Is it rabies or cat scratch disease if a stray cat scratches me?

Cat scratches can transmit many infections, the most serious being 'cat scratch disease' from the bartonella bacteria. You should speak to your doctor/physician about your own wounds and although this scratch appears to be minor you should bathe it thoroughly with antiseptic and monitor for any redness, fever, swelling or leg pain

Hello, this is a question best asked of a physician, not a veterinarian. In general, rabies is not transmitted by scratches as the virus is contained within the saliva. There is always a very small chance that some of the cats saliva was on your skin & the scratch drove it into the tissues, but this is very unlikely. Was the cat acting in a wild & unexplained way? There is a difference in a cat that may scratch out of fear or being defensive vs. being in the furious stage of rabies infection. I assume that the rabies vaccine that you speak of was for you, correct? If so, follow your physicians recommendations, but again, a scratch is very unlikely to infect you with the virus. Cats can be fed minimum amounts of human food, & this includes just about any meat, fish or vegetable we eat. Cats require specific amino acids in their diet which they get from fortified pet ( cat ) foods & hunting, so receiving only human food may not provide everything a cat needs. Make sure your cat eats some regular dry or wet cat food daily. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

The good news is that rabies is transmitted through bites/saliva and not scratches. If Ming was infected and shedding the rabies virus a month ago, then he would have died from the disease by now. Considering all of this, I think you should be safe, but it's best to consult with your physician if you have any further concerns. Below is a link to more information about rabies. https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/index.html I hope that helps and all is well.

The rabies virus is transmitted through bodily fluids such as saliva, so there would be a higher chance of contracting it from a bite. But any wound which comes into contact with saliva would be a risk.

You should contact the health department or animal control in your area regarding your bite - they might recommend a quarantine for your cat to be sure there is no concern for rabies. No vaccine is 100% effective so while it is unlikely that the unvaccinated cat could transmit rabies to your cat it is possible. You should also probably contact your physician - cat bites often get infected!

With bite wounds there is a risk of Rabies (although I believe Australia has strict quarantine procedures and may be Rabies free now) as well as bacterial infections both from bites/scratches and your own skin bacteria. Any wound needs to be thoroughly cleaned and evaluated by your primary care provider/MD.

There's never anything wrong for seeking reassurance, particularly with something as serious as rabies. Rabies is transmitted through saliva, so scratches are not a major concern with respect to rabies transmission. That said, it's never wrong to take extra precautions to quarantine for 10 days. The reason the quarantine is 10 days long is that if an animal is infected with rabies and is actively secreting the virus through its saliva, it would be severely neurologically impaired or dead by the end of the 10 day period. At this point, both you and the kitten are in the clear!