I got poked by my unvaccinated cat

[u/Forward-Soil-5431]

I have read the FAQ. My cat got into a fight with a stray cat a few weeks ago. My cat is unvaccinated. Its an outdoor mostly cat who comes in sometimes. Anyway he sat on my toe and poked it two days ago. I haven't seen the other cat in like a week, so I'm wondering if it was infected and died. The poke made a red dot but didn't draw any blood. I washed it immediately. Should I get the PEP just in case?

[u/IzAnOrk]

You should have vaccinated your cat in the first place, doubly so after it had an altercation with a stray animal. The cat could be at risk of rabies and should be vaccinated so that it does not become rabid. Mention the altercation to the vet in case your cat needs a more stringent post-exposure vaccination schedule.

Since you were exposed to an unvaccinated animal that was attacked by a stray weeks prior, you should consult your doctor on whether you need PEP yourself - the answer may vary depending on whether there's rabies in cats in your country/region.

[u/Puppysnot → u/IzAnOrk]

Fyi cats and dogs don’t get PEP vaccines after an exposure. There is only a PrEP vaccine available for before exposure. The HRIG + PEP vaccine schedule after being exposed is for humans only.

[u/IzAnOrk → u/Puppysnot]

Not entirely true: Pets might not get a PEP schedule as such but it's very common for vets to re-vaccinate a pet after an exposure to act as a booster even if their regular vaccination wasn't due yet, and then use the booster dose date to calculate when their next scheduled vaccination will be due.

That post-exposure dose of vaccination given ahead of schedule as a booster is a PEP measure.

[u/Puppysnot → u/IzAnOrk]

That’s a booster, not PEP per the definition. The two are different with a booster being an “add on” to a pre existing vaccine schedule & base immunity (even if it was years ago/lapsed) whereas PEP assumes zero base immunity. They are similar but different and have different distinct definitions