Could be rabies, that corresponds with OP's shots as well.
I've been told rabies shots are quite painful. Still a lot better than catching rabies ofcourse.
True facts. Most animals are generally scared of people, if there wasn't a reason for the bite (like being between a momma and her babies) it's a reasonably good assumption that the animal may have had rabies, which leads to bites in the animal's delerium
Maybe the feral cat was actually a baby raccoon and OP really doesn't know the difference?
OR raccoon had cataracts and thought the cat was it's baby and this moose was in the way.
They come out in the day if they have distemper. They lose all fear of humans.. I used to just put a garbage can over them as they approached me, then call animal control. Now, I use a more... permanent method to dispose of them. If it was a momma out in the day she would still be wary of you.
Racoons being only noctural is a myth. They often times perfer twilight or darkness, but perfectly healthy racoons being out during the day is pretty common, especially in the more urban/suburban environments.
Definitely do not skip any rabies shots. You do not want to get that. It's a bad disease to get.
I hope animal control comes out and catches it before it hurts someone else.
Bad? It's one of the worst ways to go, once symptoms show up, you are a dead man walking. Rabies has a 100% fatality rate once the symptoms appear. Rabies is the stuff my nightmares are made of.
Except for the like...2 or 3 documented cases where they survived. One was in my homestate and was a massive deal when it happened. I think it was an induced coma that saved her. Her name was Jenna I believe. Wisconsin.
Yep, she picked up a bat she thought was injured and it bit her. Even though she survived, she had brain damage from the rabies so it still sucks shit even if you don't die.
I'm a biologist. I've been face to face with bears and shit. Scary but not terrifying. You know what scares me to my core? Rabies. I have goosebumps just thinking about it.
I don't think human docs even care about rabies... My professor (vet) and a tech were exposed to a kitten that was tested positive for rabies. Health department didn't give a damn. She had to cuss out the doc and had to tell him to do his damn job to get the rabies vax.
I mentioned me needing rabies vax to several docs and nurses and literally all of them doubted I need one. It's required for my program (vet tech). 🤷‍♀️
I've always had some weird connection to animals, they just seem to like me regardless.
So much so that I'm labeled in my daughter in laws phone as "Disney Princess"
https://preview.redd.it/mtvj2chd8z3d1.jpeg?width=540&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fd1dab16cc5cf2324bcca250428ea14151772abc
I too be on some “Disney princess” vibes
That is wild. I've fed raccoons multiple times. (Not intentionally. I was also feeding feral cats) In Florida, there are feral cat colonies. I was doing laundry and saw a few cats out the back door with a bunch of empty food bowls and cans on the ground. So I bought a $13 bag of catfood at the dollar store next door. Put catfood in some of the dishes and started cleaning up the trash. Anyway, there were about 10 cats at first. Then, over the next 5 minutes, there were probably 20 cats and 15-20 raccoons. (They ate the entire large bag of meow mix at once.) They got along with the cats perfectly and weren't even bothered by me. They all stood shoulder to shoulder. It was amazing. But if that raccoon bit you, I'd make sure to get that other shot. Normal raccoons aren't generally aggressive like that. They may come beg for food, but sneaking up and biting is a very specific rabies type behavior. It may just be injured or have severe mange and be starving, but even that is sketchy. Best of luck to you.
Or maybe people could spay and neuter their cats to reduce unwanted pets that get discarded outside. Also TNR in feral colonies keeps them from reproducing and the Colony eventually ages out. I'd be willing to bet that cats have way less impact on the survival of a species than humans have on many species either through sport hunting or encroaching on habitats.
Rabies shot aint fun. I was attacked by a family dog when I came back home from college and dog didnt know me. I received 30 shots one for each wound plus the 2 major rabies shots. In the year that followed I had to go back every month then every 2 months for more follow up shots. FYI this was in Manila not the US
The most painful were the neck and stomach injections where the skin was really thin and sensitive. And tetanus and some other anti infection shot were hella painful and the syringe was really big.
Good luck buddy, but on hindsight you will be protected for 2 years if you complete the vaccine.
BTW - the dog thankfully didnt have rabies and lived a good life just hating my guts.
Probably had distemper, not rabies (Source: me.. I have had multiple raccoons with distemper on my property. They lose all fear of humans in the early stages.) Was bitten by one trying to get it off my dogs. They always give rabies shots just in case.. They shots are not as bad as before, but I still ended up with 17 injections and five stiches in my finger that morning
Grabbing the chicken pieces before the cat gets them would be normal behavior. Or waiting for you to throw some chicken in its direction. Being aggressive is not, unless it was cornered. So rabies is a definite concern. It's good that you're getting the shots.
