Cat bite - advice please???!!

[sirrahbed]

I was bitten just about five minutes ago and this is still VERY painful and bleeding a bit. It was an accident. But, I am wondering quickly here if all such puncture bites need to be treated by a doctor? It does not look that bad but is starting to turn purplish now from bruising and the one puncture goes in 1/8 inch or so and it throbs quite a bit. I will go research bites but thought someone would quickly advise me here. I have never been bitten before It has the imprint of all the lower teeth and the two big ones from the top. It is on my wrist.

[LeahMM]

Get thee to a doctor ASAP. It will infect within hours. If you haven't had a tetanus shot recently you'll need to get one. Cats bites are serious so please get it treated.

[Grace]

Call your doctor. If he can't see you today or first thing in the morning, go to the ER. You need to start on antibiotics right away.

It's that one puncture wound that will cause all the problems. Remember where your cat's mouth has been . . . . .

[Taz_Zoee]

I probably would be stubborn and not go to the doctor, but just keep it cleaned out with peroxide. Although, I've not been bitten that bad before. Once Taz got my finger and I didn't do anything about it and it began to hurt like I had a splinter in it or something and was red and puffy. Once I remembered that he had bit me there I cleaned it with peroxide a few times and it went away.
But like LeahMM said, cat bites are bad. And with the severity of yours you might want to seek medical attention asap.
The only thing that scares me about that, is usually the doctor (at least here in Cali) have to report it to animal services or what ever.
I hope you feel better soon.

[Catty1]

I agree - if the puncture is not bleeding, the bacteria are trapped inside - bleeding is the body's way of cleaning out a wound.

Get to your doctor or ER now please!

[Karen]

Definitely get to the doctor - a cat's mouth may be small, but his bite can be big trouble for humans. Don't worry about Animal Control - they may have to report dog bites, but it's your cat, and so they shouldn't worry. But puncture wounds from a cat bite definitely need to be seen to.

[sirrahbed]

Thanks you all. I have a doctor appointment at the crack of dawn tomorrow. The one puncture is still bleeding slightly and I guess that is a good thing as it is pretty deep and this will help flush out the germs. But, if this throbbing keeps up, I will go to the ER. I am very tolerant of pain but this one is hard to ignore because of the throbbing. It must be swelling because my wrist is now stiff. NOW I know why people say cat bites hurt so much!!

It was totally an accident and it was my Robbie. Yes I do worry about regulations because we do not get them Rabies and the Distemper boosters only every three years and his is due this fall. Our medical provider is the military and so I wonder what their rules might be. But we have had him in the house since he was old enough to leave his mama and he is sweet as can be and healthy. I was sitting at the kitchen table, eating my Subway sub. The plastic bag was up against my arm and Robbie came in from underneath to sneak a bite....but it was not the sandwich he got!! It was meowmie!!

[sirrahved]

OUCH! Way worse than my little scratches or my busted lip. HAH! What a crazy week!

I think a visit to the doctor is in order.

[Edwina's Secretary]

Poor you and poor Robbie who not only didn't get his Subway but hurt his meowmie in the process....

[Grace]

Up here in Michigan, cats only get rabies every 3 years. So you should be fine on that. And no animal control involvement needed.

Keep that arm elevated as much as possible. Try an ice pack and see if that helps with the pain.

[Randi]

I would put my wrist in a bowl with brown soap, that should rinse it out, and then keep your arm elevated as much as you can. In any case you need a tetanus shot, if you aren't up to date.

Hope the pain goes away soon! All the best!

When Fister escaped and was cornered in a catpension some years ago, he attacked the man who tried to catch him. His venes on one arm swelled up, it was really shocking to see! They had to call an ambulance and to the hospital he went.

I met him weeks later outside a Chemist shop and he still had a bandage on. it took quite some time with antibiotics before he was back to normal.

[Taz_Zoee]

I hope Karen and Grace are right that animal control will not be involved. A previous co-worker was accidently bit by her kitty and they took him away. Luckily she got him back like the next day or so. And it was HER cat that bit, and an inside only cat too! But laws are different in each county even.

Poor Robbie! I'm sure he's sorry he bit you meowmie. You didn't taste as good as the sammich would have. LOL

[emilysgk]

The scariness of bites.... I knew a guy who was still fighting infection in almost a year after being bitten by his cat on his knuckle (went to the bone) I was SO lucky as a child. I remember getting bitten once by a stray. I was probably 7-8yrs old. I didnt tell my mother, I guess I probably knew I wasnt supposed to be picking up strays? Anyways I was bit on the inside of my writst and I remember clearly the teeth sunk in ALL the way. I came away infection free with no treatment since mamma didnt even know. Its scary to look back on it. We always had a lot of cats growing up and took in strays and such. It was a big black fluffy one....

[Catsnclay]

Oh boy, does this bring back memories.....


We were bathing Willie (RB) several years ago and #1 Willie didn't like men, & #2 Willie didn't like baths! So I was holding him while Tim was washing him, he moved or something, and when I went to hold on to him tighter, he bit me on the forearm - Ouch!

To get his beautiful teeth off my little arm Tim pushed his pretty little head & my arm into the water to let him let go of my arm. Let me tell you, one pissed off cat! But luckily it was a "clean" bite, or so they tell me.

Looks like yours is "clean" also. What they mean by that is once the teeth get in there, they also came out without tearing anything (veins, muscles, etc.)

We didn't think much of it, it did bleed but stopped after a long time. But since nothing needed stiches we just waited.........WRONG THING TO DO

When I arrived at the ER the next morning I was taken in instantly. All the doctors & nurses and whomever had to come and look. My arm was bright red, hot and 5 x's the size They had never seen something like this before.

And the lecture I got from the doctor I will never forget:

Cat bites are extremly dangerous!!!! They have poision in their fang teeth, this is to kill their prey, and if you do not get an injection of antibiotics along with pills for a week, you are putting yourself in real danger.

Then because of my 2 artificial hips he really got upset with me. The infection could have gone into the hip replacements and that would have meant for me to have to go through hip replacement surgery with both hips - where they go in remove the diseased tissue, give me new metal parts and hope that everything takes. There is now way in hell I wanted to go through surgery again, let alone TWO!!

So I learned my lesson the hard way, but luckily we caught my problem at the right time (not only did they give me the injection and pills, but I was also on IV fluids to flush any remaining poision out of my body - I was SO lucky!)

So, with all this said and done, I strongly advise you to get to your doctor or ER ASAP. When you call your doctor, tell him the nature of your problem, he will get you in instantly.

This is not something you should take lightly!! Trust me, I will never bathe a man-hateing cat EVER again!!!!

[catmandu]

Janice Has Been Scratched And Bitten Many Times And Has Shots Regullarly. In Fact My Vet Recommends That If You Have Cats That You Get Tetanus Shots As As With Happened With You Debbie You Are Bitten Accidentally.
Those Bites Look Bad I Would Wash Them And Get Some Good Anti Bacterial Cream Until You See You White Coat.
Good Luck, And We Hope You Dont Have To Change Your Name To Stumpy.