During contact with animals, the fingers and hands are highly susceptible to bites. Although bites from wild animals do occur, bites from dogs and cats are much more common and very dangerous. Even though the risk of rabies from a dog or cat bite is rare, the risk of developing another infection is still present - even if the animal has been vaccinated - because of the presence of bacteria in the animal's saliva. The bacteria enter the body through the bite and can cause an infection in the skin, tendon sheaths, joints, bones, or bloodstream.