Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This is NOT MEANT to mean .... my friend has the same type of worries/concerns around acquiring AIDS , even through casual/non- sexual contact that has left her boyfriend-less (even though she would like to have a boyfriend) and interferes with her day to day interactions with people in general.
You know "in your heart" that everything is o.k. I can't begin to actually know how the OCD and anxiety are making you FEEL, but after watching my friend suffer, I hope there is some way you can beat this fear, even momentarily, and reach out to your cat, and receive (and give) the comfort you both so desperately need.
Not to pick on you in any way, I am honestly trying to help, (I have a mother with mental illness and a good friend with debilitating OCD). With that said, it sounds like you are the one with issues right now, seek some help for yourself and your anxiety. I agree, get rid of the couch when you can. Also, it may help to put the cat in a separate room for the time being. Then if you really cannot deal with the contamination issue, maybe have your husband or someone else come feed and care for your kitty for a bit while you are able to calm yourself.
Your cat can absolutely tell something is wrong right now, it may be stressful at first, but some time apart (him being in another room to "quarantine") sounds like the best thing right now.
All of you are so incredibly helpful. I can feel my anxiety levels diminishing just reading your posts. I actually have been feeding and watering the cat, cleaning his litter box because I am trying to diminish my anxiety about handling his things. I also have given him a good scratching on his head since my first post this morning and he was one happy kitty. Up on his hind legs eating that attention up. I have an excellent Dr. and when I went on Wed. she said that she did not think there was an issue at all and that we had to work on getting me better. She has prescribed some new meds that should be helping soon. It's that reassurance factor that those of us that are suffering with this seek. I guess I'm probably in the wrong place anyway for this issue, but I thought it would be nice to connect with other animal lovers. It's very frustrating though, you reach the rationalization phase but then those "what if's" creep in and overwhelm you. I thank you all for your input and kindness.
I'm glad you have a good relationship with your doctor and that you were able to discuss this with her. I hope you can get past this particular obsession and that your condition improves. My Dh has severe OCD so I know that the intrusive thoughts and "what ifs" can be paralyzing and scary and that the disorder causes serious suffering.
Rabies vaccines stay in the system a lot longer than the laws decree shots are needed. Rabies is transmitted through infected saliva getting into the blood stream, such as biting.
You may need antibiotics for the scratches on your stomach, cat scratches can really fester, so I hope your doctor gave you a prescription.
I second the suggestion that you keep your cat inside, but I don't think you need to go through the rabies shots.
Welcome to the forum, and keep any eye on those scratches.
I would put Sovereign Silver on your scratches and put some in the cats water too. I would pass on the shots and keep the cat in unless you are outdoors with him. I think the vaccines do more harm than good. Any book by any vet that practices natural medicine will say the same thing. They are just a racket and way to drum up business for the vets.
I am just terrified. I don't know of anything else to do but have him put down and tested and I have bawled like a baby over the thought of having to do that to him. He is a beautiful cat and very loving. I would hate to sacrifice a perfectly healthy animal...I don't know what to do. Any input would be so helpful. And please don't judge me, I am not the perfect owner, but I do feed him and love him, just because I can't spend a fortune on him at the vet all the time does not mean I don't care. I'm doing the best I can.
You're working yourself in to a frenzy over this. You don't get rabies from scratches. You have to be bitten or get saliva in a wound. Getting him the rabies shot is not "spending a fortune" on him. Keep him indoors for his own sake as well as yours. Having a perfectly healthy loving cat killed just because he scratched you is criminal. You wont need anti-rabies shots. Why are you allowing yourself to get so upset over this?
I would put Sovereign Silver on your scratches and put some in the cats water too. I would pass on the shots and keep the cat in unless you are outdoors with him. I think the vaccines do more harm than good. Any book by any vet that practices natural medicine will say the same thing. They are just a racket and way to drum up business for the vets.
Since you aren't a licensed Veterinarian you shouldn't be telling people to put things like Sovereign Silver in the cat's water. Or at least advise the person to check with their vet before using these alt products that are for the most part, useless.
You are advising a person to do something illegal also. The rabies shot is the law almost everywhere and for her protection and the protection of her cat, he should be vaccinated. It sounds like you want to go back to the old days when thousands if not millions of cats died in the USA from diseases we can now vaccinate them for. Having a healthy cat with a good immune system doesn't prevent these deadly diseases.
When he is outside I usually know right where he is. I know I'm probably overreacting-I have seen no obvious signs of scratches or bites and in our area if he did tangle with a raccoon or fox and lived I think he would have some pretty obvious signs of injury and I keep trying to tell myself that,....
If you think $15 for a rabies shot is a small fortune, wait until he does tangle with a coon or fox. The bill could run into hundred of dollars. What then? Have him euthanized? He would be better off indoors with a safe caged area outside a window. These are becoming popular in several countries.
Quote:
.....but it is so terrifying because this is a wait and see thing and there is a small window for yourself if your were indeed exposed. That and I just feel like everything is contaminated in my house when he does come in and it's terrible. I won't pet him or let him touch me and I have cried so much because I know he is picking up on the fact that something is wrong and it hurts me so much.
Why would everything be contaminated? Contaminated with what?
Obsessions over "contamination" are typical OCD symptoms. It's not logical, and the OCD sufferer usually realizes this but is unable to stop the obsessions without treatment. This is why it is important for the OP to keep in close communication with her doctor about this and to take any medication that is prescribed to her as directed, and perhaps to ask her doctor aboutout modifying or supplementing her med regimen if she's not getting better.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
You have to be bitten or get saliva in a wound. Getting him the rabies shot is not "spending a fortune" on him. Keep him indoors for his own sake as well as yours. Having a perfectly healthy loving cat killed just because he scratched you is criminal. You wont need anti-rabies shots. Why are you allowing yourself to get so upset over this?
The bill could run into hundred of dollars. What then? Have him euthanized? He would be better off indoors with a safe caged area outside a window. These are becoming popular in several countries. 
