I am just SO mad!

[ChicknJ]

Horsejody is 100% right. Tetnus, and proof of rabies vaccine.

I read your whole thread here and see that you were scratched, not bitten, is this corredct? Barring rabies and cat scratch fever, you can get a very nasty infection from cats. I have seen so very many cat related injuries at the urgent care I worked for. Every single one of them needed high dose antibiotics for the proper length.

Please, please report this and get thee to a walk-in or emergency room. If you have the paperwork to prove it was reported, you should be able to make payment arrangments and offer those payment arrangments to the neighbor.

I liked the dial soap advise, but we have always scrubbed the scratches and bites out really well with a betadine and hibicleans solution, even if it is much after the fact. Ok, just my 2 cents, I sincerely hope you suffer no residual effects from this and Elvis heals up quickly.

 

[Robin'sBrood]

Sarah, if you don't have insurance I would think that a trip to a local urgent care would be a better idea than a trip to an ER, cost wise. Hopefully you'll just get a prescription for an antibiotic and be on your way.

Oh, and please don't try to save $$ by using someone else's antibiotics. Not all antibiotics work on everything, which is why there are different ones prescribed for different illnesses. I'm afraid doing that could cost you more in the long run -- if your wounds got infected because the antibiotic you got from someone else didn't help and you wound up in the hospital with a serious infection!

 

[australorpchick]

Quote:
That is very bad advice, just because 2 people got lucky and scratches didnt get infected DOES NOT mean someone elses wont.
Ugh I cant even believe someone would even suggest blowing off a cat scratch when they have no clue if the animal has had any shots.

Edited to add a few things and change a couple.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. However, I'm speaking from experience and research, as well as, keeping in mind what the OP has mentioned or indicated: 1) She has no insurance, 2) the neighbor will most likely not pay, and 3) OP does not seem willing to take the neighbor to court.

First, yes you can get rabies from a cat scratch. The chances are minimal, next to nil. There are instances where rabies vaccination will not be administered, unless the patient was actually bitten.

Second, unless you have HIV/AIDS or some other form of immunity issues, there is no specific care for a cat scratch fever, as it is usually self-limited. Home treatment usually consists of washing, acetaminophen and antiobiotic ointments. If your glands begin to swell and remain swollen for a couple of months, you may be prescribed an antibiotic.

I've read many posts here, that if I was the OP, would send me into a panic, running to closest ER, where of course there are 2+ hour waits with people infected or think they're infected with the Swine flu, not to mention, the cost of that visit.

 

[horsejody]

Quote:
That is very bad advice, just because 2 people got lucky and scratches didnt get infected DOES NOT mean someone elses wont.
Ugh I cant even believe someone would even suggest blowing off a cat scratch when they have no clue if the animal has had any shots.

Edited to add a few things and change a couple.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. However, I'm speaking from experience and research, as well as, keeping in mind what the OP has mentioned or indicated: 1) She has no insurance, 2) the neighbor will most likely not pay, and 3) OP does not seem willing to take the neighbor to court.

First, yes you can get rabies from a cat scratch. The chances are minimal, next to nil. There are instances where rabies vaccination will not be administered, unless the patient was actually bitten.

Second, unless you have HIV/AIDS or some other form of immunity issues, there is no specific care for a cat scratch fever, as it is usually self-limited. Home treatment usually consists of washing, acetaminophen and antiobiotic ointments. If your glands begin to swell and remain swollen for a couple of months, you may be prescribed an antibiotic.

I've read many posts here, that if I was the OP, would send me into a panic, running to closest ER, where of course there are 2+ hour waits with people infected or think they're infected with the Swine flu, not to mention, the cost of that visit.

We all have personal experiences. I, personally have never been seriously ill from an animal scratch or bite. I have worked doing pet rescue and wildlife rescue so I have been bitten and scratched quite a few times. I even had a raccoon dangling from my hand once. However, my dog groomer and his wife had a terrible experience. The wife was scratched by a cat she was grooming. She almost died. She was hospitalized for weeks and out of work for 7 months. It happens. Better safe than sorry.

 

[WalkingWolf]

I didn't read all the replies but in most states you are required to report a attack by a cat or a dog(though some people don't). For your safety and health PLEASE report the incident whether there is a fine or not. Get the scratches looked at and a tetanus shot, and whatever else the medical professional deems appropriate.

I do not have cats but it is hard to contain cats that roam free, I think it was a shame you were fined for feeding strays. But it rather rude for the same person to then let their cat roam the neighborhood. They need to pay for your medical treatment of the scratches.

 

[daisy_dukers]

If you do trap it....PLEASE Dont drive it out to the country and let it free....

I live in the country and someone did this in the fall and I was left with cleaning up thier mess...

3 cats (1 pregnant) had to be re-homed under the dirt.

 

[Sissy]

I agree with
horsejody, send them the bills
that always hurts hard, hitting the wallet. LOL
and if the cat isnt vacinated thats another bill for them.

sissy

 

[Mortimer]

Indeed, use triple-bac ointment (Neosporin is good) on the scratches, and make sure they're cleaned well. Since you were not bitten probably no worries in getting diseases from the potentially un-vaccinated cat, but their claws can have all kindsa nasty stuff in them.

I'm allergic to cats so scratches always swell up and itch like mad on me.

Honestly I wouldn't blame the cat too much, just doing what cats do. This time of year especially ours is under one of the cars eating a bird/rat/mouse/bunny she's caught all the time.

That being said tho there's no reason why you shouldn't protect your animals. Not sure about where you live but in Kansas I'm allowed to shoot pretty much anything that threatens my 'livestock' -- chickens, ducks, or my other pets. If the animal I shot happened to be someone's pet, and they decided to raise a stink about it, I would probably have to prove there was some damage being done but in this case that wouldn't be a problem.

 

[SarahFair]

I set a live trap for it last night and the only place I could put it where I knew the cat would be was under my boyfriends brothers Dodge 2500. He left about 545 this morning and ran over it after I told him not to.
Guess I shouldnt have put it there but...oh well
My dad isnt going to be happy seeing this trap has lasted him the past 10+ years.
Ill buy him a new one though..

....and no the cat was not in it

 

[SarahFair]

I am LIVID!
I called animal control a few mins ago and asked them about the cat.
The lady said it was just some stray that comes around. I told her no no no that cat is always going in and out the kids are always playing with it IT IS THEIR CAT! She said the only thing she could do was take the ladys word for it.
She said I can try and take pictures of them holding and feeding the cat but I told her the only way I can get close enough to get a picture is to stand right next to their house and I dont need them coming out and seeing me do this.
Yesterday my boyfriend and his brother was out finishing up the fence and saw the youngest daughter take the cat from inside the house and hurl it off the back porch. I guess they are going to be as mean to it as possible to get rid of it.

I am so ANGRY right now! My bunnys eye is glooping up and swelling shut and hes just not moving much. My boyfriends cousin works at a vet and is going to take a look at him. I just can afford to pay the $145 walk in fee at the vets around here + any tests they are going to want to run. She can take a look at him and probly issue him some antibiotics.

I am going to get at these neighbors any way I possibly can! Zoning laws..ANYTHING I CAN GET THEM FINED FOR ITS HAPPENING!
Their grass hasnt been cut in over a year I see mice in it all the time. Their mailbox is on my property. Im sure there are many many more things. These people have not even seen the tip of the iceburg yet.