Cat Bite

This is completely absurd.  We vote these thugs in, we pay their salaries and they pull this kind of crap?  Just add it to the long list of reasons we really need to clean house in places of "authority."

Anyway, you folks talk about cat bites like they're the deadliest things ever.  I wrestled with my baby every day for ten years.  He bit and scratched me daily during these play sessions.  I never had the slightest issue.  Granted, my skin is like armor plating and he rarely got through it, but at least once a day he would draw a drop or two of blood.

Am I wrong?  If the good folks on this forum can convince me that I've just been massively lucky all this time, then I'll be grateful for the education.  Either way that goes, I'll for damn sure never tell a soul about a cat bite.

We have had several members who got very seriously ill with cat bites.  These are usually very deep bites, often just one or two deep punctures, which don't bleed well and which crust over pretty quickly.  We had one member whose cat had to be quarantined at the vet after he attacked the owner in a panic, and the owner ended up in a long stay at the hospital.  My wife had her hands badly torn up by one of our fosters, again in a panic, and she had to assure the authorities he would be quarantined at our house.

If a cat is vicious, or rabid, it won't do much good keeping it quarantined at home, or at least that's the thinking behind the law.
 

Thank you for the information about the "law requiring reporting", I received a bite to my finger last night.  As I have been through poisonous snake bites successfully (doctors at hospital only observed me because they determined I was strong for my body to handle it) and due to the "law" (it does not require I seek medical attention), I will use epsom salts and watch it to see what it does and not seek attention for the reason you mentioned.  It is slightly red, tender when touched, slight swelling, feels a little like I caught it in a door or drawer.  Happened 19 hours ago.

Britt0285 said:

 
Quote:

Originally Posted by mews2much I have been bit before. Your dr may report the bite to animal control. Cat bites can get infected very fast and I know some breeders and judges that ended up in the hospital for days because they got very sick. You are already doing what I would do.

Yes they made me fill out a form and it kind of made me mad. I thought this is ridiculous. It was MY cat. She has had her shots she is healthy cat I just accidentally got in between my two cats in the middle of a showdown! The girl was like don't worry they probably won't do anything. So I just put that on the form. But I don't like that they do that. People may not go to the doctor if they have to report their own and animal and are afraid of them being taken away. I think it could create a barrier to treatment..but that is just my opinion.

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You're absolutely right it will cause a person to think twice before going to the doctor if you have been bitten by your own cat.  It might also cause a person to lie on the form and say the cat was a stray or some such.  I've already thought of that approach.  I'm sure that would involve a lot more muss and fuss, and cost, but at least I would not have to worry about my baby being taken away from me.

I waited it out with a cat bite as well.  It didn't get infected, it bled a lot and I just let it bleed which probably helped.  I closed his tail in the hinge side of a door and he bit me on top of one of my toes.  What was bad was it's my kitty that no longer gets vaccinated because of health issues so I was sweating it.  I know he doesn't have rabies, an indoor cat and no bats have gotten in, but it would've been reported and without a current vaccination things would not have went well.  I probably would have said my other cat did it because her rabies vaccination is always current.

I always recommend antibiotics because cat bites infect more often than not and it is better to prevent the infection than to try to clean up after it.  A friend of mine didn't listen recently and sure enough, within 3 days her hand was swollen up like a muffin and she ended up having to have surgery to open and clean an abscess in the top of her hand. Just a few days of amoxicillin at the time of the bite would have prevented that.  BTW she lives in Texas and nothing was said about her cat.  Since he was hers, an inside cat, and vaccinated for rabies, I guess the doctor didn't see any need to report it.  This is basically a 4-year-old thread, however, so laws may have changed by now.  @Steven32158, if you still have swelling, redness and tenderness today, you should get yourself on antibiotics one way or another.  You can probably go to one of those drugstore clinics and not make a big deal out of it.

Ohio requires that all animal bites be reported.

BTW most of us in rescue keep antibiotics on hand, not only for the animals but for us too.  If we reported every little bite and scratch, we would never have time to take care of all the animals!  You can get most everything you need at your local Tractor Supply or other farm store, or online.

Red Top Rescue said:

 
BTW most of us in rescue keep antibiotics on hand, not only for the animals but for us too.  If we reported every little bite and scratch, we would never have time to take care of all the animals!  You can get most everything you need at your local Tractor Supply or other farm store, or online.

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How are you keeping antibiotics on hand for humans?

Some doctors will let you get extra antibiotics for certain things. And. . .humans can take "fish" antibiotics too. Not that I recommend it; I think people overuse antibiotics terribly. I've only taken antibiotics once in my life and that wasn't even necessary (to prevent an infection after I had my wisdom teeth out) but I didn't want to take chances on a mouth infection, ugh. I have had bad cat bites; they're always sore and swollen for a few days but I've never gotten a full infection. Keeping it open so the nastiness can drain is important.

The most effective use of antibiotics (and best to prevent antibiotic resistance) is to have the doctor/vet do a culture to find out what kind of antibiotics are needed and then give you the proper dosage of the narrowest-spectrum antibiotic for that particular issue. But that's not how things are usually done .

Not that I'm really recommending lying to the doctor. . .but I'm told that barbed wire injuries and animal bites/scratches are basically identical. And you receive the same kind of treatment for both. So if someone is sure that the cat who bit them is rabies-free, and they don't want to deal with Animal Control reporting procedures, that's one option.

FishMox (amoxicillin 250 mg. capsules) can be purchased at a feed store.  As long as you've taken amoxicillin before and know you are not allergic to penicillin, no problem.  It's the same thing my dentist gave me after dental surgery -- 1000 mg. to start and then 500 mg.every 6 hours for 7-10 days.  Of course FishMox costs about $23 for 100 capsules, so if you can get a doctor or a vet to write a prescription, you can get generic amoxicillin free at most supermarkets and drug store chains.

I think many of us where animal bites are concerned are trying to avoid a doctor.  Doctors and vets are the ones with the mandatory state requirement to report the bite which then leads to the quarantine requirements.  I don't even want to think about what would happen to someone like me who has an animal that doesn't get vaccinated anymore.  Animal control doesn't care that the vaccinations were stopped for medical reasons.