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- Feb 19, 2001
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Let me get this back on track for a minute and tell you a story about my sister.
Like me, she deals with rescuing feral cats (we got that love from our Dad) Anyway, a few years ago, she had a tom in a trap. Unlike me, she insists on taking them out of the trap and putting them in a carrier for transport. So she was trying to do just that, and the tom nailed her on the wrist. She got him off her finally, put him in the carrier, wrapped her arm and took him to the vet. She did not rinse the wound, or treat it. Don't ask me why?
Ok fast forward to her returning home where she washed the wound, and treated it and then went to work. It hurt like the dickens, but she ignored it for the most part.
A few days later her wrist started to swell, she couldn't ignore the pain any longer , so she went to the ER where they washed the wound, stitched it up and sent her home.
Fast forwarding to weeks later when the pain was still there, as was the swelling. Back to the doctor she went- they found a tumor in her bone. So they operated- sent her home-
Weeks later, still swollen, they x-ray the wrist and they see a cat tooth broken off in her bone! Another surgery to remove the cat tooth- they found her bone riddled with tumors. Another extensive operation required she almost lost her arm.
Today, my sister has bone eating tumors in that arm. Coincidence? Who knows? Could it be the bacteria in the tooth leaked out and left this condition behind? Was the tooth a god-send because had they not found it, they wouldn't have gone in to operate they wouldn't have found the bone eating tumors? The doctors really don't know, this is one for the medical journals.
I have been bitten a lot by cats over the years, that is part and parcel what happens when you deal with scared, traumatized strays and ferals. I would never even consider NOT washing out a wound made by a cat's teeth or claws. I have even at times put bleach on a wound to kill the bacteria (OUCH!) So if you are bitten hard enough to tear skin you need to get it taken care of.
Like me, she deals with rescuing feral cats (we got that love from our Dad) Anyway, a few years ago, she had a tom in a trap. Unlike me, she insists on taking them out of the trap and putting them in a carrier for transport. So she was trying to do just that, and the tom nailed her on the wrist. She got him off her finally, put him in the carrier, wrapped her arm and took him to the vet. She did not rinse the wound, or treat it. Don't ask me why?
Ok fast forward to her returning home where she washed the wound, and treated it and then went to work. It hurt like the dickens, but she ignored it for the most part.
A few days later her wrist started to swell, she couldn't ignore the pain any longer , so she went to the ER where they washed the wound, stitched it up and sent her home.
Fast forwarding to weeks later when the pain was still there, as was the swelling. Back to the doctor she went- they found a tumor in her bone. So they operated- sent her home-
Weeks later, still swollen, they x-ray the wrist and they see a cat tooth broken off in her bone! Another surgery to remove the cat tooth- they found her bone riddled with tumors. Another extensive operation required she almost lost her arm.
Today, my sister has bone eating tumors in that arm. Coincidence? Who knows? Could it be the bacteria in the tooth leaked out and left this condition behind? Was the tooth a god-send because had they not found it, they wouldn't have gone in to operate they wouldn't have found the bone eating tumors? The doctors really don't know, this is one for the medical journals.
I have been bitten a lot by cats over the years, that is part and parcel what happens when you deal with scared, traumatized strays and ferals. I would never even consider NOT washing out a wound made by a cat's teeth or claws. I have even at times put bleach on a wound to kill the bacteria (OUCH!) So if you are bitten hard enough to tear skin you need to get it taken care of.