I think I might have to go see a Dr.

mbjerkness

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I think if my hand swells anymore, I will need to go see the doctor, yesterday when I was kidnapping my feral baby Paws, He/she bit me quite a few times. two of the bites have turned red and one is quite swollen, I washes the bites really well, but they are pretty deep
 

spudsmom

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Please do! Cat bites and scratches are nothing to fool around with! I spent a week in the hospital with Cat Scratch Disease and you DON"T want to go there! The sooner you get your wounds treated, the better! Better to be safe than sorry. Best of luck!
 

green bunny

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You should probably go to the Emergency Room immediately. Please do.

I had a friend who was moving. One of his cats, who was strictly indoors, was very upset and bit him when my friend tried to get him in his hiding place. My friend cleaned the wound, but it still became infected. He ended up in the hospital and was thisclose to having his thumb amputated. Fortunately, the infection cleared and he was able to keep his thumb, but he was in the hospital for a couple of weeks recovering.

Tricia
 

lunasmom

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Originally Posted by spudsmom

Please do! Cat bites and scratches are nothing to fool around with! I spent a week in the hospital with Cat Scratch Disease and you DON"T want to go there! The sooner you get your wounds treated, the better! Better to be safe than sorry. Best of luck!
Yes!!!


I wouldn't even wait much longer. Go to the ER tonight and get the shot to help the swelling.
 
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mbjerkness

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I was going to go tomorrow but I will go as soon as Dh gets home. I didn't realize it was that bad.
 

lunasmom

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Yes it will get worse too. there is something in the cat's saliva that causes this to happen when they puncture our skin and draw blood.

B's sister didn't realize this the first time she got bit (several, several, years ago). She let it go thinking nothing of it. Her hand swelled a little...then got worse, then her wrist swelled up, then her lower arm...THEN she went to the doctor.
 

natalie_ca

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Originally Posted by mbjerkness

I think if my hand swells anymore, I will need to go see the doctor, yesterday when I was kidnapping my feral baby Paws, He/she bit me quite a few times. two of the bites have turned red and one is quite swollen, I washes the bites really well, but they are pretty deep
Yeah, you should go to the ER tonight.

Prepare yourself though. They have to by law report the bite and the cat will have to be taken and tested for rabies
 

ricalynn

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Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

Yeah, you should go to the ER tonight.

Prepare yourself though. They have to by law report the bite and the cat will have to be taken and tested for rabies
Been there done that, with a feral as well. Luckily (I guess?) she bit me as I was trying to get her into the carrier for her trip to the vet, so she remained there for quarantine.

Please, please, PLEASE get to the ER right away. If they've begun to swell already they ARE infected. My bites began to swell and ache within 6 hrs but I postponed the ER visit until 12 hrs when the pain woke me out of a sound sleep. I required IV antibiotics and a followup with an orthopedic surgeon (which thankfully was not necessary).

Keep us updated please?
 
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mbjerkness

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I went to the ER, Cat scratch disease really happens here because of the cold, Dr. said the swelling is from inflamation, it might swell some more, there is no sign of infection yet, He gave me a print out of things to watch for, for the next 10 days
My tetnus is up to date, So I am good for now. well other than I am freezing. It is so cold outside -27 C, .
 

spudsmom

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Originally Posted by mbjerkness

I went to the ER, Cat scratch disease really happens here because of the cold, Dr. said the swelling is from inflamation, it might swell some more, there is no sign of infection yet, He gave me a print out of things to watch for, for the next 10 days
My tetnus is up to date, So I am good for now. well other than I am freezing. It is so cold outside -27 C, .
So glad you went to the ER! I was worried about you! Be sure to do everything the Dr. tells you to do!
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by mbjerkness

I went to the ER, Cat scratch disease really happens here because of the cold, Dr. said the swelling is from inflamation, it might swell some more, there is no sign of infection yet, He gave me a print out of things to watch for, for the next 10 days
My tetnus is up to date,
Were you given antibiotics?
I was put on a high dose of augmentin and the bite still got infected -luckily it did control the infection so I was fine. And it likely will swell more, that more then anything is what is going to cause you pain and bruising.

If you weren't given antibiotics to take get in to see another doctor first thing in the morning. Cat bites are nasty, so there's no hoping that it won't get infected.
 

harlowquin

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Glad to know you went to the ER. Did u know that if a cat bites a bird, and the bird gets away, the chance of the bird dieing from the bite is very high. I found this out on a bird site. I have a quaker and had him outdoors one sunny afternoon. On of the neighbors stray cats came up and knocked him off his perch. I got to him in time, didn't see any wounds but did a search on the net if just in case. My bird was fine. I don't take him outside anymore. I was sitting right next to the bird when the cat came out of now where and pounched.
Keep us updated on yourself.
 

lillekat

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Good to hear you went into ER - cat scratches can be dangerous - however, if they're kept clean and are disinfected then nothing much should come of it. We have a lot of our volunteers manage to get themselves bitten - mostly through their own stupidity, to be honest - but when we're cleaning the best thing we can do is put the wounded hand straight into the bucket of the disinfectant we use. We use water at about 70C and a good dose of Vircon S - vital to preventing illness and infection passing from one cat to another when we've got sick cats in the house - and that seems to do the trick quite nicely.

Still, I'm rambling - really all you have left to do now is keep an eye on it and keep it very clean. Hopefully it'll get better really quickly!
 

lunasmom

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Glad to know you did go to the doctor last night and that there is no sign of infection


I hope that they don't test the kitten for rabies
 
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mbjerkness

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Originally Posted by lunasmom

Glad to know you did go to the doctor last night and that there is no sign of infection


I hope that they don't test the kitten for rabies
fortunately rabies is almost unheard here. The Dr. said he felt there was no risk, I am just washing my bites with antiseptic and putting anti biotic ointment on them. one is oozing a bit this morning. I'm going to be a good girl and do what the Dr told me.
, My little feral is still in basement nice and warm, he/she is eating, If I do this again, I'l be wearing heavy gloves
 
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