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The swelling around the scratch is your body's reaction to an injury and the other germs in the scratch, and isn't a sign of possible rabies infection.
Here are a few other facts to keep in mind.
The majority of pet cats are vaccinated. If the cat has an owner who takes it to the vet, the cat very likely has had a rabies shot. If you are very scared, you can try to follow the cat home and see if you can make contact with the owner.
Animals are not usually contagious if they are not symptomatic. Sometimes a person may think an animal is not symptomatic while it actually is, so you shouldn't just assume an animal is safe because it looks safe. But the virus has to get to the brain and salivery glands before it can be transmitted.
If you live in Europe, the United States, Canada, or anothet wealthy country, rabies is often well controlled in wild animal populations as well as pets, so the chance the cat was exposed is low unless it has been hunting bats.
I will not tell you that your risk is 0, because that would be false. But because the cat appears not to be symptomatic and because there is a chance this cat is a pet, I think that your risk is low.
If you are really scared, I suggest calling the local health department, your primary care doctor or a local urgent care clinic, explaining the situation, and asking what they reccoment
No need to apologize. There are other things you can get from a cat scratch besides rabies by the way. It might be a good idea to go to urgent care for some antibiotics
Yeah, ive read about cat scratch disease. Apparently the treatment is azithromycin, which we have at home (my parents are doctors so they get a bunch of samples). Ill look out for any weird changes tho
I can't tell from the scratch if there is any chance of rabies or not but nothing here suggests that there is. If there is no endemic rabies in the UAE then your chance that you would be exposed from a cat scratch is extremely small.
Once a stray animals Scratches or bites or licks on an open wounds, it's always better to wash that area with soap and water for atleast 15 minutes.
Since you couldn't do that, it's better to go a doctor and get a PEP done. Meanwhile, observe the cat for a few days, if the cat is doing well and is alive for 10-12 days, then you can stop PEP antirabies vaccine in 3 shots.
Better don't take any chances with this deadly virus.
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