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- Jan 16, 2009
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I got bitten by a stray cat today and need some advice on what to do. Sorry this is so long...
I noticed this young stray cat over 2 weeks ago when one night after midnight it was meowing outside my door. I've been leaving food out for the cat ever since and it's been showing up to eat. The cat is socialized. I've petted and picked up the cat on three occasions and it sometimes comes running toward me meowing when I call it. The cat seems friendly and healthy, but it looks like it might have been in a fight at some point. A week ago, I noticed that one of it's eyes is injured and I noticed what looked like a couple of puncture marks on it's cheek below the injured eye. Looks like the injury happened a while ago.
A local no-kill shelter agreed to take in the cat. So, today, after petting it about 10 minutes, I picked up the cat and tried to put it in a carrier to take it to the shelter. The cat resisted the carrier and bit me on my hand. The bite is superficial. Looks more like three 1 inch scratches, but it did draw blood. Less than a minute after being bitten, I was inside washing the bite and kept the bite under running water for several minutes.
I later went outside again and called the cat and it came running to me again and it ate some cat food. We were both cautious around each other this time, though.
I'm nervous about the possibility of rabies. I'd say the cat has been acting perfectly normal for the two weeks I've observed it and it acted normally today. That it struggled and bit me because I picked it up and tried to put it into a carrier is understandable. Can I be reassured by it's normal behavior?
I hope I still have the chance to trap the cat and take it to the shelter, but every night, I worry some that I won't see it the next day. Now, I'm worried if I don't see it again I may need to get rabies shots.
What are the chances of rabies under the circumstances I described? How can I catch this cat? What if I don't see it again? Any thoughts or advice on the situation would be appreciated. Thanks.
I noticed this young stray cat over 2 weeks ago when one night after midnight it was meowing outside my door. I've been leaving food out for the cat ever since and it's been showing up to eat. The cat is socialized. I've petted and picked up the cat on three occasions and it sometimes comes running toward me meowing when I call it. The cat seems friendly and healthy, but it looks like it might have been in a fight at some point. A week ago, I noticed that one of it's eyes is injured and I noticed what looked like a couple of puncture marks on it's cheek below the injured eye. Looks like the injury happened a while ago.
A local no-kill shelter agreed to take in the cat. So, today, after petting it about 10 minutes, I picked up the cat and tried to put it in a carrier to take it to the shelter. The cat resisted the carrier and bit me on my hand. The bite is superficial. Looks more like three 1 inch scratches, but it did draw blood. Less than a minute after being bitten, I was inside washing the bite and kept the bite under running water for several minutes.
I later went outside again and called the cat and it came running to me again and it ate some cat food. We were both cautious around each other this time, though.
I'm nervous about the possibility of rabies. I'd say the cat has been acting perfectly normal for the two weeks I've observed it and it acted normally today. That it struggled and bit me because I picked it up and tried to put it into a carrier is understandable. Can I be reassured by it's normal behavior?
I hope I still have the chance to trap the cat and take it to the shelter, but every night, I worry some that I won't see it the next day. Now, I'm worried if I don't see it again I may need to get rabies shots.
What are the chances of rabies under the circumstances I described? How can I catch this cat? What if I don't see it again? Any thoughts or advice on the situation would be appreciated. Thanks.