Q:

I was bit and scratched by a cat Monday evening. The cat had a collar and a harness and appeared to be very well taken care of (so I can assume she had all her shots), but I hadn't seen her around anywhere before. She was excessively friendly but when I pet her belly she bit and scratched my hand.

She did not draw blood or, I believe, break the skin of my hand, but the scratch/bite marks were still very irritated and painful. It's healing now, and one scratch is entirely gone, but the one that is still there is kinda scabbed up and still hurts.

I live with four cats back home so I'm familiar with cat scratches/bites but this case feels unusual especially since she didn't break the skin. As well, since I am unfamiliar with the cat and whether or not it had all its shots, I was wondering whether or I should worry about any kind of infections, or whether or not I'm being entirely too paranoid for what's probably just a scratch.

 

A:

In terms of your risk of rabies, it is extremely low in a situation like this with a cat that was acting normally until you touched her belly, so this is considered a "provoked attack". There have been no domestic animals with rabies in Whatcom County for many years. So that is not something to be worried about.

However cat bites and scratches can get infected, and the fact that you do have scabs means the skin was broken even if you didn't see blood. If there is still a tender wound, especially if it is red around it or there is any drainage, then antibiotics may be indicated.

We also update a tetanus booster if it has been more than five years since your last one.

~The Doc