Deep Cat Bite

Hey,

Erm not sure if this is the right place to post this but i just got bit by my cat.

I was playing with the da bird with my bengal when he caught the feathers normally he likes to crunch them, so usually i pry his mouth apart to save them from total annihilation. (probably not the smartest thing to do i know but i'm poor and trying to save costs) Anyways this time he shook his head and clamped back down right onto my finger. He held on for awhile putting more pressure until i could wrench his jaw apart. (man cats have strong bites T__T).

Anyways too the important part. It started bleeding fairly badly, but i sucked on it to help pull the blood out, and soaked my finger in vinegar for about 10 minutes. Right now i have it bandaged up with a band aid soaked in vinegar.

My question is what are my chances of getting an infection, and are there any signs I should look out for to get myself to the hospital asap.

PS the finger tip feels hot, but its not spreading persay.

Any help you could provide would be excellent.

Thank you

Swelling and redness is one of the first signs. I got bit really bad by a stray cat that had climbed through my skylight. I was trying to get him outside and he bit me on my upper thigh towards my butt cheek. It was really embarrasing because I did get a horrible infection and had to explain it to my Dr while he was draining the infection and putting a plug in to keep the wound open. I had to take erythamacian(sp) it had turned into pasturella. It is very important to clean the wound right away with rubbing alcohol.

Have you had your tetanus shots done? If you haven't I suggest a quick trip to the Dr. Cat bites (even strictly indoor cats) are easily infectious. In any respect, I do recommend a trip to the Dr. for antiboitics. I have had to have micro-surgery on my hand because of and infected cat bite!

Thanks for all the replies.

I've had my tetnus shots so i should be fine. Also the swelling and pain are gone, so i think i might be safe, but i will continue monitoring.

^__^

Originally Posted by baelfire

Thanks for all the replies.

I've had my tetnus shots so i should be fine. Also the swelling and pain are gone, so i think i might be safe, but i will continue monitoring.

^__^

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Please see an ER doctor and don't think that a tetanus shot will protect you from the combined bacteria in a cat's mouth, or even cat scratch fever. Cat bites are nothing to take lightly, and vinegar isn't going to cut it to remove bacteria. If anything hot water as hot as you can stand it with Epsom salts dissolved in it will draw out some of the poison.

Don't take a chance, get to the ER so you can at least be evaluated and good luck

keep a very close eye on it. I had one, have my tetanus, still got VERY infected.

If you have a doctor already, just call first thing in the morning. It will be cheaper then the ER and this is not an emergency situation unless you wake up in the morning and there's a lot of swelling and redness. Otherwise, all you'll need is some antibiotics.
Don't put it off till the weekend, then you will have to deal with the ER. Bites, all bites including human bites that break the skin, are nasty - you're pretty much guaranteed to get an infection and if you don't then you're very lucky.


Has your cat had all of his shots and do you have a record of these? If not, that's the second call you need to make tomorrow after calling your doctor, and maybe your first stop (to get a printed copy from your vet).

Animal bites are nothing to be taken lightly. I have never gone to the doc for cat bites, though I have had some sever wounds from my girl (when I first got her, it was a long process getting her used to touch) I was lucky, none ever became infected. The problem with cat bites is their fangs are so slim the bacteria cannot get out of the wound. If it is a peirce wound, I would go to the doc if it still feel hot after about a day. Its normal for a would to be warm, but not for too long. Why did you use vinegar, I went straight for the alcohol. Hurt like a *many bad words* but I had mostly slashes, form nails, and teeth, I heard my flesh rip and bleed all over the place! Best thing to do though, let it bleed, I didn't suck the blood out though, it was doing that just fine on it own.

^When I was bit my arm was shredded, too. Back claws can do some serious damage. I was lucky I only had two holes from the bite. I still have scars from the scratches and a couple of those scars are very sensitive.

Even with immediate medical care my bite did become infected. My wrist and forearm swelled up so much that when the swelling went down everything was bruised from it.


My younger step sister had a small bite back in February. She didn't think it was too bad and just washed her hand. When she woke up in the next morning her hand was red and very swollen. She ended up in the hospital and narrowly missed needing surgery.

lmao i went for the vinegar because my apartment doesn't have any alcohol in it aside from my roommates beer. And i highly doubt it counts. Vinegar was the best I had on hand.

Now you guys are scaring me with the horror stories T__T. The pain from my finger is gone, and the slight fever I ran for a bit is also subsiding. The only thing I can think of was that I got a slight infection and my body raised the temp to fight it off.

If I wake up tomorrow and everything is fine should I still see a doctor? I currently just moved to austin texas, and haven't found a doctor yet. So I think ER is my only option if worse comes to worse.

PS: my cats are up to date on all their shots.

