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Gently cleanse the bite and call your physician to determine if you need to be seen by your doctor. After receiving medical treatment for an animal bite, the following guidelines should be observed in supervising the biting animal:
- It is important that the animal not be killed, injured, lost or given away during this time. The animal also should not be vaccinated for rabies during this time. A lost animal must be considered a rabid animal.
- Ask the owner of the animal if it has been vaccinated for rabies. If it has, obtain the date of vaccination, type of vaccine used (killed or MLV) and the name of the administering veterinarian. Most rabies vaccines are good for one year; in dogs, some are good for two years. All warm-blooded animals may transmit rabies (e.g., horses, pigs, goats, cows, cats, etc.).
- Ask the animal’s owner to tie, cage or otherwise securely confine the animal in an area away from all other animals for a period of 10 days and to closely observe it throughout this time for signs of illness or unusual behavior. You must not touch the saliva of the animal.
- If the owner of the animal will not voluntarily cooperate with your request, you may call the sheriff or local police to enforce the confinement.
- If the biting animal is a stray or wild animal, an attempt should be made to trap or kill the animal, BUT great care must be taken not to injure the skin. A small animal, once killed, may then be refrigerated whole until it can be taken to the veterinarian. A larger animal should be decapitated and the head taken to the veterinarian as soon as possible.
- When the 10 days are up, check with your physician. If he or she agrees, a normal appearing and acting animal may be released from confinement.
- If the animal is not available for observation, or if it ill or acting strangely, the animal should immediately be referred to a veterinarian.
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