Sunday, December 9, 2012

Cat Bites are Dangerous!

I know.  This is a quilt site.  Why am I talking about cat bites?  My experience of this weekend makes me want to share and warn others.  Here's my story.
This is my cat, Gracie, and this weekend she bit me.  Now I've had cats most of my life but have never been bitten (I mean hard) by one.  Gracie's form of communication is biting rather than scratching and I'm respectful of what she tells me.  But this time, as we were playing, she switched gears and attacked me ferociously.  Her teeth went deep into my hand.  I was taken by surprise and it hurt more than I can say.  I rinsed the punctures with cold water and put antibiotic gel on it and thought that was the end of it.  Boy, was I wrong.

By the next day, my hand was swelling, and red.  The pain increased as the day went on.  I decided to do some internet surfing on the subject and was surprised by what I found.  Did you know cat bites are infectious 80% of the time?  And that if the infection progresses, it damages the tissue around the bite and you may have to have surgery?  Needless to say I was shocked!!!  
This is a photo of my hand 24 hours AFTER I began taking antibiotics.  The swelling has gone down, the redness has decreased, and the pain is minimal.  I didn't take a photo at its worst but you can still see swelling.  That little red dot on the lower portion of my hand is the little puncture mark that started this mess.  I'm afraid to think of what may have happened if I hadn't done a little research and moved into action right away.  So take this post as informative and a warning.  If a cat bites you, don't take it lightly.  Find out the steps necessary to keep you healthy.

Until next time,





3 comments:

Beth H. said...

Human bites are even worse than cat and dog bites. Work in an OR in which we often had to take care of the human bites after bar fights. Always got infected. Hope you heal quickly.

GO STARS! said...

My mom's cat has bitten her a few times and she's wound up in the emergency room. Apparently she's more susceptible to infections now. Heal quickly!

Unknown said...

Yesterday I was bitten by a stray kitten he or she may of been 4 or 5 weeks old. I was prescribed amoxicillin. During course of the night I was in pain and the side of my hand and my thumb has swelled up. Putting ice on my hand sort relieves the pressure of the swellen. I am up here now soaking hand in alcohol along tropical analgesis. The pain hurts so bad feels like my wrest is broken.