rabies fear that's come almost out of nowhere

[lanerbanana]

now i know that there are countless rabies threads and deep down im sure i dont have it, but im a bit anxious over what's happened today


so, my cat escaped out of the house today due to our faulty screen door. i dont know when he got out or how long he'd been out there, but i found him about an hour ago at the door, meowing at me to come in.
he lost his collar outside, so i dont know if he had gotten into any fights at all. he doesn't seem to have any wounds on him, but i did feel up a small bit of dried up fur near the base of his tail. again, no wounds or bite marks, nothing glaringly obvious.

we dont live near any big amount of woods (i live in the US where there have been a few rabies cases over the years, i dont dare look at the statistics for the past year) and this isnt this cat's first adventure. should i be worried? should i keep an eye on him for a few days?

thank you for your time <3

[lanerbanana]

update: i found a small scrape on the base of his neck, where his collar would be. im still worried about him and i. he's sleeping right now and has been for a while. i dont know if he just got caught in something while he was out there, or if he mightve gotten into a fight with an animal. ive washed my hands religiously everytime ive touched him at all.
by the way, i have an inside/outside female cat who goes outside more than she comes inside and she doesnt have rabies at all. im trying to reassure myself with this.

anyone? :(

[clb99]

Hi!
Just read your forum and thought I could help as I spent 4 months of my life convinced I had rabies from an event similar to what happened to your cat, in that you can't possibly get rabies from your encounter. If the worst did happen and the cat was bitten by something with rabies if the saliva was already dried, like you said the fur at his tail was, the rabies virus would already have died within the saliva and it would not be possible to contract. Like 0% chance of occuring at all 😊 DONT BE ME! Don't waste your time thinking about something that is impossible to happen and end up wasting months. Enjoy your sweet cat instead. And as long he's been vaccinated I'm sure he's fine too! Hope that helps!