PonyPotato

I was bitten by a feral cat when I was in 8th grade. We cleaned the puncture wound up, but my mom didn't take me to the doctor for a few days. My hand got progressively more swollen, and a red area spread rapidly after a day or two. When she finally took me to the regular doctor (not the ER), he immediately took me down the hallway to a hand specialist who admitted me to the hospital overnight. I received IV antibiotics (with a PICC line) for TWO WEEKS, and was told I was close to losing my hand to the infection.

I also had to receive rabies shots (the first round) because the cat was a stray (CATS DO CARRY RABIES, THAT'S WHY THEY GET VACCINATED FOR IT). My parents were able to trap the cat, who was then sent to be euthanized and have its head cut off for rabies testing - once it was confirmed to not have rabies, I didn't have to receive the rest of the three-week cycle of rabies shots.

Ugh.

So, yes, take your antibiotics if you get bitten by a cat. Just in case.

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