alright here's what happened.
the 3 scratches are almost insignificant, but they did draw blood, so i thought i'd ask..
my brother's cat has been in some type of fight ( wild animal? another cat? no clue.) anyways, he's missing a chunk out of his face but he is otherwise good condition, he's acting fine. i made sure we've been keeping a close eye on him for the past week b/c, like an idiot, my brother hasn't vaccinated him in about a year or two. so in short, we took the cat to the vet and she said that she could do a blood test to see if the cat still has antibodies from his last vaccine. how likely is it that one could contract rabies in this situation. it happened today, so what exactly should i do? oh and we live in alabama-if it matters.
Update:in response to the last two answers. the scratches are on my hand, the chunk of meat is out of the cat...
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
No, you can't contract rabies. The reason why is because you were SCRATCHED, not bitten.
Rabies is spread through the saliva (or brain matter, but I'd doubt you've been in contact with their brain matter!). If the cat bit you, then you would need to quarantine the animal for 10 days to make sure that it doesn't die or show any signs of rabies. If it did, then you would need to be treated immediately. You cannot wait to see if you get sick, because once you show symptoms, you would be dead in a week (give or take a few days).
The virus lives in the body for weeks to months before it hits the brain and affects the person (and they start showing symptoms), that's why you can treat it after a bite, to keep it from affecting you. But once it hits the brain, it's too late, you will die.
If the cat did not die or show symptoms during the quarantine period, then the animal did not have the virus in their brain (or saliva) when it bit you. It could still be in their body, but they can't transmit until it gets into the saliva (and again, they'd die within days).
Again, if you were scratched, not bitten, then rabies is not a risk here. But cat-scratch fever and other infections are, so you should see a doctor right away. He'll likely just put you on antibiotics to keep any infection from happening.
most cats do not contact rabies because of a scratch or so... i have been scratch by cats many times but im still here typing my answers, the cat seems like a wild cat i just played with it... so dont worry... but in case its a dog or something the vet is a good thing nothing to worry
yes, cats do contract rabies. even if the injury just came from a cat scratch, and also in your case, it did bleed .. which means rabies can cross easily into your body with disruption of the body membrane..
better be safe than sorry, so go to the nearest hospital and have yourself vaccinated.
for the meantime, wash it with soap and running water for 5 minutes. don't cover the wound. and go to the hospital for vaccination..
Does the cat have rabbies, if so its possible. Go see a doctor.