages - I am a novice and was trying to be nice and not leave kittens in traps for 36 hours) I am not sure if I have a bite or a scratch. I have three punctures across from one scratch which makes me think it was a paw. Any way to tell how close teeth marks would be if this was a bite??
I doused in peroxide and took a 750mg Cipro.

Cat bites, and even scratches, can be quite nasty. Feral or homecat.
Better not to risk anything and contact a doctor if you are the least unsure.

are you up to date on tetanus-shots?


Good luck, and tx for trying to help this kitty!



ps: look also down the forum, at the thread: He bit me, and now I have a rash.

It's been my experience that scratches, even when they break the skin, are seldom serious. You should treat them immediately with hydrogen peroxide and a topical antibiotic but otherwise shouldn't worry about them. And it sounds like you were scratched, not bitten

Bites are a serious matter. Cats have powerful jaws and by biting can inflict deep puncture wounds--even kittens can break the skin. Cats have mouths full of bacteria--worse than dogs--so bite wounds do tend to get infected.

A cat's incisors (fangs) are long and smooth; they will penetrate skin and flesh quite easily. When dogs bite they also tend to shake or jerk their heads, resulting in a free-bleeding laceration. The bleeding actually helps cleanse the wound to a degree. Not so with cats. When the cat withdraws its teeth the wound may bleed a bit but will quickly close. The bacteria in the wound will multiply, causing it to fester. This is painful and often requires professional medical treatment with antibiotics.

Cat bites should be taken seriously, but at the same time one should not overreact. Unless you work full-time with stray and feral cats it is not worth it to get immunized for rabies--the disease has a very low incidence in the US cat population. On the other hand tetanus boosters are a good idea. Painful--but better than the alternative....