Bitten by an unknown cat (stray cat) - Need advice

xxjan

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I have seen this cat around our house, it keeps coming back and looking for food. The other day, I woke up around midnight and it was so dark, I tried to grab a pillow on top of the couch, but later on the thing that I grabbed was actually a sleeping cat. It got shocked and I didn't know what happened next, I went to the bathroom and turned on the lights, then I found out that I had two small wounds. The wound has a very small hole in it and it is as small as a needle or actually smaller. I washed it with soap and I began sleeping again. Then I woke up and found out that the wound was already healing and now it leaves two small two red marks (with the hole still on it), I don't feel any itchiness or numbness around the wound, but I am still terrified that I have been infected by rabies or any kind of dangerous infection.


Should I get a shot for anti-rabies? Help!
 
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ritz

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Oh, sorry you got woken up that way?
Rabies in cats is very rare, and a shot after you got bitten won't protect you from rabies.
That said, cats have lots of bad bacteria in their mouths. I would keep a close eye on the wounds, especially look for any streaks of red emanting from the wound. If the area starts to swell or hurt, you need to go to urgent care immediately.
Is this a cat you think you can trap, perhaps to get vaccinated against rabies (for the cat's sake as much as yours) and neutered/spayed (if not already). If she was sleeping in your house, she seems tame enough to trap or pick up.
 
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xxjan

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I don't think I can trap this cat or whatsoever. Thank you for your kind advice.

I will monitor my wound. As of now, my wound is healing, the other small red mark ( wound ) is now quickly healing and almost invisible in the human eye.
 

StefanZ

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Rabies in cats is very rare, and a shot after you got bitten won't protect you from rabies.
Must be a typo of some sort.  Anti-rabies serum does helps taken after the bites...

So if you think the danger is real - off you go to the doc shrieking at the lungs top...

Im joking a little, as I dont think it was really bad.  If they cats had attacked you first - yes - alarm on!

I also agree rabies in cats is rare.

But here, from the cats point of view, YOU attacked it.  No wonder it defended.  Besides, if it was biting for real, you would notice it immediately. There is an enormous force in cats jaws when thye bite for real.

Here you got punctated, but I think and hope you and the cat were sooner unlucky.

Continue to keep watch, if there develops some infection inside under the healed skin - that is the danger with punctatin bites - you dont know how deep they really are.

Another danger is tetanus.  When I got once biten by my otherwise very friendly younger resident, the doc wasnt very troubled by the wound.  But he gave me an extra tetanus shof in the other arm.  That arm swelled up, and I got raised temp and felt sick, not from the wound, but from the tetanus shot...

Interesting, the cat apparently sneaked in into your home, and wanted to sleep there near you.

With time, he will probably accept to be adopted by you, if you wish so.

Good luck!

    *vibes!*
 

matts mom

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I had a friend who was bitten by a stray.... the doctor advised rabies vaccines because she didn't know the cat who bit her, and couldn't have it tested.

Perhaps you should ask your doctor what they suggest? At the very least you should make sure you're up to date on Tetanus because of the puncture wound.....
 
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xxjan

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Thanks! That cheered me up.

I got my anti-tetanus shot about 2 years ago when I got bitten by my dog. So I think, I am still under protection from it.

My mom scheduled me this Friday to get a shot for anti-rabies.
 
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newbieneedshelp

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Definitely get a tetanus shot. If ever bitten again, wash the wound out with iodine as quickly as possible, it is supposed to kill the rabies virus. However, this would be on the surface, and there is no way of knowing whether it entered into your system. It would be best if you could catch the animal so it could be quarantined for 10 days to watch for changes. It is a rarity for cats to get rabies, but it is not unheard of either. I think you should seek the guidance of a physician. By the time rabies symptoms show up in humans, it is too late to remedy it with shots.
 
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