Cats are cute and adorable, extremely lovable. Cats need to keep their claws for survival reasons, and the presence of claws easily causes scratches to owners or others. What should you do if you are accidentally scratched by a cat? Don’t worry, follow the steps below and you won’t go wrong.

There are two situations.

One, what to do if scratched by a stray cat?

If scratched by a stray cat, you must go to the hospital for disinfection and treatment, and get a full prophylactic vaccine injection.

1. Clean the wound quickly

After being scratched or bitten by a cat, immediately rinse the wound with running water while squeezing it to let the blood flow out. Blood can carry away some bacteria and viruses. After rinsing for ten minutes, immediately rinse again with soapy water for another ten minutes. Then apply tincture of iodine all over the wound, wipe it off with alcohol, and apply iodine again. Repeat this process several times. Generally, mild viruses and bacteria will be flushed out. Also, do not bandage the wound after cleaning, nor use a band-aid, as bandaging can worsen infection.

2. Get vaccinated

Even if you have cleaned a stray cat scratch yourself, you still need to get vaccinated. Of course, if you have been vaccinated within the last six months, you may choose not to get another injection. It is impossible to estimate the viruses and bacteria carried by stray cats, and once scratched, you can quickly become infected. Therefore, vaccination cannot be ignored.

3. Inject antiviral serum

If scratched by a stray cat and the location is prone to infection or inflammation, besides timely full prophylactic vaccination, you also need to inject antiviral serum.

After vaccination, it is recommended to return to the hospital for a follow-up after 15 days for a blood test to check if the vaccination was successful and if antibodies have been produced.

Two, what to do if scratched by a domestic cat?

Your own cat can often unintentionally scratch you. If your cat is fully vaccinated, clean, and mostly stays indoors, you don’t need to be overly anxious after being scratched. Just rinse the wound with water, disinfect with iodine and alcohol. Don’t rush to stop the bleeding; cleaning the wound with blood flowing away and then disinfecting is sufficient.

Cats are cute and hard to ignore. It is also recommended to be careful when playing with cats; it is best not to let them scratch you. When bathing cats, be gentle to also prevent scratches.