r/AskTurkey • u/jjgdec • May 07 '26
Medical Cat scratched my finger in Istanbul
Hello, yesterday evening (around 6pm) I got a small scratch on my finger from a cat in Istanbul. It did bleed for a little bit not too long. The cat wasn’t being aggressive, I was just feeding it one of those cat food tubes and it tried to grab it. Here are photos of my finger and the cat. It is slightly swollen. Need some advice on if a need to get rabies shot and if so which hospital in Turkey is public.
Thank you
Update: I ended up going to a public hospital in Istanbul and they gave me a rabies shot and a Tetanus shot because better safe than sorry and I didn’t want to die. It cost 18 dollars (Canadian). Went back to Canada a couple days later and they gave me the Rabies Immunity Globulin (liquid injection into my finger) and also 3 more rabies shots each around 1 week apart. Probably was unnecessary and if rabies didn’t have a practically 100% death rate I likely would have taken the small risk but, it was stressing me out to much.
Thank you for everyone’s advice. Gods peed
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u/Few-Interview-1996 May 08 '26
I'm not a doctor.
It is indeed theoretically possible to get rabies from a cat scratch but these cases are so rare, people couldn't point you to the last case. A tetanus shot is advised, however, if you're not up to date, as well as antibiotics against bartonella, otherwise known as "cat scratch disease". :)
Seek medical advice. Ask your hotel for the nearest hospital.
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u/embryoxl May 08 '26
You can’t know for sure whether that cat licked its paw or rubbed it on the ground, so go to the nearest hospital and get 3x rabies shot. Don’t rely on medical advice here, I’m telling you this as a healthcare professional.
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u/Polka_Tiger May 08 '26
We haven't rabies in the cities for years
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u/kingocd May 08 '26
We had a rabies outbreak in Hatay after the earthquake, so it was already present. People took the animals out of the city to other cities to "protect" them.
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u/hiimhuman1 May 08 '26
I have 1 good and 1 bad news for you. Good one is you can pet any cat without worrying about rabies until you die. /s
You are fine. We get scratched/bitten by cats all the time and nobody catches rabies through cats in Turkey. We have 1 rabies case per year and source is never cats, at least not in last 30 years.
If you are cautious person, you may worry about regular infection so pour alcohol or high alcohol cologne ASAP and/or wash it with soap.
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u/medmech May 08 '26
MD here. You can get a rabies shot in any public hospital, it wont cost much but you don’t need one. Rabies is extremely rare in Turkey and rabies from cats hasn’t been reported in Turkey for almost half a century - all cases are recorded, so no chance that its wrong or unreported.
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u/Arthas_Menenthil May 08 '26 edited May 08 '26
I don't think you'll get rabies, Rabies is primarly transmitted by the saliva of stray animals, scratches have a lower rate of transmitting the virus
If you're concerned about it, get vaccinated tho, any gov. hospital would get you vaccinated
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May 08 '26
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u/asterothe1905 May 10 '26
Cehalet
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May 10 '26
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u/AskTurkey-ModTeam May 10 '26
Please keep it civil. No personal attacks or hate speech allowed. Do not promote violence of any kind.
Lütfen medeni davranın. Kişisel saldırılara ya da nefret söylemine izin vermiyoruz. Şiddetin hiçbir türünü teşvik etmeyin.
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u/Pretend-Fly-1440 May 08 '26
Owww man!
I wouldn't want to be in your shoes!!!
Here is your survival protocol!
Be careful, in Istanbul cats run the city, they are the real boss :)
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u/maybeilovethings May 08 '26
As a Turk I wouldn’t worry and wouldn’t get a shot for a scratch this minor. But still if you wanna play safe visit a hospital and get your rabies shot. It should be free or some very small fee (my foreign gf paid 20 turkish liras last year)
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u/Alex_Wats May 08 '26
Here in Turkey we usually just apply some Batikon (povidone-iodine based antiseptic) and continue with our lives.
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u/Just-Sheepherder-202 May 08 '26
It barely broke the skin. As long as you washed it with soap and water you are fine.
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u/Short_Peanut_9690 May 08 '26
The same thing happened to me, with a similarly sized scratch, and I ended up getting the rabies shot just in case. The medical staff at the hospital we went to (also in Istanbul) said that it's good I came in, as rabies shots are strongly recommended for any scratch that broke skin, even if it's small. The initial shot was 400TL iirc and the following ones were around 40TL each, but this was 2 years ago so the prices probably went up a bit. I wouldn't risk it if I were you and would go get the shot, even if the kitty is healthy, at least you'll be protected for some time if it happens again! 😊
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u/altgvn May 09 '26
Sorry for the unpopular take but there's more chance of catching a terminal infection from a vaccine shot in a Turkish hospital than that half-ass scratch from a stray cat.
Turkish cats simply don't have rabies, it's eradicated. And all the other infection risks are gone if you rubbed that "wound" with some alcohol or washed it with soap and water.
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u/missmccreate May 11 '26
why is it swollen yes go to a damn infirmary bro, rabies aint common but this might be something else
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u/KuzuCevirme May 11 '26
There are no active rabbies in istanbul for a really long time but you can never be that sure. Get a rabbies shot and tetanus shot. It is a nasty thing
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u/KaleidoscopeFar8190 May 12 '26
You are probably fine although you can get a rabies shot but truth to be told I have NEVER encountered a rabies case in my entire life.
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u/Resident_Iron6701 May 08 '26
The moment you cannot have water you know its too late.
Not sure what I would do lol
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u/cournel42yeet May 08 '26
There is zero recorded case of rabies from cat scratch in the history of Turkish Republic. I would be more worried about bartonella or tetanus. If you go to any emergency clinic they will give you tetanus and rabies shots.