cat bites and doctors

I can't tell you what type of antibiotics they normally Rx. But cat bites get infected fast & easily, so keep a very very very close eye on it!

Sorry about the bite . Keep a good watch on it. If it starts to get real red and spread and get more swollen/painful. Go to the doc right away. Since you are already on antibiotic's - you might be good ... Hope so...

After I twice got infections (and abscesses) from cat bites because I did not go for medical help, my doctor gave me strict instructions to go and see him within 24 hours if I got any bite that went through the skin (as opposed to a surface scratch). Antibiotics vary a great deal in their uses, so you would probably need a different one than for a chest infection. But I would not wait - go and seek medical opinion. On one occasion I ended up in the ER room having an abscess drained.

They usually prescript Augmentin. The ER vet told me it was the only one that really worked with a particular bacteria that cats carry in their saliva. I was bitten in Sept. and went to the ER right away because it started swelling immediately. Cat bites can be super nasty and better to start the meds sooner than later. Also, make sure your tetanus shot is current.

When I was bitten I went within a couple hours to my doc and got antibiotics.  Of course can't remember what it was but I'm allergic to penecillin so an alternative had to be prescribed.  My hand and wrist swelled up within 5 hours.

I was on doxycycline for lyme when Chumley bit me. It started to get red and ugly looking, but the doxy did work, because it never got infected (and it would have without antibiotics of any kind - it wanted to get ugly, but the doxy did keep it in check). It wasn't a deep bite, and just on the tip of my finger (idiot me stuck my fingers through his crate on the way to the vet, forgetting something like that isn't comforting for him - just our other cats. ).

This happened to me last year.  I got Clindamycin, which I eventually developed a reaction to. 

I would get it checked out if you can. A girl at work got bit by her mother's cat on her finger and she didn't think about it much because it didn't bleed that badly. The next day it was swollen and hot to the touch so she went to the ER. Here it was infected because he actually bit do the bone. I'm not sure what antibiotic they put her on, but 1 1/2 weeks later it still hurts and she couldn't work at the computer for the first week. She can now, but it's still painful.

 

I'm guessing you're up to date on you tetnus and the cat got rabies shots when he went into the shelter?DH got bit a few years back by a stray (not one of our barn cats) and since his tetnus was expired he had to go through the whole round of shots. 

Just keep a VERY close eye on it and if it starts to swell, become painful, or red and hot, then get straight to the doc!


When I got bit, it was on my hand and went straight to the bone as well as biting into nerves. I have never had an injury that hurt as bad as that did. Definitely learned my lesson As you can see, the purple and swelling started right away in mine. This was directly after the bite at the ER. The next morning my hand was the size of a softball.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i37/angelicbint/photo.jpg

Had several bites by accident - one, from Bugsy, was paticularly bad - I fed him a treat and he ate my finger instead The puncture went through my nailbed, and on the other side too.... I always have a bottle of 500ppm colloidal silver, soak a cotton ball in it, put on the top of the bite, and leave it there for at least 12-24 hrs. I never got an infection - works like a charm....
My neighbor got bitten by his new kitten just last week, and I gave him my spare bottle.... Did not got infected either - coincidence? Could be.... But t has saved me every time.
A friend of mine last year got a bite from her 12 yr old kitty.... ended up spending x-mas and NYE in the hospital - yep a whole week! She went through 6 different IV antibiotics, as it became a septic infection. It can become very nasty....
If it looks infected AT ALL, go to the ER - do not play with a cat bite....

Hi Draco, how is your bite? Hopefully didn't get infected?
Please let us know you are alright!

I am just glad this particular kitty didn't have claws, lol, or it would have been much worse for me!

I have entirely too much experience with cat bites. Cat bites to the fingers/hands are extremely dangerous as the blood flow is limited to those areas so there is less opportunity to be carried away so the infection eats its way out. The antibiotics for a chest cold will be different than the antibiotics you will need for a cat bite. 

 

Here is my story:  I was bit by my indoor only cat on a Wednesday. He had gotten his leg hung in the dog's kennel and was hanging upside down and he freaked out when I went to help him and bit my pointer finger on my left hand. I cleaned it and did not seek medical attention. By Friday I was in such immense pain that I went to an emergency clinic and was given a shot of antibiotics and put on pain killers. My wedding was on Saturday.  I had to go back to the clinic Saturday morning as the pain and swelling was getting out of control. By the time we were married Saturday night, the swelling was moving so quickly that my ring couldn't fit past my first knuckle and by the reception we almost had to leave to go to the hospital and have the ring surgically removed I was swelling so fast. 

