Hoping you can help a terrified individual...

[CherryPython]

Back in the day, maybe. Now I have the reflexes of a highly trained 3-Toed Sloth

Trolollololol xD

[Cameron Lamb Exotics]

Oh man boy do you not want rabie shots. They are wicked expensive, hurt like a mother, and you have to keep going back once a week for a couple months.

[sleepygeckos]

If you have someone in your area that works with or is qualified to do EMDR, it can make a world of difference. It stands for: Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing and it works. It sounds like sci-fi or a load of crap but basically the doctor has you focus on a moving light board of led's that is a single strip that goes back and forth at varying speeds. They'll have you recall the event that causes your anxiety while focusing on the light board and then speed up and slow it down as they progress in the therapy session. The light tricks your brain, through the movement of your eyes, to change the neuro pathways that is causing your anxiety.

Sorry, a little late to the thread, but EMDR seems completely and totally crazy - and it can really help anxiety disorders. It is usually expensive (boo) and the "eye" part is now a holdover from old times, most practitioners use little buzzers you hold to produce the mind/body disconnect required to change the brain's response. Totally and completely sounds unreal, but it is the US military approved treatment for PTSD and it is finally gaining ground outside for "normal" people to try.

As for the worry about rabies... I worked for an SSI/RSDI lawyer for a while and spent a lot of time telling people to just ask their clinics if you can't afford something. You'd be surprised: almost all will work out a payment plan and many have programs to help. You never know until you ask. Another great resource is 411.org, United Way's free service that'll help you find free clinics and assistance. Just some thoughts - and maybe you can get some more anxiety treatment too, if it is free. Good luck! Stay well!

[Raptor]

Oh man boy do you not want rabie shots. They are wicked expensive, hurt like a mother, and you have to keep going back once a week for a couple months.

No you don't. You get the shots all within the span of about a month.

[xFenrir]

Whelp, freaked myself out all over again. We took in a kitten last night that the cat below us had (she's around 8 weeks old, if not older) and while feeding her, she poked me with a tooth. No blood or anything, and I'm not even totally sure she even broke the skin, but I washed it off and disinfected it anyway. But now the anxiety is creeping back again, and I'm starting to feel like every little thing is a sign something's wrong. (my hand/s feel tingly occasionally, sometimes it feels hard to breathe or that there's a pain in my chest, if my face gets flushed I think it's a fever, etc.)

This is crazy. The kitten is shy (she won't really play with us unless we get her in the mood and she hides a lot) but not acting sick, and she's eating. I mean the chances of a kitten having rabies is like nothing right? Because if she were born with it she would've died or shown symptoms by now? and the chances of her having rabies another way is pretty much impossible right?

Ugh, I know this all sounds so stupid but this is seriously bothering me.

[Royal Hijinx]

You should probably stay away from cats....

[xFenrir]

You should probably stay away from cats....

I know... My boyfriend brought this one in and I thought that maybe it would be good for me, like shock therapy. I didn't think this would happen.

[Mike41793]

Whelp, freaked myself out all over again. We took in a kitten last night that the cat below us had (she's around 8 weeks old, if not older) and while feeding her, she poked me with a tooth. No blood or anything, and I'm not even totally sure she even broke the skin, but I washed it off and disinfected it anyway. But now the anxiety is creeping back again, and I'm starting to feel like every little thing is a sign something's wrong. (my hand/s feel tingly occasionally, sometimes it feels hard to breathe or that there's a pain in my chest, if my face gets flushed I think it's a fever, etc.)

This is crazy. The kitten is shy (she won't really play with us unless we get her in the mood and she hides a lot) but not acting sick, and she's eating. I mean the chances of a kitten having rabies is like nothing right? Because if she were born with it she would've died or shown symptoms by now? and the chances of her having rabies another way is pretty much impossible right?

Ugh, I know this all sounds so stupid but this is seriously bothering me.

I think your suffering from anxiety now lol... Maybe a panic attack :p
When my puppy was little her claws/teeth were like razor blades lol. Me and my brother used to play rough with her outside. You should have seen some of the scratches she landed on us lol. And then we proceed to roll around in the dirt to be sure plenty of that made it into the wounds. Im still alive 10 years later...
The moral of the story: get yourself a puppy!!!

[xFenrir]

I think your suffering from anxiety now lol... Maybe a panic attack :p
When my puppy was little her claws/teeth were like razor blades lol. Me and my brother used to play rough with her outside. You should have seen some of the scratches she landed on us lol. And then we proceed to roll around in the dirt to be sure plenty of that made it into the wounds. Im still alive 10 years later...
The moral of the story: get yourself a puppy!!!

The only reason I'm freaked out at all is because she's a "stray".

[Rob]

If a cat a had rabies, you would know.