I was bitten by a stray cat yesterday, it broke the skin on my finger in three places and it didn't stop bleeding for almost thirty minutes, can I get some kind of disease from this bite?
Since it was a stray rabies would be a concern. Is it a stray that hangs around the area so that it can be quarantined? You do need to get a tetanus shot. Cat bites are notorious for getting infected but since it bled a lot this wouldn't as much of a concern as usual.
I'm reading the posts about cat bites from my bed in the emergency room, hooked up to an IV. Don't play around with a cat bite that looks even mildly infected. My cat bit me Sunday afternoon, by Monday morning my hand was doubled in size. On the way to work stopped at a walk in clinic. They gave me a tetanus shot and an antibiotic shot.
The next morning (today) the swelling had lessened, but the redness began spreading. Saw my regular physician and bingo, here I am. Had quite an education on cat bites. They can be extremely dangerous and if not treated promptly can go south very quickly.
They say I probably have more than one type of bacteria, so I'm being treated with various IV antibiotics. They won't know exactly whats going on until the cultures come back. So they'll be taking me to a room shortly. Just told me that I'd be meeting with an infectious disease dr tomorrow.
All of this from my sweet cat that has all his shots, and has never been outside or around other animals.
It is important to flush a cat bite under running water as quickly as possible. If it is bleeding a lot, that is actually a good thing. Keep it under running water for as long as you can stand it.
Wash with antibacterial soap.
You can also use an epsom salt compress to help draw out bacteria. This is nothing more than a cloth dipped in a solution of epsom salt and water, wrung, and applied to the wound.
Keep a close eye on it. If it swells more than a normal bruise, gets hot, or red lines start radiating from the site, get to a doc ASAP.