ER Doctors

[9x21]

So last night., I stop home from work to stuff my face, one of three our cats is MIA.

With both of daughters High School Holiday band concert minutes away, I conduct a quick search without results.

Guessing the MIA got out, I open the back slider & call. Looking down, here comes one of the others trying to make her escape

As I close the door & grab her, she bites me through both ends of my left thumb. The beefy part & tip

Swearing as I go to wash to off & apply a band aid, out the door I go.

( Don't worry, no shots fired after the bite!)

Make it to the concert just in time, show the wife the wound, SHE SAYS:

You better to ER, a friend of mine got bit by her cat and needed IV's to recover………

No it's fine .....

fast forward to today.

Go to work today, like nothing happen, it's a little sore…………….take a look under the band aid and..

So as I'm sitting there today getting my IV's, and two people trying to irrigate the wound (yeah, they had to open it up with a scalpel)

I just want to thank the ER Doc's

Who after I checked in to early this afternoon, reacted quickly to my condition.

Even when I asked "what is that red mark almost all the way up my arm?"

He just said, that is a sign of infection, but it's good you came in when you did.

Thanks to all Docs, Nurses & PA's who take care of us when we're hurt!

PS, the wife was right, as usual

Edited December 7, 2007 by 9x21

[EZ Bagger]

I wonder if they have to report those like they do dog bites.

Glad you didn't wait too much longer.

[AlamoShooter]

Nice Kitty .

You got to have joke in that some place. You picked up some pussy cat and ended up in the hospital.

...When I was 12. My cat used to put shallow bits and scratches on my arms when I played rough with him Now I think nothing will cause an infection in me. That cat used to jump out of the brush and knock my dog off its feet. It could jump out and hit my back foot as it was coming froward and cause me to trip too. Man I miss that cat.

[chp5]

Why do you need an IV for a cat bite?

Glad you're better. Souns like you may need a new pet

[GentlemanJim]

Sorry about your bite! cat bites can be pretty nasty

A friend of mine had a huge cat named fluffy....in the middle of the night he awoke to a major cat fight, his cat inside...and another tom in the window sill.

He reached over to swat his cat from the window...the cat jumped on his head and ripped him up

Pretty sure he said 80 stiches ...and thought he would bleed to death on the way to the ER.

Cats are fuzzy,cute little things....but if they have a mind to...they can tear you up!!!

Hope you are feeling better!!

Jim

[HSMITH]

Hate cats, and the tendency of the bites to get infected is one of the reasons. Cat bites require IMMEDIATE disinfection, purple iodine that we used to be able to buy for livestock works great.

[chrisjohn]

That line going up your arm is sign that the bacteria from the bite overwhelmed the immune response mediated by C4/CD8 cells in lymph nodes located in your hand. Glad you went into the ER and that someone listened to you. The patient usually tells you what's wrong, if they know. Often they don't know that they "know."

Edited December 8, 2007 by chrisjohn

[pmd]

John,

Bummer .. glad to hear your alright (well I assume you are).

Thanks for passing on the info, I had no idea.

So are you gonna change your cats name to "Cujo"?

[SiG Lady]

Acck! So glad you're OK now.

Even cat SCRATCHES can get nastily infected if not washed or disinfected right away. I'm still affected negatively by cat scratches. I've never had my cats bite me in serious anger (or I woulda whacked them), but I try not to p**s off cats, knowing how well-defended they are. I've seen them really mess up dogs, believe me. And they're quick. I consider them related somehow to snakes.

[FranDoc]

Cat bites don't get reported to the Health Department like dog bites do. That's probably because most municipalities have dog control ordinances, but few have cat control laws.

Rabies can be an issue with cats as well as dogs. Since this was your own cat and can be observed for the next ~2 weeks - and if feline rabies isn't prevalent in your area - rabies vaccine for you likely wasn't a consideration.

Pasturella is a bacteria found in the mouths of dogs and cats, there are others. The fine teeth & claws of cats inject the bacteria deep in the tissue, where they grow. That's why the (swollen, infected) wound was surgically opened for irrigation. Get the bugs outta there.

The infection can propagate amazingly fast, necessitating IV antibiotics (and several weeks of oral antibiotics to follow).

You did the right thing. I've seen people get very sick, very fast, after a bite or claw wound from Fluffy.

[Nik Habicht]

A few years ago Carol got bit in the hand by a friend's cat. The ER kept her in the waiting room for a couple of hours and didn't do a good job cleaning the wound -- which had stopped bleeding by the time Carol was seen. 36 hours later her hand was twice the normal size, our family practitioner admitted her to the hospital for IV antibiotics and a bone scan, and there was lots of serious discussion about the probabilities of saving the hand. Carol got lucky --- but it was a little scary for a day or two.....

[Chills1994]

chp5 wrote:

Why do you need an IV for a cat bite?

Ever hear that Ted Nugent song "Cat Scratch Fever!"?