 

Sunday morning I went back to the clinic, got another shot and went home. Monday morning I was at the county hospital undergoing emergency surgery and the surgeon said I might lose my entire hand. Six days in the hospital later, morphine drip for 4 of those days (not where I hit the button, it constantly dripped...the pain was that intense) I went home. My pointer finger is permanently crooked. I have no movement in it. 

 

Faet forward to this past January....I got bit on my right hand. I was at the hospital within 15 minutes of the bite.  Following is the course of the infection over 3 days. And remember, I received treatment within 15 minutes of the bite. 

 

Photos in next post. 

 

This photo was taken upon arriving at the hospital:




Day 2 The black line denotes infection spread


Day 3 note the new black line, infection spread


And Day 4 after receiving a powerful antibiotic shot on Day 3. I was about 1/2 day away from emergency surgery.


And I found a picture of my left hand showing the finger crook:


Moral of the story: GO TO THE DOCTOR!!!

Gee! Your kitty shredded you! My goodness!
Hope no more bites are in your future

Eek I hope you heal up ok! Cat bites are nasty and scare me, I honestly would rather be bitten by a dog. I have gotten bitten a few times at the shelter by cranky cats. They were minor but I still had to be put on amoxicillan. RAFM, that must have been one nasty cat! Ouch!

Unfortunately, my experience is similar to RAFM's. Jamie bit me in the hand almost exactly two years ago. Although I cleaned the wounds immediately, within a couple of hours my hand start to "blow up" and I had to go to the ER, had surgery and got a cast up to my elbow. At first I had to have a surgeon open the wound up every day (even Christmas Day), clean it and put antibiotics directly into the incisions (in addition to oral antibiotics and painkillers). Then it was every other day, then twice a week.

I was told to get to the ER immediately the next time it happened. Well, that's what I did when he bit me last Christmas. As soon as I said "cat bite" I was whisked into a treatment room ahead of all the other people waiting, the wounds were opened and cleaned, antibiotics given and prescribed and my hand immobilized with a splint. I had a slightly sore hand for a few days and another trip to the ER for a follow-up, but that was it.

I'd definitely advise anybody bitten by a cat to go to the nearest ER asap.

Oh I've had some nasty bites on my hands from my intern days in college. As my doctor explained it, cat bites are bad because they are punctures and are not easily cleaned out completely. Like everyone said, watch the bite carefully, at one point I got an eye infection and the doctor blamed a bite I had on my arm! (Sounded weird but kinda believable to me!)

 

Ultimately, if they were to put you on an antibiotic, they'd culture the infection first, and see what antibiotic the bacteria is nonresistant to. Clyndamycin is what I have been on, and my son as well, for a staph infection in his arm. It worked for me, but not for him and he had to be hospitalized for a more intensive Tx.

 

 

A little over a year ago I got attacked pretty badly on the leg/foot by a very protective mama foster cat. I went to the hospital right away and was given a tetanus shot as well as antibiotics. I THINK it was just amoxicillan, not sure though.

Those scratches were from his back claws. I had him by the scruff of the neck and he was kicking me with his back claws. When I rearranged my grip, his neck twisted and that is when he bit my hand. Here he is a couple of days later, calm and happy.

I am glad my cats have good bite inhibtion. They have never bit me! :)

Ha! Yeah, although it took a couple of days for him to approach me. When his teeth went in I threw him off me and into another room, slammed the door and he didn't get out until we got back from the hospital. I was not a happy mom. For two or so days, he sat on the other end of the couch and just watched me. When he approached he came slowly....he knew he had messed up. 

 

Hes a very high strung cat and he was spooked and ran into one of the cats he doesn't get along with. The combo was too much and he went crazy. The attack on the other cat was so vicious I reacted instead of thinking through the correct response. It only took me two mishaps to really learn my lesson. I'm kinda slow. 

 

Im glad your arm is better. You were lucky to get bit where you did, blood flow is much better in that area. 

 

My kitties have never bite me, ever. Except for Pipsqueak nipping my arm in the morning waiting for his food. So glad your bite didn't turn into a serious infection

This is about what mine looked like the next day. My fingers were more swollen than that because my bites were closer to the fingers. Glad I got started on the antibiotics right away! I still have some numbness and aching due to the nerve damage from where he bit me.