Comments on: How to Treat a Cat Bite

on 12/12/2006 i got bite from my cat a week ago, on my left hand right on the middle knuckle. it's painful, i can barely move my two middle fingers an the joints are swollen along with my hand. doc has me on iv antibiotics and i go to the hospital once a day for it. yesterday the surgeon had to open it up an clean it out, now its a wait an see thing. from what i have been readin, i should be havin iv treatment twice a day, so i will be askin doc bout it tomorrow. also, from what ive read the healing process takes awhile, an christmas is around the corner
:( ohh well i just hope my hand gets better!! Tina

on 11/18/2006 I have been a Vet Tech for 15 years and have been very lucky to have not been bitten, that was up until Nov 4, 2006. I was restraining a cat and taking the necessary precautions even though the cat showed no signs of aggression. I loosened up my grip when i started getting a cramp when the cat came up with no warning and bit down on my index finger very hard. He wouldn't let go and bit down even harder as if he was eating a chicken bone. I still was holding him by the scruff and finally pulled him off. Immediatly i put my hand under water and began to scrub with wound cleanser. I did that for 10 minutes, put it on ice and went to the ER. There they gave me a tetnus shot and started me on Augmentin. The next day my hand was very swollen and very painful. By Monday morning it was clearly getting worse and i went to the doctor who sent me right to the hospital to be admitted and put on IV antibiotics. Tuesday the 7th the Orthopedists came in and announced i need surgery that day. At 5 pm i had surgery to clean it out. I stayed in the hospital till Friday the 10 th but didn't leave until they put a "PICC" line or central IV line in my inside upper arm. This allows me to give myself antibiotics (by IV) every 6 hours. I have to do this for a total of 25 days and see the Infectious Disease doctor and Ortho doc every week. I am out of work till this is over. It has been 2 weeks now and i still have numbness and pain in that finger. The infection was in the tendon and down into the joint. I was lucky though because it didn't get down to the bone or in the bloodstream. Cats carry alot of bacteria in their mouths and it is the same bacteria that rats carry which is in the same family as the plague. Especially if the cat is sick or is older. Which this cat was both so he had a lot of bacteria. Moral of the story... cat bits are serious and can even be deadly!

on 11/11/2006 A cat bit is very serious. I have had two small punctures. Each developed into redness, pain, swelling within hours. Because I didn't get IV antibiotics for the first bite I was in the hospital for three days with IV treatment for 2 weeks and loss of work time. I got to the doctor within 2 hours with the second bit and had to convince her to give me the IV as well as the oral medication. It took 36 hours for the infection to turn the corner and start to calm down. This is a very fast acting bacterium. Clean the wound immediately and get to the doctor ASAP and don't take no for an answer. I think my doctor went to look it up after initially refusing the IV and then came back with the order for the initial dose of IV antibiotics.

on 10/28/2006 Be Prepared - Last week I was holidaying in Turkey. My Documents included my "Jab" card. I was playing with a stray cat when he suddenly turned and bit me on the edge of my hand below my little finger. There was hardly any sign of the wound, but I knew the teeth had gone deep. I washed my hands under running water and applied an anti bacterial cream. I then checked my "Jab" card for my Tetanus record - OK. There was very little blood in spite of squeezing the wounds. I applied more anti bacterial cream before going to bed and tied a handkerchief around my hand. Next morning my hand was hot, red and swollen. I decided not to go to a local Doctor unless the redness started to streak past my wrist.(I was going home at the weekend anyway) As amateur therapy, I exercised my hand by squeezing a tennis ball. After three days the symptoms started to improve. I am now home - there is a small lump under one of the tooth bites, but the bone under the other bite is still tender. If this had happened at home - I would have read the articles on this website and sought medical advice. As it was, I was thankful that my innoculations were up-to-date.

on 9/5/2006 I was bitten by my cat at 6 AM (what a wake up call). My cat was sitting on my head board looking out the window when a cat in the area jumped up and hissed at him. He freaked out and jumped down to hide, but he had gotten his foot tangled in the blinds. He landed on me and my husband and I were bit numerous times trying to free him. My husband and I both washed off our wounds with soap and water and applied ointment on them. My husband healed with little problem, I on the other hand ended up swollen from the moment it happened till they admitted me to the hospital four days later. I received a booster shot and started a oral antibiotic. I had to report to my doctors every day after as they watched the bits (a total of thirty two puncture wounds).

