He was in the hospital for almost three months.

I was admitted to the ER ahead of a motorcycle accident and directly into the hospital. I came close to dying or losing my hand. Despite surgery on my hand, I've lost a great deal of use of my dominant thumb.

I'd post the photos but they'd get hidden.

I (sadly) speak from experience.

That's probably 1 in 3 of the bites that people seek medical attention for. More minor bites people would likely just put some first aid cream and a bandage on, and never bother to tell a doctor about.

True fact.

Many people wait until an infection is pretty well-developed before going to a doctor, so it figures that a fair percentage of the people who do so might end up hospitalized. I once got a cat bite for which I needed antibiotics (though not hospitalization), but I've also had several that I just treated with hydrogen peroxide and Neosporin and they were fine.

... I was surprised at the numbers myself, as I've lived with cats literally since birth. I've gotten little nips from kittens and pilling cats - more like scratches from teeth than bites. What Fannie did to me was no shit kidding bites (she was scared; she's not a biter) and not only did the pain surprise me, the nearly-died part did, too. Apparently, cat bites send more people to be hospitalized than any other bite.

Fannie is fine, by the way. She's sitting on me right now.

Ever been bitten? Many times. Hospitalized? Nope. I even changed their litter when pregnant and my now grown children are fine.

unless the cat's mother was infected or the cat got infected from the feces of an infected cat, then you won't get it from their feces.

Many pet cats are uninfected.

Signs of infection showed up overnight, so I got to a doctor ASAP. Doc said the bug in cat (and dog) bites is usually Pasteurella multocida (related to Pasteurella (Yersinia) pestis, which causes the plague), which takes off very quickly but is readily knocked off by penicillin and similar antibiotics. You do need to get it treated right away, though, if you see any signs of infection (e.g., red streaks, heat, swelling).

My kitten nips me all the time, but doesn't break the skin. She seems to do it carefully, but it can be very annoying. I'm trying to discourage her from doing it.

I, like many folks who've owned cats, have had a "nipping" cat's tooth break the skin of my hand with nobody else knowing about it. But, of course, they are not deep injuries.

So I guess we are saying that 1/3 of cat-bites so serious that medical attention is sought/required lead to hospitalization. I've had a number of cats, and had minor bites and one scratch that left a minor but quite permenant scar, but never sought mdical care for any cat incident.

It is still interesting and a high percentage, of course. Just noting that it is probably 1/3 of unusually serious cat bites to the hand.

Whether you get bitten or scratched, apply ample hydrogen peroxide immediately. Your chance of infection will plummet.

The sharp, pointed teeth act like a syringe, 'injecting' bacteria deep into the tissues. Been there, done that, nearly died and required surgery ... and still have lost significant use of my dominant thumb.

Best thing to do is seek medical attention ASAP. Antibiotics are usually required for severe/deep bites (not little nips that just scratch the top layers of skin).

seeking medical attention for a deep bite would probably be advisable. I always look for non-medical-personnel solutions as I don't have insurance, can't afford a doctor/hospital visit and I'm am not likely to have any insurance until Medicare, 6 years from now.

Bites most likely to become dangerously infected, in order: human, cat, dog. Human bites get horribly infected but aren't super common; cats carry pasturella, which is pretty awful; dogs' mouths are fairly clean so the bites don't get badly infected.

The actual wound, that's what puts dog bite at #1. How clean the fangs that tear your ear lobe off were does not matter much when your ear lobe is torn off.

Last edited Mon Feb 10, 2014, 09:54 AM - Edit history (1)

She has since I brought her home as a tiny scrap of a thing fitting into one hand. She was rescued when her feral mom was killed.

I've done all kinds of things to discourage the biting, and manage to keep it to a minimum. She has an oral fixation; bites and licks everything. Maybe losing her mom, and suckling too young? I don't know. When she wants attention, she bites. When she shows affection, she bites.

She plays by biting. Fortunately, she has never broken the skin. She's delivered some hard bites that left dents in my skin, but she never breaks it. On purpose? I don't know. She doesn't take the same care with other things that she bites. She can shred a thick cardboard box with her teeth in moments.

She has all kinds of toys. She's allowed all the lap time she wants, until she starts biting. Her most satisfying play episodes are on my bed, where she can attack my hands and feet and bite and bunny kick with everything she's got...through the quilt too thick for her teeth.

I'm lucky that she doesn't WANT to injure me; if she did, I'm sure her teeth could do some real damage.