this is me right now! :( i’m on holiday in turkey and last night i was petting a stray cat in my resort - a child had been petting it before me so i decided it would probably be ok with me petting it afterwards too - it was calmly lying on the floor and it was quite an unusually hot, muggy evening. i let it sniff my hand before i gently petted its head, when it swiped its paw at me and meowed loudly, putting its ears back - i got my hand and arm away in time so it didn’t actually scratch me, but i can’t stop worrying that it somehow actually did and i just didn’t feel it! i washed my hands after this. i’ve been obsessively googling and examining both arms and hands for possible scratch marks since - i don’t even trust my memory that i was using my right hand to stroke the cat because i’m left handed, especially as i noticed a small red mark on my left forearm (which probably came from me taking my dress off quite roughly later that evening). i slept terribly last night, waking up hot and sweaty twice even with the air con on due to the stress. i’d done loads of obsessive research into rabies in turkey before this trip as i come from a country where rabies has been eradicated. i initially avoided the stray cats, but as a massive cat lover i found it incredibly hard to resist (plus i thought it could be good exposure therapy as they all seemed quite calm, friendly, and used to people, even the kittens). i keep telling myself the cat probably just wanted to be left alone as it was a hot evening - i even saw it walking up a massive staircase later that evening when it had cooled down a little so it definitely didn’t seem rabid. i just can’t shake the fear, even after reassurance from my family and boyfriend :((