Ouch!!!

Today an angry ex-street cat (who is shortly to be re-homed) bit me. The bite is sore and a bit swollen but not red.

I washed it immediately and put neosporin on it. I'm taking Advil for the swelling.

Any experiences with cat bites?

The problem--her shots are not current. Her new owners want to take care of that, but had to put off her re-homing day. She is an indoor cat and is in good health. There is no sign of rabies. She was just angry because I was taking her away from where I was preparing my other cat's food.

Thanks!

Unfortunately cat bites are very prone to infection because they are puncture wounds. A course of antibiotics would probably be a good idea.

If it is red and swollen at all then you should get on antibiotics sooner rather than later.

I've had cat bites that required me going on IV antibiotics and another that was able to be treated with just a course of oral antibiotics. Cat bites can quickly turn to cellulites and travel through the bloodstream pretty fast.

I had a kitten bite me on the thumb once because I had startled it when picking it up. It was about 10pm when that happened. By the next morning the cellulites, (blood poison), had traveled to just above my elbow and traveled nearly to my shoulder in time I was at the doctors office waiting as he got me set up with home nursing for an IV.

If you are showing no signs of infection then you may be OK, but cat bites are a serious thing and must be tended to closely and aggressively.

After one of my cats bit me I was at the doctor's office is 2 hours. I was on antibiotics for 10 days. 4 hours after being bitten I couldn't move my wrist it was so swollen and painful. I would go to doctor right away.

What they all said. Cat bites are nothing to mess around with. If it's bad enough to tell everyone here about it, it's bad enough for a trip to the doctor.

I agree with the other posters, you really should see a Doctor.
A few years ago my MIL's cat bite me and within just a couple of hours it was red, swollen and painful to move my hand.
I was put on antibiotics for 10 days and that cleared it up.

I don't know how things work where you live, but I just want to share this with you just in case it happens...don't want it to come as a surprise.

Even though I told him this was not a stray cat that it was in fact my MIL's house cat he still had to report it to animal control.
Three days later they called my MIL...and she got made at me
Anyway it wasn't a big deal, they just called to make sure that the cat wasn't showing any signs of illness of any sort but once she explained to them that it was in fact her indoor cat and that she was healthy they let it go.

Thanks for all the good advice. If things get worse, I'll get a course of antibiotics from the apteka. For now, I'm not going to the doctor. Medical treatment here is v-e-r-y different. (My friend with a sinus infection had a doctor who wanted to drill a hole in her face to drain it!!)

The soreness is going, the swelling is gone, and it never turned red at all. So, if it continues to improve tomorrow I'll stick with neosporin. If not I'll get some antibiotics.

Thanks again!
Kate

Little Ferris bit my hand the night I brought him home - I still have two little "fang" marks on my right hand.

I watched it carefully, and it wound up being fine, no infection, but he had already had his shots.

The reason the cat bites are so scary is the bacteria in their saliva - you might want to see if you can find a doctor to prescribe antibiotics for you just to be on the safe side.

I have spent the last six weeks on antibiotics and daily nurse visits for dressing because of cat bites and scratches. Even in Russia I know you can get antibiotics. Be very careful and get help at the least sign of infection.