<shaking head>
You aren't supposed to use rubbing alcohol, vinegar or even hydrogen peroxide. You could use half water and half hydrogen peroxide, though soap and water is preferred. Rubbing alcohol, vinegar and full-strength hydrogen peroxide have been shown to kill off the top lay of cells and delay healing.
A punch wound is more likely to get infected than any other type of wound. You should contact your doctor today for an appointment.

I'd be calling the doctor. Any cat bite that deep should be treated by a doctor. Cat bites are sometimes more dangerous then dog bites cause the wound closes a lot faster and infection can be in there deep.

You don't need the ER for this, they would probably re-direct you anyway.

Austin is full of Urgent Care clinics. They all accept walk-ins and most are open 7 days a week until 9 pm or so.

Originally Posted by Mom of 4

<shaking head>
You aren't supposed to use rubbing alcohol, vinegar or even hydrogen peroxide. You could use half water and half hydrogen peroxide, though soap and water is preferred. Rubbing alcohol, vinegar and full-strength hydrogen peroxide have been shown to kill off the top lay of cells and delay healing.
A punch wound is more likely to get infected than any other type of wound. You should contact your doctor today for an appointment.

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I used alcohol, but I , OK this is yucky, would pick off the scab to allow it to heal from the inside out. I would not reccomend this to anyone, sort of a do as I say not as I do type of thing, I am quite stubborn about doctors, dont like them. Puncture woulds also do not scab up. Again I was very lucky none became infected, I seem to be the fluke not the norm. Keep a VERY close eye on the wound, infections can happen fast, and you really don't want to spend a day in hospital getting a mega coure of antibiotics which destroy all the good bacteria in you body as well as the bad. That you had a fever is bad, glad your body fought it off, but that means an infection had started, and that is not good. Up to date tetnus shots really do nothing, unless the cat also stabbed you with a rusty nail or something. lol. Kidding aside, take this serious, because it is.

A tetanus shot only protects you against tetanus, not the loads of other potentially harmful bacteria that are part of the cats normal natural flora.

All that bacteria gets pushed into the deepest part of the wound by the cats teeth, and as it is not open to the air it provides an ideal environment for the bacteria to multiply and cause infection.

Infection from a cat bite puncture wound is not just something that can happen occasionally, it is more likely to happen than not and if left untreated can cause tissue and nerve damage, septecaemia, and even in the worst cases gangrene - if it were me I would be waiting in my local doctors or clinic now to get treatment.

ohh I would get that looked at by a doctor ASAP. My sister (a huge cat lover like us) is also a Vet Tech and while restraining a cat for blood work the meanie turned around and sunk his teeth into her hand!! (even the vet said she did have the cat restrained properly the little guy just managed to turn around and bite her!)

She ended up in the ER where they had to irrigate the infection in her hand...she said it was so painful even with the painkillers that she PASSED out because it was getting infected. They told her that cat bites have an 80% chance of infecting. The next day the docs wanted to see her again just to make sure infection was gone and it wasn't! She ended up in the Operating Room that day having emergency surgery to cut out the infection and when they got in there the doctor found out that not only did the cat bite her deeply HE BIT THROUGH HER TENDON!!! She ended up being on medication for awhile and had to go through a full course of Occupational Therapy to regain full motion in her hand.

And she never once got mad at the cat....she isn't allowed to handle that cat anymore...but she never got mad instead she said she felt bad for him because he was so scared he had to bite. as I said she is a major cat lover.

Thanks for all the advice everyone. Its now morning and I feel fine, but I'll be getting my butt over to the University Health Services to get it checked out just in case. Wish me luck.

Thanks again for all the advice.

PS: I'm not mad at my cat at all ^__^. It was my fault.

I was bitten a month ago. There were several other wounds so I ended up in the ER in Europe. I received a tetanus shot and that's all. My US doc told me it would get infected and I needed antibiotics. However, in europe they do not ordinarily give antibiotics preventatively and insisted I didn't need them, yet... The wound looked to be getting better for a while so I didn't worry about it. After a few weeks it became infected though and I am now on penicillin. My doc in the states says that infection is extremely common because teeth are extremely dirty and that's why the antibiotics are always recommended.

I wish you luck and do keep a close eye on it. Let us know how it goes.

Originally Posted by furbum

However, in europe they do not ordinarily give antibiotics preventatively

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This is true, we have massive problems here with antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria due at least in part to overprescribing in the past, so now they will only be prescribed once infection is present.

Not all doctors in Europe feel that way. Mine told me last year that as soon as I was bitten I must go to him for antibiotics. This was after I had had two infected bites, one from a cat, one from a pony. It happened again this week - when Milo was being treated for earmites at the vet, he twisted round and bit my hand deeply. I washed it out at the vet's and he gave me some antiseptic lotion. But the next day at the doctor's I was given a cocktail of antibiotics - Flagyl and Pyosticin to take for 6 days.