Cat bite

[maddmaxx ★]

Youngest son's cat Clyde got aggressive when Earl was on the deck yesterday and stormed up to the screen door hissing and spitting.  Of course he got his claws stuck in the screen.  I went to help and because he was all riled up he spun his head around and bit me.........hard.  Very small punctures which don't seem to be infected but it was a whole mouth bite and my thumb is swollen and bruised around the first knuckle.  I'm keeping an eye on it hoping it doesn't get worse or infected.  For all the years I've had cats this was the first major bite.

[Wilbur ★]

30 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

Youngest son's cat Clyde got aggressive when Earl was on the deck yesterday and stormed up to the screen door hissing and spitting.  Of course he got his claws stuck in the screen.  I went to help and because he was all riled up he spun his head around and bit me.........hard.  Very small punctures which don't seem to be infected but it was a whole mouth bite and my thumb is swollen and bruised around the first knuckle.  I'm keeping an eye on it hoping it doesn't get worse or infected.  For all the years I've had cats this was the first major bite.

Just watch for more frothing of your mouth than normal.  

[Airehead]

My doctor believes all cat bites require medical care. 

[maddmaxx ★]

9 minutes ago, Airehead said:

My doctor believes all cat bites require medical care. 

So far Clyde doesn't seem to be getting sick.

[donkpow]

They do have filthy mouths.

Infection will come on quick and then you will die. Sorry. 

I knew a guy, former French Foreign Legion, who was an absolute nut for controlling infection. He was a jungle fighter and adopted practices to protect himself from infection from the smallest skin penetrations. He carried around a bottle of mercurochome in his pocket. We live in Ohio. 

[Prophet Zacharia]

12 minutes ago, Airehead said:

My doctor believes all cat bites require medical care. 

Seems reasonable.

All cat bites are considered high risk for infection because they tend to cause deep puncture wounds. Amoxicillin/clavulanate (Augmentin) is generally considered the first-line prophylactic treatment for animal bites.

[Kzoo]

I get your stuff.  So the important aspect of this taken care of.

[Kzoo]

1 hour ago, maddmaxx said:

So far Clyde doesn't seem to be getting sick.

Yet…

[Kirby]

I don't know about your state, but in some states if your seek medical care, the doctor has to report it to the state.   And if the cat is identified and not vaccinated for rabies, the cat has to be quarantined for a month.  Rumor has it that a lot of reported cat bites are from 'unidentified strays" .

[Kirby]

Rumor also says that if you report a bite from an 'unidentified stray" you may get a bunch of registered letters from the county health executive suggesting rabies shots, but all they can do is make recommendations that you are free to ignore.

[Kzoo]

So, can we get a health update?  How is the cat doing?

[Mr. Beanz]

My aunt got bit trying to help a cat.  Ended up going through a series of medical treatments hoping not to lose her hand. 

A bike riding buddy just got bit. Taking meds because her hand is so bad,  hasn't been able to ride her bike the last 2 months.  

And a freaking cat crawled all over my truck after I washed it.  😒

[maddmaxx ★]

4 hours ago, Kzoo said:

So, can we get a health update?  How is the cat doing?

The cat still lives.

[Ralphie ★]

On 6/19/2022 at 3:23 AM, maddmaxx said:

The cat still lives.

So you have restrained yourself. 

[Square Wheels]

How is the hand today?

[maddmaxx ★]

9 minutes ago, Square Wheels said:

How is the hand today?

A little bite better.

[Square Wheels]

Just now, maddmaxx said:

A little bite better.

Why do you need to see a surgeon?

[maddmaxx ★]

9 minutes ago, Square Wheels said:

Why do you need to see a surgeon?

They want to be sure the infection didn't get into the bone and to check out the joint area that still remains sore.  My GP insisted that I make an appointment with them.  I guess they consider bites to the hand to be some of the most dangerous because of the complexity of the structure there and the proximity to the bones.  My appointment with them is on Tuesday afternoon but they have already been in touch after seeing the x-rays to tell me that so far they see nothing too bad fatal. The antibiotics are beginning to have an effect.  The swelling is going down but the base joint of the thumb is still quite painful, 2 or 3 on the pain scale but spikes to 5 or so when I try to use the thumb too much.  What swelling there is remains between the two joints on the inside of the thumb and still keeps me from bending it much.  It's better but not cured yet.

[Square Wheels]

1 minute ago, maddmaxx said:

They want to be sure the infection didn't get into the bone and to check out the joint area that still remains sore.  My GP insisted that I make an appointment with them.  I guess they consider bites to the hand to be some of the most dangerous because of the complexity of the structure there and the proximity to the bones.  My appoint with them is on Tuesday afternoon but they have already been in touch after seeing the x-rays to tell me that so far they see nothing too bad fatal. The antibiotics are beginning to have an effect.  The swelling is going down but the base joint of the thumb is still quite painful, 2 or 3 on the pain scale but spikes to 5 or so when I try to use the thumb too much.  What swelling there is remains between the two joints on the inside of the thumb and still keeps me from bending it much.  It's better but not cured yet.

Scary, but it sounds like your hand healing is moving in the right direction.

[maddmaxx ★]

Just now, Square Wheels said:

Scary, but it sounds like your hand healing is moving in the right direction.

Hopefully.  Between the weekend, my doc being on vacation, not wanting to go to the ER and thinking that it was getting better rather than just gathering strength to storm the battlements I waited at least 2 days to long to decide that it was worse than I thought.

[MickinMD ★]

On 6/18/2022 at 8:41 AM, maddmaxx said:

Youngest son's cat Clyde got aggressive when Earl was on the deck yesterday and stormed up to the screen door hissing and spitting.  Of course he got his claws stuck in the screen.  I went to help and because he was all riled up he spun his head around and bit me.........hard.  Very small punctures which don't seem to be infected but it was a whole mouth bite and my thumb is swollen and bruised around the first knuckle.  I'm keeping an eye on it hoping it doesn't get worse or infected.  For all the years I've had cats this was the first major bite.

Get a tube or spray of triple-antibiotic ointment and apply it around the cuts to avoid getting some bad, puss-flilled, infections.