beds, headboards, windowsills and cat scratches.

moggiegirl

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I've been naive for the last 3 and a half years with my cats and it didn't happen until just yesterday, Saturday morning but I want to let you know about this so it won't happen to any of you. How may of you sleep with the head of your bed under windowsill and a headboard. Well, we had to change that because yesterday morning my cat Spotty was really rambunctious and full of energy and he jumped from the windowsill and headboard of my bed right on my face. I screamed in pain and went to the bathroom, looked in the mirror and to my horror that delicate skin right underneath my right eye was torn up and bleeding and I had a huge scratch on my forehead and another scratch on the side of my eye too. I am so lucky a claw did not get into my eyeball because it came very close. Right now I've got neosporin on it and I'm all bandaged up and the bandaid under my eye is very close to my eye and it feels weird. But it will heal. I'm lucky I get to keep both blue eyes and my vision. I might be scarred for life but I was told that after the bandage comes off I can use aloe vera and maybe it will heal without a scar.

Now during the shock of this event I did not even want to be near my cat and I had a temporary change of heart but it did not last long. I am back to being a cat lover as I always am and always have been. of course Spotty did not do this on purpose. It was 100% accident. It was 7 am Saturday morning and he was full of energy, jumping around and hungry and he just wanted to get me out of bed to feed him. Spotty is not a mean cat, he's a very sweet affectionate loverboy type of cat and we had a cuddling truce this morning. We got rid of the headboard above our bed that the cats were using as a balancing beam while my boyfriend and I were sleeping. We changed the position of the bed so that we no longer sleep under a windowsill, we have the head of our bed against the wall. This way the cats will never be able to jump over our heads again. They may run over our feet but that's it. We also trimmed both of our cats nails last night. It was so worth it to change the bed because Spotty cuddled with me all morning today and I quickly regained my trust in him.

This experience taught me 4 important lessons.

1. You must be careful with all animals, especially dogs and cats which have claws and fangs. Never assume that just because your pet is tame, sweet and lovable that he would never hurt you. He just would not do it on purpose.

2. If you live with cats and you're going to allow them in the bedroom, never position the head of your bed where you lie on your pillows underneath a windowsill or anything cats enjoy jumping up and down from. It may not happen for a few years but one day you may wake up in pain from a freak accident, you face may be clawed and don't underestimate the fact that it just might cost you your eye.

3. It really is a good idea to trim your cat's nails every 2-3 weeks both front and back feet. It was Spotty's back feet that got into my face. We recently trimmed his front nails before this accident. Plus if you have strictly indoor cats and if you live in a smaller spaced apartment, expect that your cats will run over you when they're being rambunctious. Trimming your cat's nails not only protects your furniture. It's for your safety too.

4. Finally, do not be afraid of your pets. Animal lovers cannot afford to be afraid of their pets. We adopt them with true love and with that love comes courage. Just practice safe pet keeping and you'll be fine.

You also may want to keep this in mind. My aunt is a true cat lover and when she was in her 20s she had a cat that was having kittens and a friend of hers brought her dog over. The cat charged at the dog and went for his face in order to protect her kittens. My aunt got in the middle of it and she was attacked in the eye socket and she thought she would lose her eye. Like me she was lucky. The cat did not mean to hurt my aunt. She was just protecting her kittens.

Never forget that a cat really is a "cat" in other words, "little tiger, little lion, little monster" I call anything with claws and fangs a little monster, but not a bad monster of course. Too many people habitually apply human characteristics to their pets and forget the instrinsic wildness that comes with them. but anyone who loves animals whether they're dogs, cats, pit bulls, snakes(which I know nothing about and I don't have snakes) really should understand well the natural wild instincts and behaviors that come with them. I sure learned this lesson well.
 

trouts mom

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Good thread..thanks for the reminders..Trout gets me good sometiems on the leg..when she takes off with her back feet


I'm so sorry about your attack..I hope it heals up good and soon
 

pushylady

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I hope you heal well with minimal scarring.
They can hurt you so easily, it's true, but you know it's seldom on purpose.
 

starryeyedtiger

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good reminders!
i do hope your face heals up soon!
once it scabs over (keep neosporin or polysporin on it so it doesn't get infected and wash it with a gentle cleanser 2x a day) you can try putting some Mederma on it to fade the scar- also- cutting open a Vitamin E gelcap and putting that onto the scar helps too!
 

tierre0

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I certainly know the feeling. When I first brought Linus home he jumped off my headboard onto me several times. Luckily I only ended up with a few scratches on my chest. Hope you heal up quickly...
 

lokismum

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Good ideas! Jacob gets into the window of the bedroom and likes to leap from it, usually landing on either DH or myself! He aims for me, knowing I won't get upset, although right now with stitches in my side from my surgery on Friday, it's not a good idea!
 

mybabyphx

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I have a scar on my face between my eyes that goes down to my nose.
It's from a cat that I used to have a few years ago when living in Iowa. That scar will always be there. I was sleeping on the floor in the living room- right in the middle of the 'race track'. Got woke up to a bleeding forhead!
 

carolpetunia

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You are so right... when Clyde and Pearl were younger and wackier, I had a lot of very close calls of the same nature. But the scariest was just a quiet moment when Clyde was just walking across me. I felt the tip of his claw slide down between my eyelashes, and I just held very, very still until he moved on. Whew.

Did you go to a doctor with this? It really might be worthwhile... just to make sure you're doing all you can to help it heal right. If nothing else, they could prescribe you an ophthalmic antibiotic that's safer than Neosporin, so close to the eye.

What Nikki said about Vitamin E is so true, by the way! Great stuff.
 

calico2222

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Good reminders! I had a scar on my eyelid for a few years thanks to a puppy that was happy to see me. Got my eyelid right above my eye. Like you, I was lucky he wasn't a fraction of an inch closer. Thank God there wasn't any damage to your eye. If the cut didn't need stitches, it shouldn't leave a permanent scar. Cocoa butter is also good for fading small scars like that, but be careful about what you put around your eye. I agree, see if a doctor can prescribe or at least recommend somthing safe for around the eye.

It's true, dogs and cats don't mean to hurt us, but they do have natural "weapons" that can and do hurt.
 
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