Cat scratch fever is very real and not just some lyrics.

Also, have you ever seen how limber a cat is and how clean they like to keep themselves everywhere?

The red mark on your arm, in this layman's terms, is a sign of blood poisoning creeping up your arm on its way to your torsoe where your major organs are.

If you had let the bite go untreated for a few more days, the "streaks" would have gotten worse, continued to travel up your arm, and you could have ended up losing the thumb, the hand, the lower arm, the rest of your arm in that order, that is if the infection had not gotten into say your kidneys first and caused them to shut down.

[xdrocker]

Any "pet" that decides to get into me is no longer a pet. You don't bite the hand that feeds you. Next time let it have it makes a break for it, let it have it.

[kevin c]

Yup. FranDoc is exactly right: Pasturella multocida can get nasty when Kitty chomps down. Dog bites are crush wounds, but cat bites are punctures that basically inoculate the bugs deep into tissue. I once saw a baby who got meningitis (brain covering infection) from being bit by the pet cat through the soft spot on top of her head.

Cat scratch disease is a different bug (Bartonella henselae).

Edited December 8, 2007 by kevin c

[9x21]

Hate cats, and the tendency of the bites to get infected is one of the reasons. Cat bites require IMMEDIATE disinfection, purple iodine that we used to be able to buy for livestock works great.

I had used Peroxide & thought I cleaned it pretty good.

My lesson was animal bites require immediate medical attention.

[Chills1994]

Kevn C wrote:

Cat scratch disease is a different bug (Bartonella henselae).

A'yup. Roger that.

However, the reprecussions from a cat scratch vs. our OP's cat bite can be severe, nonetheless. Either or should not be taken lightly.

I doubt you would lose a thumb, hand or arm from <Nuge voice on> Catch Scratch Fever! <voice off> but I have heard it can really screw with your internal organs and health in general.

Wikipedia had this to say about <Nuge on> Catch Scratch Fever! <Nuge off>:

Signs and symptoms

Cat scratch fever presents with tender regional lymphadenopathy, sterile suppurative papules at the site of inoculation, slight fever, headache, chills, backache, abdominal pain, malaise, alteration of mental status, and convulsions. It may take 7 to 14 days, or as long as two months, before symptoms appear. Most cases are benign and self-limiting, but lymphadenopathy may persist for several months after other symptoms disappear. The prognosis is generally favorable. In temperate climates, most cases occur in fall and winter. The disease usually resolves spontaneously, with or without treatment, in one month. In immunocompromised patients more severe complications sometimes occur.

Linkey:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_scratch_fever

[Slowhand]

Sickest I have ever been was due to cat scratch fever.

Short version is, cat scratch on the neck, neck swollen twice normal

size, raging fever, delerium and to top it off, hurt like hell! Sitting in a

tub of ice in a hospital is an experience you only need once.

A little old lady asked me to "rescue" her cat from a tree. The cat was fine

but she was about to snap. I leap into hero mode only to be reminded

that no good deed goes unpunished.

[EricW]

Why do you need an IV for a cat bite?

Cats' mouths are noted for basically being the most infectious environment possible. Think about what cats do and you'll figure it out.

Learned that from our vet when I was a kid and never regarded a cat the same since.

Edited December 8, 2007 by EricW

[Dan Sierpina]

John,

Glad to hear it was discovered in time! I'm sure the next time that cat want's to get out, you'll let it go.

Take care of that wound.

[smokshwn]

A little old lady asked me to "rescue" her cat from a tree.

For future reference there is never a need to get a cat out of a tree.....the evidence is simply the profound lack of cat skeletons in trees

BTW, you think a cat bite gets infected quickly....you should see how fast a bite from another human will get fired up.

[9x21]

BTW you think a cat bite gets infected quickly....you should see how fast a bite from another human will get fired up.

That's what my ER Doc said also!

[9x21]

John,

Glad to hear it was discovered in time! I'm sure the next time that cat want's to get out, you'll let it go.

Take care of that wound.

I will Dan,

lucky it was a "weak hand wound", and you know it will not make my weak hand shooting any worse, ( 'cuase I suck already)

Thanks

JH

[et45]

Cat Scratch can be serious if not treated with antibiotics.I know,the lymph knode in my arm pit burst as a result of "self doctoring"causing a nasty mess and requiring a gauze wick to be inserted in my arm pit which had to be changed daily and hurt like hell to do.Cat Scratch is transferred by a cat's saliva.I had a female cat who would lick you when you rubbed her.I must have had a open wound that she licked.

[ChrisMcCracken]

I was staying with a resident of the program I was interviewing at yesterday and the day before. One of her cats left a nice scratch on my forearm with one of its canines. Luckily it was only superficial. Had it had any aspect of puncture to it, I'd have definitely sought treatment asap.

Chris

[JThompson]

Cat + Bite= Dead Cat.