Cat Bites

I recently had the privileged to experience a cat bite first hand (no pun intended ;-). Working in a pet clinic, you interact with lots of different feline patients - some willing and happy to be there and some not so willing or happy. This particular cat came in for his annual check up and vaccination up date. His name is Lewis.

As soon as he came out of his carrier, he walked around the exam room as if he owned the place. When his canine sibling would come over to sniff him, he would growl, raise his tail and swat at her. When I asked how everything was going at home with him, his owners response was "well he is a bit of a rattlesnake, only my wife can touch him" (this was my first clue...).

So after a few gentle attempts to corral him, and the owners unwillingness to assist because he was nervous of him - I explained that I would get a technician to assist me with his examination and vaccinations. The rest is history.

We managed to get Lewis to the back area where he stopped growling for about 5 seconds, at which point he ran away into the xray room. I decided since he hadn't been THAT bad to catch, I probably could catch him again to administer the vaccination quickly. Well that turned out to be a BAD PLAN. He ended up biting me on my left hand, middle finger directly at the base of it.

I have been bit by cats before - never as hard and this one latched on, and did not let go. After multiple attempts to get this frenzied feline to disengaged without it re-biting, I was finally successful. I immediately downed antibiotics and analgesics. I have known others who have been bitten and what they had been prescribed so was confident in my medication selection.

I flushed the wounds and left them open to drain. My hand was throbbing and bleeding, however I still did my final appointments at the end of the day. I am sure those clients were thrilled with my predicament.

I called my doctor, they prescribed a "real" prescription of the antibiotics I had already taken and I began taking those. The next day (Thursday) I woke up, my hand was throbbing, more swollen however I felt otherwise fine. I had the day off and had planned to meet up with a friend to dog train - I decided to still train and just modify how I held my leash and be a bit gimpy.

That night my husband arrived home and saw my hand. The swelling was continuing to increase and I was beginning to feel systemically ill. We went over to the Oakville Hospital Emergency. Had a CBC done, hand radiographs, an IV catheter placed and received my first dose of IV antibiotics. I was on those for 3 more days. (Actually first time I have been thrilled with Ontario health care - I truly believe I received excellent medical attention that night). I was also started on a second oral antibiotic that helps kills different bacteria then the IV ones. I was then instructed to keep my hand elevated with a pressure bandage on to help relieve some of the cellulitis.

My hand has been tingling on and off since this ordeal - however I am absolutely thrilled to say that it is much improved today. I still have a minor amount of discomfort on making a fist, however at least I can actually still make a fist. The swelling is now minimal and the scabs where the teeth punctured are closed over and not having any pus like discharge.

I had my first recheck with my family doctor today and although she didn't seem that familiar with cat bite wounds, she said it appears that I have responded well to treatment. Well I could have told her that, however I am still very relieved. I wish I had taken photos - however in the stress of the ordeal, completely forgot.

My suggestion would be that if you are EVER bitten by a cat and it breaks skin - seek medical attention immediately. Get it assessed and if it isn't improving after 18-24 hrs on oral antibiotics, you likely may need IV antibiotics.

If you want further literature on dog and cat bites - feel free to email me. I have a great journal article I downloaded about the cost of related health care with these situations put out by the Illinois Bone and Joint Institute.