When I left the hospital I was put on two more antibiotics and now I am going in to have a nerve test. The doctor who treated me swore that the numbness I was having in three fingers would go away after the swelling went down.

So if you ever get bit by a cat, get medical help , and if you feel that they are not knowledgeable with cat bits get a second opinion!

on 8/27/2006 I was bitten on the finger by a house cat while trying to break up a fight. This was a puncture wound and I cleaned it out with hydrogen peroxide and antibiotic ointment and covered it with a Band-Aid. I awoke the next morning and my finger had swollen to the point that I couldn't bend it. I went to the ER and was immediately treated with IV antibiotics. The doctor pointed out the red streaks going up the inside of my wrist, which is indicative of the infection going into the blood. I had no idea how serious this could have been.

I love cats, but am now very cautious when it comes to a little scratch or over-playful bite. Each time, I control the bleeding, clean the area with plenty of soap and water, pour hydrogen peroxide over the area several times, blot it dry, apply antibiotic ointment and a Band-Aid. Then go to a doctor!

on 8/8/2006 I was bitten on the fleshy part of my thigh - right through my jeans - by a friend's cat. It didn't bleed at all, but it was bruising immediately and my hippie friend dutifully cleansed it with oregano oil. I was lucky that I had a doctor's appointment the next day for something unrelated and as a passing thought I said "Hey - can you take a look at where I got bit by my friends cat?" Next thing you know, I had 4000mg of amoxycillin a day for 10 days. I was really lucky that I was at the doctor's office anyway. Cat bites have a very high infection rate...don't risk it!

on 8/8/2006 Just want to share a bit of natural medicine with you. My cat, an indoor cat with aggressive behavior sunk her teeth into my hand when I foolishly played with her using my hand as a toy. I have other cats and they "play bite" never causing any harm. This one, a kitten, 10 months old, is truly the most affectionate and the meanest cat I've ever owned. I've raised her since she was days old, found her in a parking lot, still had her eyes closed for 8 days. Pure white with blue eyes.
I immediately poured Colloidal Silver over my hand to kill any bacteria. This made it bleed more, which is good. Colloidal Silver is still listed in the Doctors Educational Materials (dated 1915) as the best application for the treatment of various infectious agents. I did pour hydrogen peroxide on it afterward as a precaution, and to my amazement, there was no fizzing in the wounds. I had two puncture marks, from the top and bottom teeth and they were deep.
I knew I could be in serious trouble and I kept treating it with Colloidal Silver the first day. Scabs did form on the puncture marks but the skin around it was red and slightly swollen.
The second day I did become concerned when the top of my hand was puffy and red. The wounds did not look too bad. Then I put Oil of Oregano, one of nature's most powerful antibiotics on my hand full strength. Usually, it's diluted with Olive Oil. Within an hour, most of the swelling had gone down. I did take the Oil of Oregano (diluted) internally in case the infection should spread. I kept applying the Oil of Oregano several times a day. Now, this is my fourth day after the bite, and it's almost healed.
I have two small scabs, the skin is pinkish around the scabs and no swelling.
Most people don't know about the healing properties of these two products. They can be obtained in health food stores or through the Internet on various sites.

I truly believe that if it hadn't been for the Colloidal Silver and Oil of Oregano, I would have ended up in the hospital. These are good things to keep on hand.

on 8/8/2006 As a cat lover, I try to do whatever I can to help pets in distress, even if I put myself in danger. Once my deaf cat got his paw stuck (don't ask how) in a Springform baking pan. I managed to help him free his paw, but was bitten repeatedly and deeply scratched on my left forearm (he was in such a panic)! Two days later, my entire forearm was streaked with red lines and I had to see the doctor for a rather expensive round of antibiotics. I was so nervous about the infection leading to amputation, I began looking at prosthetics! Don't ever hesitate seeking medical attention!

