Cat Bite!
So, Wednesday morning on the way to work, I saw this little gray kitten dash across the road, almost scooting on his belly, like maybe he was hurt. I knew I had to help him.
Kitty was of a differing opinion. He/she/it ran away from me, hiding under a little short seedling evergreen right next to the freeway. I circled around slowly, hoping to block him from running onto the busy freeway entrance. He was flat on the ground under the little tree, hiding under a branch, which I was able to use to pin him down for a moment so that I could (gently) grab him. And I did. Kitty did not like this, and communicated his feelings to me by biting my thumb, hard, several times. I held him so as to avoid further bites, got him to my car, wrapped him in a blanket and tried to decide what, in addition to bleeding from my thumb, I should do next.
He appeared to be about 12 to 16 weeks old, and did not seem to be injured, as I'd first feared. But he was definitely alone and afraid and in danger, out there by the freeway.
So, the next thing was to get him in a container. I drove home, found a cat carrier, and put Kitty in it. He was still not feeling very friendly. I got a can of cat food and a little dish of water and put those in the carrier, expecting Kitty to want both. He wanted neither.
I called a couple no-kill shelters in town, but they were full up. I called the local Humane Society, but it turns out they only take animals by appointment, and the next appointment was in two weeks. I couldn't really foster the kitten, as we have two adult cats who might not be amused. Also, I didn't want my cats to catch anything Kitty might have. At any rate, I took him to animal control, where they said he would be quarantined for 10 days because he'd bitten me. I really hope he'll be adopted out after that!
After finishing up at Animal Control, I hightailed it to the local Urgent Care. I had four or five small bites on my thumb. But even though they were small, if the skin is broken, cat bites can be very serious. Cats' mouths contain Pasteurella bacteria, which is likely to give a human a nasty infection. Staph and strep infections are also common with cat bites, and other bacteria can also be involved.
When they finally saw me in Urgent Care, the doctor told me, "Cat bites are a SERIOUS injury!" They put me on IV antibiotics and made a cast for my thumb! I can take the cast off to wash and to apply antibiotic ointment to the bites, but I'm supposed to wear it as much as possible over the next few days. They want my thumb immobilized so that if there's bacteria in there, it won't spread as much or as fast. Anyway, in addition to IV antibiotics, they gave me Augmentin to take for the next week. I hate taking antibiotics, because they almost always give me a yeast infection. Ugh! Oh, yeah, and I had to get a tetanus shot, too.
Yeah, well, next time I rescue a cat, I'll bring a towel or something. I would not have expected a little cat bite to be such an ordeal! I read on some pages on the Internet that 40-50% of cat bites become seriously infected, but the doctor at Urgent Care told me it's more like 85-90%! Of course, I'm thinking that he wouldn't hear much about cat bites that don't get infected, but still.
Kitty was of a differing opinion. He/she/it ran away from me, hiding under a little short seedling evergreen right next to the freeway. I circled around slowly, hoping to block him from running onto the busy freeway entrance. He was flat on the ground under the little tree, hiding under a branch, which I was able to use to pin him down for a moment so that I could (gently) grab him. And I did. Kitty did not like this, and communicated his feelings to me by biting my thumb, hard, several times. I held him so as to avoid further bites, got him to my car, wrapped him in a blanket and tried to decide what, in addition to bleeding from my thumb, I should do next.
He appeared to be about 12 to 16 weeks old, and did not seem to be injured, as I'd first feared. But he was definitely alone and afraid and in danger, out there by the freeway.
So, the next thing was to get him in a container. I drove home, found a cat carrier, and put Kitty in it. He was still not feeling very friendly. I got a can of cat food and a little dish of water and put those in the carrier, expecting Kitty to want both. He wanted neither.
I called a couple no-kill shelters in town, but they were full up. I called the local Humane Society, but it turns out they only take animals by appointment, and the next appointment was in two weeks. I couldn't really foster the kitten, as we have two adult cats who might not be amused. Also, I didn't want my cats to catch anything Kitty might have. At any rate, I took him to animal control, where they said he would be quarantined for 10 days because he'd bitten me. I really hope he'll be adopted out after that!
After finishing up at Animal Control, I hightailed it to the local Urgent Care. I had four or five small bites on my thumb. But even though they were small, if the skin is broken, cat bites can be very serious. Cats' mouths contain Pasteurella bacteria, which is likely to give a human a nasty infection. Staph and strep infections are also common with cat bites, and other bacteria can also be involved.
When they finally saw me in Urgent Care, the doctor told me, "Cat bites are a SERIOUS injury!" They put me on IV antibiotics and made a cast for my thumb! I can take the cast off to wash and to apply antibiotic ointment to the bites, but I'm supposed to wear it as much as possible over the next few days. They want my thumb immobilized so that if there's bacteria in there, it won't spread as much or as fast. Anyway, in addition to IV antibiotics, they gave me Augmentin to take for the next week. I hate taking antibiotics, because they almost always give me a yeast infection. Ugh! Oh, yeah, and I had to get a tetanus shot, too.
Yeah, well, next time I rescue a cat, I'll bring a towel or something. I would not have expected a little cat bite to be such an ordeal! I read on some pages on the Internet that 40-50% of cat bites become seriously infected, but the doctor at Urgent Care told me it's more like 85-90%! Of course, I'm thinking that he wouldn't hear much about cat bites that don't get infected, but still.
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Ouch..yes cat bites can be serious I got bit by a stray a few years ago, and when it became infected I was scheduled for rabies shots. Thankfully they found the cat in time so I didn't have to take them after all but they had to destroy the cat to make sure it was not sick. I cried for days. Not for myself but for the poor kitty. :(
I am glad you are ok..Nice blog by the way
Posted by
Patty |
8:56 PM
I hear you! I got bitten by a cat while I was trying to rescue it at an airport...one of my airline employees had dropped the kennel by accident and it broke open. Poor kitty. I had to go to the hospital, too, where I had to get an IV antibiotic. A lady came by where I was sitting and told her daughter, "You see - this is why you don't play with strange cats!"
I was mortified.
Posted by
Anonymous |
6:19 PM
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