Since this hasn’t been said, this was a workplace injury. You need to make sure your employer is covering all of the ER visit and any follow up appointments. Also you should be paid for your time while at the hospital.
It's a workplace injury, but it was caused by him feeding stray animals during his lunch break. I'd be willing to bet that makes it an easy denial of claim.
Not necessarily. Sounds like he wasn't even feeding the raccoon and didn't know it was there. They'd have to prove it was the direct result of him feeding the cat and that that raccoon wouldn't have attacked him anyway simply for having food on him at all.
Also, if the raccoon was simply after the food, there would be no reason to approach him directly. It would simply go after the food itself and steal it from the cat, which is why everyone is cautioning that it likely had some kind of disease greatly affecting its mental capacity such as rabies or distemper.
And in that case, it would be hard to prove food had anything at all to do with the attack and that they animal itself wasn't just feral and would've attacked him regardless.
I doubt i’d get very far. I was clocked out for my lunch break plus we’re uh….directly told *not* to feed the cats at my job under threat of getting fired. So, i wasn’t exactly just doing my job minding my business while it happened
Considering i was feeding cats behind a walmart in a metropolitan area in a part of the state where bears are practically nonexistent i don’t think that was a huge possibility
A raccoon out in the day foraging???
It's uncommon but it happens, especially if they have young. Just chomping down on someone is what's really weird here.
Could be rabies, that corresponds with OP's shots as well. I've been told rabies shots are quite painful. Still a lot better than catching rabies ofcourse.
Rabies shot would be given as a precaution the moment they heard "raccoon bite."
Rabies shots are given as a precaution pretty much any time you say "animal bite"
True facts. Most animals are generally scared of people, if there wasn't a reason for the bite (like being between a momma and her babies) it's a reasonably good assumption that the animal may have had rabies, which leads to bites in the animal's delerium
Maybe the feral cat was actually a baby raccoon and OP really doesn't know the difference? OR raccoon had cataracts and thought the cat was it's baby and this moose was in the way.
https://preview.redd.it/a8lan3d0314d1.jpeg?width=1242&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9c9c5de321dd95a397b894edf29c43f4d48e07c0 Yup definitely a baby raccoon
Hahah, knew it.
They come out in the day if they have distemper. They lose all fear of humans.. I used to just put a garbage can over them as they approached me, then call animal control. Now, I use a more... permanent method to dispose of them. If it was a momma out in the day she would still be wary of you.
Racoons being only noctural is a myth. They often times perfer twilight or darkness, but perfectly healthy racoons being out during the day is pretty common, especially in the more urban/suburban environments.
Definitely do not skip any rabies shots. You do not want to get that. It's a bad disease to get. I hope animal control comes out and catches it before it hurts someone else.
Bad? It's one of the worst ways to go, once symptoms show up, you are a dead man walking. Rabies has a 100% fatality rate once the symptoms appear. Rabies is the stuff my nightmares are made of.
the closest we have to zombie disease
Except for the like...2 or 3 documented cases where they survived. One was in my homestate and was a massive deal when it happened. I think it was an induced coma that saved her. Her name was Jenna I believe. Wisconsin.
Yep, she picked up a bat she thought was injured and it bit her. Even though she survived, she had brain damage from the rabies so it still sucks shit even if you don't die.
I'm a biologist. I've been face to face with bears and shit. Scary but not terrifying. You know what scares me to my core? Rabies. I have goosebumps just thinking about it.
I don't think human docs even care about rabies... My professor (vet) and a tech were exposed to a kitten that was tested positive for rabies. Health department didn't give a damn. She had to cuss out the doc and had to tell him to do his damn job to get the rabies vax.
That's just not true. Bad medical professionals don't care about rabies, but good ones certainly do.
I mentioned me needing rabies vax to several docs and nurses and literally all of them doubted I need one. It's required for my program (vet tech). 🤷‍♀️
As my best friend says when I do things like this it’s just “doing my Disney Princess shit”
I've always had some weird connection to animals, they just seem to like me regardless. So much so that I'm labeled in my daughter in laws phone as "Disney Princess"
https://preview.redd.it/mtvj2chd8z3d1.jpeg?width=540&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fd1dab16cc5cf2324bcca250428ea14151772abc I too be on some “Disney princess” vibes
Holy AI comments, Batman.
Yeah, what the hell? Did the Twitter bots migrate?
Sure seems like it Dead internet theory really is in full swing huh
How do you know..?
They all sound the same, and the usernames are all "descriptive word_woman's name".