Everything worked out fine for both my cat and myself, and the baking pan is hidden away.

on 8/8/2006 I was feeding my friend's indoor cat while she was away. Without warning, the cat bit me hard in the hand. There were two puncture wounds from his incisor teeth. It swelled up within the hour and a lot of puss was coming from it, so I took 4 amoxicillin I had in my cabinet. Immediately after I thoroughly cleaned it with hydrogen peroxide. Not good enough. By the next morning, about 8-12 hours later, the infection had spread three inches up my forearm and further up a vein. Luckily, I went to an emergency room about 16 hours after the bite, where I received and IV of antibiotics. If it is a deep puncture wound (not a love nip), don't play around. You wouldn't believe how quickly it can spread. And the infection is stubborn; it doesn't go away very quickly. I have been a cat lover all of my life and I have been scratched and nipped countless times without consequence. But if you get a nasty bite, don't wait. Be careful.

on 8/8/2006 I was bitten by one of my cats, my own fault, she got scared when I tried to pick her up, ironically, to take her to the vet for dental work. Of course I immediately soaked my finger in hot soapy water and bled it and used antibiotic ointment, all to no avail. The pain and swelling was incredible. I have just finished 5 weeks of Augmentin, 2000 mg/a day, and 5 weeks of Cipro, 1500 mg/ day, (which the emergency doctor that I have been seeing switched me to, after the Augmentin lost its effectiveness).
I also went to the hospital 4 days after the bite (too long to wait: DO NOT WAIT!) and received an IV drip in the emergency room. The last time I had a bite on my hand, an ER visit with a drip and 5 days of antibiotics healed it, but it was not in a joint. Joint bites are the worst.

In the course of the first 2 weeks of antibiotics, I received 4 injections of Rosepin also, just to jump start the healing.
I have so many cats that I didn't want to burden anyone with a hospital stay, so, $1000 later, I am left with an aching first joint on my third finger of my left hand (and of course I am left handed). It is still swollen and pink and only 2/3 usable. It feels like there is no fluid between the first and second joint, bone rubbing on bone.

I can't believe there is any more bacteria in it after 10 + weeks of treatment, but fear that I may need to see a specialist after all. I can't bear the thought of an operation, but fear where I will be in even a week with no more antibiotic therapy.

on 8/8/2006 I work for an animal clinic and recently got bit by a cat. It was not a puncture, but a piece of skin was hanging off my thumb. I soaked my thumb in a diluted surgical scrub, if you don't have access to that you can use Dial soap. I then squeezed some of the blood out, until it mostly stopped bleeding, and then put a Band-Aid on. After work, about 6 hours later, I went to the ER because I knew I had to get antibiotics. They washed it out again with surgical scrub, gave me a prescription and a Tetanus shot.

I need to take amoxicillian three times a day for 10 days and soak my thumb in warm soapy water three times a day. The warm water is supposed to increase blood circulation and the soap gets rid of crusts, so the wound can drain. But you definitely need to get antibiotics. A girl at work got bit and waited to long and was out of work for a month and now she can't move her finger.

on 8/3/2006 Our indoor cat was sick, and had always been really shy and frightful. After giving him medicine one evening (which frightened him terribly) he slipped outside, and hid under the hood of my pickup. I tried to retrieve him and he bit completely through the flesh in the top of my right ring finger. No matter, I thought. I cleaned the wound, and carried on.

The next morning I woke up to find my hand had swollen quite a bit, but I thought just a further cleaning of the wound was needed. Later that evening, on the advice of a friend, I visited the emergency room. By that time the hand had swollen to about 50%, and red streaks were forming at the base of my palm and onto my arm. Fortunately, after an antibiotics shot and some enormous oral antibiotic pills, three trips to the doctor later the swelling had disappeared. I was advised to finish the round of antibiotics and sent home.

As should be apparent, I was lucky I didn't lose my hand or worse. At least I didn't have to spend several days in the hospital. Both of these could have happened if I'd waited any longer (less than 24 hours after the bite).

We have not seen the frightened house cat since.

on 8/2/2006 I was bitten by a cat. I was left with five puncture wounds, one very deep and bleeding nonstop. I did not go to my doctor until the next afternoon. By this time the major bite was red, gapping and bleeding nonstop. I was given a strong antibiotic and told I had to elevate my hand for several days. I ended up being out of work for four days.

on 8/2/2006 A cat's mouth is filthy and hold tons of bacteria. If you get bitten by a cat, whether you know the animal or not, you should clean it immediately with warm, soapy water and pat it dry with a clean towel.

I was bitten, and I poured hydrogen peroxide all over the puncture wounds, applied Neosporin, and bandaged it up. For the most part, you should seek medical attention right after this happens for many people can become very sick from this. A friend of mine had to be hospitalized for 3 days, IV and all.

I didn't go to the doctor right away, I went 2 days later. I was started on antibiotics and the swelling and pain went away within hours, of course always finish the antibiotics completely, for infection will start to grow again if you fail to do so (not something to take lightly).