My (outside) cat was biten quite badly last week in his leg. We didn't take him to the vet because it seemed to be healing quite well, but now that it's healed he is acting so strange! like, when you pic him up he makes this odd growling noise, and he seemed to be very irritated. like as if there is something in the room threatening him, but there isn't. I'm not sure what to do. What are the symptoms of rabies, and if it's not that what could this be?

You have a real problem. if your locality requires rabies vaccinations, your vet cannot treat your cat for a bit of unknown origin unless the rabies vaccination is up to date.

He may be real spooked, but you have to be very cautious as the potential for rabies is real. one thing is that cats progress with rabies quite quickly. It is 2-6 weeks in cats. I have provided a link about rabies in cats.

If the wound heals, and no symptoms then consider yourself very lucky, and get him a rabies vaccination. But be very careful in the meanwhile.

Has he been vaccinated against rabies? if he has, you probably don't have to worry about it, if he hasn't, that's not so good. Even if he did have rabies though, he probably wouldn't be showing signs this early. You really need to get in touch with a professional right now (as in a veterinarian), if you're concerned about this. Rabies is nothing to fool around with.

Anyway, he needs to see the vet. he might have an abscess from the cat bite, very common, and painful.

Rabies can cause animals to go a little crazy. if your cat has its normal energy level no need to worry. But if it's sluggish I would contact a vet. Also if it's up to date on shots it should be fine.

Yes,that is a BIG sign of rabies.
TRY your best to get her in a cage,then in the car to the vet.
DON'T let her bite/scratch you!!

Hopefully he is just freaked out by what happened but you really need to take him to the vet now!
Most often the first symptom of rabies is change of behavior… he can become hypersensitive to sound and light… Excessive licking of the site and lastly 2-4 days after the bite he may begin drooling excessively and may have facial issues as the jaw begins to become paralyzed….
go to google and type in cat rabies/symptoms…
But don't hesitate to take to the vet…tis a nasty disease and a very painful way to die

I would take him the the vet asap. It's better to find out now then get bitten and find out after that.

BOISE — Idaho health officials say five bats have been confirmed to carry rabies, which is potentially deadly for humans. Two of those bats were confirmed Friday.

Two of the rabid bats came in contact with a Garden Valley man who says he’s fed up with this potentially dangerous animal.

Phil Ferguison has made the drive from his Garden Valley home near Terrace Lakes to the state laboratory in Boise two times in two weeks to see if bats found around his house were infected with rabies.

"I’ve always had bats around my house because they are a good bug getter.  My neighbor and I, we both talk about them, they’re not harming a thing — they’re getting a lot of bugs.  I know where they roost and everything, but it’s whole different story now that I’ve got rabid bats,” said Ferguison.

Just last week Ferguison was caring for his 6-year-old grandson, Zach, when a bat swooped down in the middle of the day.

“The bat flew around a little bit and then went to his back, like attacked him,” said Ferguison.

That bat was tested and confirmed to have rabies.  Zach is now receiving a series of rabies vaccination shots.

On Friday, Ferguison brought in another bat found near his house, and that bat was confirmed to have rabies as well.

“On average we see throughout the whole summer approximately 17 case, but certainly we’re still early in the summer we tend to see rabid bats in the summer and into the fall,” said Dr. Leslie Tengelsen.

Tengelsen is the Deputy State Epidemiologist.  She says rabies is a disease caused by a virus that can be deadly.  It’s mainly carried by bats.

“Rabies can be fatal in people and so it’s very important that we take any exposure to the disease very seriously,” said Tengelsen.

Ferguison is worried after two run-ins with rabid bats.

“They are a very good animal, bats are, they serve a purpose, but I’m not sure I want them if they’re going to have rabies,” said Ferguison.

It’s hard to tell just by looking if a bat is in fact rabid, however we’re told that if you see a bat flying in the daytime that’s a good indication that it could be infected with rabies.

If you do come in contact with a bat, it’s important to get medical help immediately.

We’re told if you have symptoms of rabies, it’s more than likely too late to save your life.