I have a couple of questions/concerns. My cat bit me a couple weeks ago. She got scared when she knocked over my computer monitor. I have a new flatscreen, and when she jumped up on it (she used to love sitting on the old monitor), she knocked it over. I yelled at her which worsened the situation. She reared up and started growling. I freaked out and screamed because I'd never seen her like that before. She bit me, in the leg. At first she just grazed my knee, but then she bit me again, pretty hard. I was frozen in place and was afraid that if I ran, she'd chase me. My mom luckily came in and scared her off.
Anyway, I treated the bite right away with peroxide and antibacterial cream. I thought about seeing a doctor for it, but this has happened before when Maise was eating and got startled from something on the radio. I don't know about this cat. She's always been very nervous, but with this last incident I've been nervous around her. But, my last bite healed well, and this one, though deeper, seemed to heal well too. Did not get infected. But two weeks later, I have a small lump near the bite mark. I assume this is just natural swelling, that the tissue is damaged and healing. I asked on Yahoo Answers just in case because I have a doctor's appt. coming up and thought maybe I should mention it. One respondent freaked me out by saying that you can get an infection under the skin, and it can't drain because the surface is closed. Is this possible? I've done some reading and not heard anything like this. The surface is almost completely healed with just light bruising. I probably should've gotten a tetanus shot because my last one was 6 years ago. Some sites I've read say every 5 years, some every 10. And I know tetanus is more common with scratches.
Is it necessary to go to the doctor about this? I have an appt. next month, so I figure I will just wait until then and show him. I tend to worry myself by reading stuff on the internet, and with this, there doesn't seem to be much information out there. Has anyone actually dealt with cat bites, and know what to do in this case? I probably should've gotten it checked out to begin with, but the bite was very small and my cat has had her shots, and is an indoor cat. I need to head over to the behavior section to see about this erratic cat. I seriously treat her like gold. Anytime she smells another cat on me (I live with my parents who live on a farm and have several outdoor cats), she'll growl and spit. I'll have to sit and tell her calmly that there are no other cats around. She really tries my patience sometimes, esp. when she puts my health at risk.
Anyway, I treated the bite right away with peroxide and antibacterial cream. I thought about seeing a doctor for it, but this has happened before when Maise was eating and got startled from something on the radio. I don't know about this cat. She's always been very nervous, but with this last incident I've been nervous around her. But, my last bite healed well, and this one, though deeper, seemed to heal well too. Did not get infected. But two weeks later, I have a small lump near the bite mark. I assume this is just natural swelling, that the tissue is damaged and healing. I asked on Yahoo Answers just in case because I have a doctor's appt. coming up and thought maybe I should mention it. One respondent freaked me out by saying that you can get an infection under the skin, and it can't drain because the surface is closed. Is this possible? I've done some reading and not heard anything like this. The surface is almost completely healed with just light bruising. I probably should've gotten a tetanus shot because my last one was 6 years ago. Some sites I've read say every 5 years, some every 10. And I know tetanus is more common with scratches.
Is it necessary to go to the doctor about this? I have an appt. next month, so I figure I will just wait until then and show him. I tend to worry myself by reading stuff on the internet, and with this, there doesn't seem to be much information out there. Has anyone actually dealt with cat bites, and know what to do in this case? I probably should've gotten it checked out to begin with, but the bite was very small and my cat has had her shots, and is an indoor cat. I need to head over to the behavior section to see about this erratic cat. I seriously treat her like gold. Anytime she smells another cat on me (I live with my parents who live on a farm and have several outdoor cats), she'll growl and spit. I'll have to sit and tell her calmly that there are no other cats around. She really tries my patience sometimes, esp. when she puts my health at risk.