OUCH! Always take cat bites seriously!!

Twice now I have had a serious cat bite. The first time was in 2002 when within 12 hours I found myself in the ER on a morphine drip for pain. That stay in the hospital lasted almost a week with surgery to finally drain the infection and a month long recovery.

The second time was yesterday. I was putting a cat back into it's kennel at the shelter I volunteer at when he turned and chomped down on my arm! HARD!!  

Hello Catmom Marcia,

It must be a painful bite. Glad that you went to the doc's early this time round. I hope the pain will be gone soon and swell subsides.

Please take care !

Oh wow, thank you for sharing that! And welcome to the site 

And you're absolutely right - cat bites can get infected and we should always take them seriously. I think @jcat  was once bitten to the point of a bone infection? 

You did everything right this time around so hopefully you're on your way to a complete and fast recovery! 

It looks like a secondary staph infection! I have been bitten MANY times, very deeply, and have only been to that extent once. My own cat bit me about in the same place you were, and by the next day my entire forearm and hand was swollen to double the size.I knew she was up to date on her vaccinations so I never went in, applied hot packs and antibiotic salve and it did subside in a day.If it would have gotten worse at all, or if I would have developed a fever, I would have went in despite my 6500 00 deductible!  I mentioned it to the vet the next time I went in and he explained that some cats carry a special bacteria on their claws and teeth that can be very painful and even dangerous in some situations. It is the cause of cat scratch fever, too. Your body must not be able to protect itself form this bacteria. I agree that all bites should be taken seriously, scrub good right after with a good antibacterial soap, I apply alcohol and antibacterial salve too. I'm so sorry you have to go through this and admire you for continuing to help! Good luck!

Ouch! I've been bitten and scratched a couple of times by my own cat, feral and shelter cats and learned the hard way that such wounds can become badly infected rather quickly. The first time infection set in within a few hours and required massive amounts of antibiotics and daily opening of the wound by a surgeon. My arm was in a cast to prevent the spread of the infection. I was told by the ER doctor to immediately seek medical treatment in the case of further bites or deep scratches. That's advice I've followed (which doesn't mean professional wound cleansing and very powerful antibiotics weren't necessary even though I was at the ER within 30 minutes). ERs take that so seriously that you jump to the head of the line in the waiting room as soon as you say "cat bite".

It's hard to conceive just how painful such an infected bite can be until you get one. that you heal quickly!