Got Scratched By My Cat

momtobruceandmimi

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Jun 16, 2019
Messages
16
Purraise
14
Hi! So this is probably not the right category to post this question as I'm still new here. But my 3months old Luna got out at dawn today. I found her up in a tree in our neighborhood. She couldn't come down as a dog was barking at her from bellow. So I tried to pry her out of the branches. But she was very scared and in the process scratched me in multiple places. Some of the wounds are still bleeding. I washed and put an ointment on the scratches.

Luna has not yet been vaccinated. Should I get anti virus vaccine for me?
 

EmersonandEvie

Mom to Evie, Emerson and Dexter
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 25, 2017
Messages
1,691
Purraise
2,769
Location
Northeast Georgia
You don't need any sort of vaccine. Keep doing what you are doing (washing and antibiotic ointment). If you get a fever or it doesn't heal right, go see a doctor for some antibiotics.
 

Willowy

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 1, 2009
Messages
31,886
Purraise
28,287
Location
South Dakota
:yeah:
I know in some countries the medical community is quick to give the rabies vaccine to humans after any kind of animal contact. But if she's still alive (and stays alive), she doesn't have rabies, so don't worry about that. Of course if she dies mysteriously in the next couple of weeks, talk to the doctor, but that's not very likely. You only need a rabies shot if you're bitten or scratched by a stray that can't be caught. So just keep it clean and watch for infection, and everything should be fine :D.
 

Antonio65

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 27, 2017
Messages
6,053
Purraise
9,672
Location
Orbassano - Italy
You only need a rabies shot if you're bitten or scratched by a stray that can't be caught. So just keep it clean and watch for infection, and everything should be fine :D.
I've been bitten and/or scratched by feral cats countless times in my life.
Last time a few months back when a feral cat returning from the spaying and ready to be released bit my index finger and pierced through the nail. Apart from a through hole in my finger I was fine.

Sometimes a wound got swollen and/or reddish. Sometimes nothing happened.
No vet or doctor ever told me to get a rabies shot just for a bite or scratch.
 

Willowy

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 1, 2009
Messages
31,886
Purraise
28,287
Location
South Dakota
No vet or doctor ever told me to get a rabies shot just for a bite or scratch.
If you can observe the cat for 10 days after the bite/scratch, it's fine. Like if it's a colony cat that you see every day. If it's an animal you don't know and it runs away and you don't see it again, protocol says that you should get a rabies shot just in case. But doctors know what the rabies rates are in that particular area and can advise on the best course of action. So maybe rabies rates are quite low in your area so the doctors don't worry about it.

Oh wait, nevermind, I just looked it up----apparently Italy is declared rabies-free! So that's why your doctors aren't concerned :D.
 

Antonio65

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 27, 2017
Messages
6,053
Purraise
9,672
Location
Orbassano - Italy
Oh wait, nevermind, I just looked it up----apparently Italy is declared rabies-free! So that's why your doctors aren't concerned :D.
Thanks so much! :thumbsup:
I didn't know that my country is declared rabies-free. As far as I know, only a few countries in Europe are rabies-free, namely Ireland and Great Britain, and maybe Sweden (or Norway)...
This is the reason why when we travel across the border with our pets, we need a special pet passport with rabies vaccine certification.
Until a few years ago, travelling to Ireland and Great Britain would require that our pets were quarantined at the customs.
 

Willowy

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 1, 2009
Messages
31,886
Purraise
28,287
Location
South Dakota
This is what Wikipedia says: Several countries in Europe have been designated rabies-free jurisdictions: Austria, United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Greece, Malta, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Estonia,[46] the Czech Republic, Iceland,[47] and the Republic of Cyprus.
Prevalence of rabies - Wikipedia
 

Sybil Foster

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Jul 15, 2019
Messages
7
Purraise
1
I doubt you'd need a rabies vaccine for this but if you work with young children or elderly people you still might want to consider it... even though it's super uncommon for rabies to be transferred between people.
 

Talien

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Oct 10, 2018
Messages
2,650
Purraise
5,131
Location
Michigan
If she had bitten you, broke the skin, and held on with her teeth then a hospital visit would be in order because there would be a real danger of cellulitis. But just from a scratch? Keep doing what you're doing, clean the scratches and apply antibiotic ointment and you should be fine.
 
Top