Dangers from street-cat bite that left a tiny speckle of blood?

Question

There is a (female) cat we've been feeding the last 3 or so months (I didn't take notice so it's an approximation). She seemed quite young at first so I presume she should be around 6 months old.

She comes to our balcony several times a day, but at the rest of the day she roams free around the neighborhood and I'm pretty sure I've noticed some scratches on her a few times. At first she barely let us get near her even when bringing food, then we could pet her only while she was eating, and now she actually comes by when being called and lets you pet her if you don't make any sudden movements.

Now, she's not vaccinated at all yet but I've been thinking on ordering a vet the following days to get it done at home. But today while petting her she decided all of a sudden to bite me (most cats I've seen have this stupid reaction where they seemingly forget it's a familiar hand petting them and lash out in the middle of the petting without notice). It went onto my thumb, and while it didn't feel too forceful and at first I didn't think it actually punctured, I did notice a pinpoint red dot which is probably from one of her teeth. I washed it with water and soap and afterwards applied a povidone-iodine solution to the area.

The basics — rabies? From local data it seems rabies the past several years has been mostly confined to the north of my country (~100 km north of where I'm at) and detected cases in cats (though perhaps many aren't detected and thus are missing from the data) average about 1 per year. So that seems very unlikely and I don't think this cat shows any symptoms of rabies (which to my understanding remains non-infectious through bites until the virus has reached the brain area and symptoms show up).

But other stuff that might pass through a tiny bite puncture? Possible infections or even parasites?

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

The bites of free-roaming animals like stray cats and dogs are always risky, because these animals may have recently had contact with rodents, vermin and filth. As pointed out by this Wikipedia article about cat bites:

Cat bites are usually considered minor injuries but can result in serious infection.

Bites from cats develop infections more frequently than bites from dogs.

It might not be obvious, but a tiny puncture that doesn't bleed much can be just as dangerous as a deep wound, but for different reasons:

• Deep puncture wounds tend to bleed a lot, which transports parts of the infectious matter out of the body. Since no oxygen can reach inside the wound, the risk of an infection with extremely dangerous anaerobic bacteria (like Clostridium tetani that causes tetanus or Clostridium botulinum that causes botulism) is high. Consult a doctor in any case.
• Shallow, open wounds are easier to clean and disinfect. With proper first aid (and effective vaccination against rabies and tetanus, if you live where it exists in the wild) it's acceptable to monitor the wound and only consult a doctor if you notice infection or other complications.
• Shallow puncture wounds tend not to bleed (much) and are harder to clean and disinfect. The risk of anaerobic microbes is low, but the risk of being infected with whatever the animal had on it's claws or in it's saliva is higher. With proper first aid and disinfection, it's acceptable to monitor the wound and only consult a doctor if you notice infection or other complications.

The best prevention is to keep your own vaccinations up to date, especially rabies and tetanus (or whatever infectious diseases are common in your area). Clean the wound very thoroughly with water and soap, then apply plenty of isopropyl alcohol.

Don't cover the wound with an airtight bandage / band-aid.

Consult a doctor as soon as you notice any symptoms like severe pain or swelling, typical flu symptoms, discoloration of the wound, a tingling sensation, fever, fatigue or unusual tiredness.

Answer 2

Never treat a stray bite like its ok and you will be fine. Every time you even see a speckle of blood on your finger from a stray bite, you should still get it checked out. There is always a chance your cat will get infected with a disease such as tetanus or rabies. Rabies is contagious through infection of the skin so it can be spread to you if the cat scratches or bites you. I would go to the vet if your cat have been bitten right away. Like go Now.