A woman who stopped to help a frightened kitten on the side of an interstate ended up needing emergency medical treatment after the animal bit and scratched her during the rescue attempt.

Reddit user u/Poofenplotz shared the experience in a viral post on the subreddit r/Wellthatsucks, where it received over 11,000 upvotes. In the post, she wrote: “Saw a kitten on the side of the interstate today, made a huge loop to get back to it. He was scared, of course, but not shy.

“Bit me the instant I grabbed him. Animal control is on their way to him and directed me to Urgent Care for the bites and scratches. Urgent Care sent me to the ER because they have no rabies treatments. 10/10 would pet again.”

Along with the post, the user included two images—one of the tiny black kitten on the roadside; and another showing her hand visibly injured from the encounter.

Amber Batteiger, an animal emergency services and disaster relief expert and the PR and communications manager at Embrace Pet Insurance, told Newsweek her opinion about the rescue mission.

Batteiger said: “Approach slowly and calmly, avoiding direct eye contact, which can feel threatening to animals. If the animal appears scared or defensive, such as crouching, hissing, growling, or retreating, back off and call animal control or a local rescue.

“Use a towel, blanket, or thick gloves to protect yourself if you must contain the animal. Never attempt to pick up a feral or injured animal with your bare hands,” Batteiger said.

When asked how to assess bite risk or signs of illness, Batteiger added that stress or sickness in cats can manifest in subtle or unexpected ways.

“Signs of illness or stress in cats can include lethargy, disorientation, aggression, drooling, or unusual vocalizations,” she said. “An arched back, pinned ears, raised fur, and tail flicking are classic warning signs before a bite. However, some sick animals may act uncharacteristically calm or subdued, which can be misleading.”

In this case, the woman’s injuries warranted serious medical attention. Batteiger said that even minor cat bites can introduce dangerous bacteria.

“Cat bites should always be taken very seriously due to the risk of infection,” she added. “Immediately wash the wound with soap and water for several minutes, apply antiseptic, and seek medical care the same day. A doctor may prescribe antibiotics and, depending on the circumstances, a tetanus booster or post-exposure rabies prophylaxis.”

While rabies is rare, it is nearly always fatal once symptoms appear. Batteiger said that, in the case of unknown vaccination history—such as with a stray kitten—post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is the correct protocol.

“Stray kittens can contract rabies from wildlife, particularly in areas with high raccoon, skunk, or bat populations. Protocol typically involves quarantining the animal, if caught, and administering PEP to the person bitten if rabies status can’t be confirmed,” Batteiger said.

She also warned against common misconceptions. “A big one is assuming that a kitten is harmless because it’s small or looks healthy. People underestimate how quickly a scared or feral kitten can bite or scratch. Another myth is that all strays want human help—many are unsocialized and see people as predators.”

The original post sparked plenty of sympathy and discussion among Reddit users.

“Ouch, that sucks indeed. No good deed goes unpunished,” one commenter wrote.

Another urged others to take rabies seriously: “You should always get a rabies vaccine IMMEDIATELY you have been bitten or scratched by an animal you know doesn’t have a rabies vaccine (yes this also includes people’s pets). Rabies has a 99.9% death rate and symptoms take weeks, months, and even a year to start showing. Once symptoms show, there is nothing you can do about it.”

“Yeah rabies is genuinely terrifying, once symptoms show up there is basically no coming back from it,” added a third.

Fortunately, the rescuer later returned with a hopeful update. Animal control officers informed her that they had managed to locate the kitten after a challenging pursuit.

She said that officers initially tried to approach the kitten on foot, only for it to dart into the engine of their truck. When they opened the hood, it escaped, ran across the road, and hid in some bushes.

A second officer arrived and eventually found the kitten. It reportedly has several minor injuries and will remain under observation while it recovers.

“Sorry you got bit, but glad that you got the vaccinations & that you managed to get the kitten saved!” one commenter replied in support.

Newsweek reached out to u/Poofenplotz for comment via Reddit. We could not verify the details of the case.

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.