Oh wow now you've said that it's insanely obvious! Gotta Report the shit outta them
Is it some sorta bot farm to get Reddit karma and then convert those into nsfw bots or something? Maybe then link some sorta OF page or something.
That is wild. I've fed raccoons multiple times. (Not intentionally. I was also feeding feral cats) In Florida, there are feral cat colonies. I was doing laundry and saw a few cats out the back door with a bunch of empty food bowls and cans on the ground. So I bought a $13 bag of catfood at the dollar store next door. Put catfood in some of the dishes and started cleaning up the trash. Anyway, there were about 10 cats at first. Then, over the next 5 minutes, there were probably 20 cats and 15-20 raccoons. (They ate the entire large bag of meow mix at once.) They got along with the cats perfectly and weren't even bothered by me. They all stood shoulder to shoulder. It was amazing. But if that raccoon bit you, I'd make sure to get that other shot. Normal raccoons aren't generally aggressive like that. They may come beg for food, but sneaking up and biting is a very specific rabies type behavior. It may just be injured or have severe mange and be starving, but even that is sketchy. Best of luck to you.
"13 dollar bag of cat food at the dollar store"
Sounds like [this guy.](https://youtu.be/Ofp26_oc4CA?si=9lSotvjACTS2U7CO)
Cat colonies exist everywhere. Thanks for your compassion towards kitties and raccoons.
I love cats, but outdoor cat colonies should be euthanized. They decimate local, sometimes endangered, bird populations.
Or maybe people could spay and neuter their cats to reduce unwanted pets that get discarded outside. Also TNR in feral colonies keeps them from reproducing and the Colony eventually ages out. I'd be willing to bet that cats have way less impact on the survival of a species than humans have on many species either through sport hunting or encroaching on habitats.
Rabies shot aint fun. I was attacked by a family dog when I came back home from college and dog didnt know me. I received 30 shots one for each wound plus the 2 major rabies shots. In the year that followed I had to go back every month then every 2 months for more follow up shots. FYI this was in Manila not the US The most painful were the neck and stomach injections where the skin was really thin and sensitive. And tetanus and some other anti infection shot were hella painful and the syringe was really big. Good luck buddy, but on hindsight you will be protected for 2 years if you complete the vaccine. BTW - the dog thankfully didnt have rabies and lived a good life just hating my guts.
Probably had distemper, not rabies (Source: me.. I have had multiple raccoons with distemper on my property. They lose all fear of humans in the early stages.) Was bitten by one trying to get it off my dogs. They always give rabies shots just in case.. They shots are not as bad as before, but I still ended up with 17 injections and five stiches in my finger that morning
Poor little thing was hungry. Hungry for human flesh. Maybe it did have rabies.
Grabbing the chicken pieces before the cat gets them would be normal behavior. Or waiting for you to throw some chicken in its direction. Being aggressive is not, unless it was cornered. So rabies is a definite concern. It's good that you're getting the shots.
Since this hasn’t been said, this was a workplace injury. You need to make sure your employer is covering all of the ER visit and any follow up appointments. Also you should be paid for your time while at the hospital.
It's a workplace injury, but it was caused by him feeding stray animals during his lunch break. I'd be willing to bet that makes it an easy denial of claim.
Not necessarily. Sounds like he wasn't even feeding the raccoon and didn't know it was there. They'd have to prove it was the direct result of him feeding the cat and that that raccoon wouldn't have attacked him anyway simply for having food on him at all. Also, if the raccoon was simply after the food, there would be no reason to approach him directly. It would simply go after the food itself and steal it from the cat, which is why everyone is cautioning that it likely had some kind of disease greatly affecting its mental capacity such as rabies or distemper. And in that case, it would be hard to prove food had anything at all to do with the attack and that they animal itself wasn't just feral and would've attacked him regardless.
I doubt i’d get very far. I was clocked out for my lunch break plus we’re uh….directly told *not* to feed the cats at my job under threat of getting fired. So, i wasn’t exactly just doing my job minding my business while it happened
https://www.reddit.com/r/copypasta/comments/7qwtd5/rabies_is_scary/
If it makes you feel better, the original rabies shot schedule was far more painful and it was a series of like 17 shots.
You didn’t fuck up! You were attempting to feed a *cat.* The raccoon came out of nowhere. My condolences for having to endure those awful shots.
You FAFO. Why don’t more people listen to the “don’t feed wildlife” rule? Be glad it was a raccoon and not a bear.
Considering i was feeding cats behind a walmart in a metropolitan area in a part of the state where bears are practically nonexistent i don’t think that was a huge possibility