Cat Bites

[Mimi Q]

Anyone dealt with a bad cat bite? My mom was feeding a stray that took up her house a few months ago, and it bit her. I have just spent 4 1/2 hours in the ER and now they have admitted her. Her hand looks awful. She is an elderly, insulin-dependent diabetic, and I am very worried about her.

 

[llazykllamas]

Do you have the cat? If so keep it around so it can be watched for the 'bad' things like rabies. Cat bites are about the worst type of bites to get. Probably a good thing she got admitted. IV antibiotics tend to work better than orals.

 

[BlueBayou]

Cat bites can be very nasty. I have known three people who have ended up having to get emergency treatment for bites from their own cats. The infection seems to happen within 24 hours. I am surprised it has taken months to show up. Do you think she was not paying attention to the symptions?

I was just asking one of the bitten co-workers about this last week. My DD5 had a very minor bite from our cat. It looked more like a little scratch than a bite. It was not a puncture wound. I cleaned it right when it happened and there was no sign of infection. The co-worker explained to be that she has been bitten dozens of times (She has owned cats for years) and only one time has she ever had any problem. It all depends on what bacteria etc is in the cat's mouth at the time of the bite.

 

[llazykllamas]

Sorry, I thought the bite was recent happening from a cat she has been feeding awhile. Either way, the fact that she is elderly and diabetic are leading me to believe she probably has poor circulation. That has led to delayed healing. She may have finally gotten to a low point in her resistance that has caused a flare-up. No matter like I said, IV antibx are the best treatment.

 

[helenabear]

I've been accidentally bitten or scratched with teeth from my various cats over the years (mostly while playing), and have had no infections myself. Of course these are usually one little puncture wound or scratch. Nothing too terrible. I do hope your mom will be okay and her staying over night is just a precaution since she is elderly and diabetic.

 

[Mimi Q]

Sorry, I thought the bite was recent happening from a cat she has been feeding awhile. Either way, the fact that she is elderly and diabetic are leading me to believe she probably has poor circulation. That has led to delayed healing. She may have finally gotten to a low point in her resistance that has caused a flare-up. No matter like I said, IV antibx are the best treatment.

The cat bite is recent- yesterday morning. It looked awful by last night. It is a deep puncture wound. She and daddy didn't tell me about it until she was on the way to the ER last night. Animal Control is coming by to get it today as the doctor said they have to hold it to make sure it doesn't have rabies. If they don't pick up the cat, mama will have to have several rabies shots. They are giving her Unasyn via an IV.

 

[amarberry]

I'm so sorry for what your mother is going through.

Several years ago, one of my cats fell behind our computer desk and was caught in the cords. In order to free her, I had to hold her down, definitely against her will, to unwrap the cords from around her leg. She was not happy with me and proceeded to bite my arm several times. We called a friend who is a vet tech and she told us to not mess around with cat bites. The bites are very deep and heel over very quickly like a puncture wound. Cats mouth's are very dirty and all of the bacteria gets trapped in the wound making it very suseptible to infection. I was put on heavy dose antibiotics and had to get a tetnus shot. The next couple of days, my wounds on my arm felt like they were on fire to the touch. I remember my DH saying "there is a war going on under your skin!" Luckily, since it was my cat, I knew rabies wasn't an issue.

After my "incident", several people I knew told me about similar stories of cat bites they or another family member had received and because they didn't go to the hospital right away they ended up with horrible infections. I hope that they are able to find the stray so your mom doesn't have to go through a rabies series.

 

[MinnieMe2]

Cat bites can be very serious, and the fact that the cat who bit your mama is a stray doubles up on the potential problems.

I'm so sorry your mother is going through this -- all because she is kind! I do hope her hand heals quickly and that she will not have to have the rabies series.....

 

[RitaZ.]

I was bit by a dog last month. The doctor said that a cat bite would have been worse. According to him, about 98% of cat bites get infected.

I feel for you mom. I hope that she responds quickly to the antibiotics . Keep us updated.

 

[Chris2597]

A friends dd was biten by their cat and a few weeks later developed a huge golf ball sized knot in her neck....it was an infection from the bite....the lymphnode had to be removed. It was an ordeal....They called it Cat Bite Fever. I hope Animal Control can capture the cat to avoid your mother going through the series of shots....

 

[suzannen]

A friends dd was biten by their cat and a few weeks later developed a huge golf ball sized knot in her neck....it was an infection from the bite....the lymphnode had to be removed. It was an ordeal....They called it Cat Bite Fever. I hope Animal Control can capture the cat to avoid your mother going through the series of shots....

"Cat Bite Fever" - could that be the same as "Cat Scratch Fever"? My sister was diagnosed with that over 25 years ago after scaring a stray cat and no one else had ever heard of it. Either way, so sorry for your mom, but glad she went for treatment earlier rather than later. Sure hope they find the stray. Keep us posted.

 

[vetrik]

I hope your mom gets better soon - I think it's better that she be admitted, especially since she's elderly and has diabetes. IV antibiotics are much more effective. Cat bites are nothing to mess around with. I used to work as a vet tech, and I got bitten by a stray cat. I went to the doctor immediately and got a tetanus shot and some heavy duty antibiotics, and fortunately it didn't get infected. Since the cat was already in the custody of the animal shelter, they just had to watch it and quarantine it for the time necessary to watch it for the signs of rabies. I hope they're able to catch the cat and watch it, so she doesn't have to have the rabies treatment.

 

[Chris2597]

Yes, Cat bite fever and Cat Scratch Fever are the same.....I have heard them called both but I think Cat scratch fever is the correct term.

 

[Mimi Q]

Thanks for the replies and good wishes. The cat is now in the custody of Animal Control. They said they need to keep it 9 days. They asked if my mother wanted it back. She does, but my father doesn't. Oh well, they have over a week to decide about that issue. Her hand and arm look worse today, but I am hoping things will start to improve tomorrow.

 

[Mimi Q]

UPDATE- Mama is being released from the hospital today. The IV antibiotics did wonders for her hand.

 

[RitaZ.]

UPDATE- Mama is being released from the hospital today. The IV antibiotics did wonders for her hand.

That's good to hear!

 

[Sherri]

Anyone dealt with a bad cat bite? My mom was feeding a stray that took up her house a few months ago, and it bit her. I have just spent 4 1/2 hours in the ER and now they have admitted her. Her hand looks awful. She is an elderly, insulin-dependent diabetic, and I am very worried about her.

I was in the hospital for five nights right around Christmas time several years ago for the same reason. Turns out I got celluitis from the bite.
I wasn't going to go the ER, but my boss who saw my hand insisted. Turns out she saved my life. I was never so scared when I saw they sent the chaplin in to my room. I swore it had to be the end of the road for me.
But all was fine after days of IV.
My Mom's cat bites her constantly, she always goes to the Doctor for it because she had cancer and low tolorence for infection. With antibiotics she is always fine.

 

[wfloyd]

Yep, I was bit by a cat 3 weeks ago that was caught in a fence. I went to the ER and they cleaned the bite and put me on a lot of antibiotics. Other than the puncture spots everything looks fine. The hospital also started me on the rabies vaccine and it isn't that bad. They are now in the arm rather than the stomach and should be over soon.