If your cat bit you

[MollyWantsACracker]

AIBU to wonder what you’d do. Proper bite, puncture x 4, (one quite deep) blood.
She’s been vet checked recently, no problems. Bite happened whilst sitting on lap, me mnetting, random grooming. No signs she was irritated.

It’s quite painful 😣

My hand is starting to look puff up a bit around the bite area.

I have an appointment with my dd that we’ve been waiting for for 6 months. I’ve taken the day off to attend this appointment.

I’m just going to ram some cream on it.

I wasn’t doing anything special to the cat.

Rn., I’m more worried about tomorrow’s appointment, it’s a really big deal

Oh. FGS

Aren't you reading? You're already showing suptoms. Get antibiotics or you'll definitely be missing tomorrow.

Dress&go in my world its 25 to 1 in the morning. There’s nowhere to get antibiotics

My cat bit me once and my hand went red and swelled up like crazy. I didn’t do anything about it but I’ve since learnt that people have been on death’s door with such things.

Adding to the chorus, get seen. Now. If you go to A&E now you might be back in time to get some sleep before the appointment. As ^ said you'd miss it anyway if you get sepsis.
I'd also assume if the bite was out of character that the cat was unwell or injured, so get her seen too. But get yourself seen first.

I find this happens when you have the cat on your lap and are absent-mindedly stroking it for your benefit as much as the cat's. There comes a point when it's had enough and lets you know it. I can see that it must be intensely irritating for them. Usually it's a polite nip but sometimes they don't know their own strength.

I know someone who ended up in hospital, too. I'd disinfect and keep an eye. Be prepared to go to A&E in the morning, if necessary. You've potentially just had an injection of some v nasty bugs.

One of my previous cats who was very timid and nervous accidentally got out of the house. It took several days to find him and he was so terrified when I found him and picked him up he bit and scratched my hands very badly.

2 days later my hands were twice their usual size and very painful. I went to the GP who gave me antibiotics and wanted to admit me to hospital for IV antibiotics. I couldn't even think of that as am a lone parent. I continually soaked my hands in boiled, salted water, changed bandages twice a day and took pain killers.

Long story short, I couldn't drive, hold a pen, twist a doorknob etc for about a month. It took over year for for the stabbing pains in my hands to stop.

Get to your GP asap. Seriously.

I have no way of getting to an a&e

Even if I could do, I’d be there for 8+ hours

I’ve found some antibiotics in the cupboard and I’ve taken one.

I’m very stressed now. I really, really can’t miss this appointment

And anti tetanus injection pronto, get to er

WichBitch thank you & I will go. It’s even possible that tomorrow at the clinic someone will look at my hand. Or maybe not. But tomorrow is not about my atupid bloody hand

If in U.K. Ring NHS direct, or equivalent advice wherever you are

Not in UK, I’m in Ireland & nowhere near a hospital

I will ring my gp in the am if it looks worse, and I will get cat checked out

I got a nasty scratch from kitty the other week. She was sitting at the window, DD went to grab her and she lashed out and my cheek got in the way. Washed it straight away, antiseptic cream, kept an eye on it and was mindful cat bites can be nasty. It looked a bit raw for a day or two (people thought I had a burn) but it did not become infected. Yes cat bites can be very nasty but please do not just rush off to a&e unless there are actually signs of infection. I was worried at the time but used a wee bit of common sense and decided if it became inflamed and/or I started to feel ill not to fear the worst.

Cat's teeth are like needles - they push bacteria deep down into the skin.

Ring emergency/locus doctor, perhaps they will see you or come out, or reassure you. You could be delirious by morning

A man I used to work with was bitten on the foot by his cat. He spent 5 weeks in hospital, two of those weeks in high dependency. He was off work for month, came back part-time on a phased return, and ended up back in hospital for another 2 weeks. I've changed jobs, but for the last two or three months I was there he was still off work, and having his wound dressed every day or so by district nurse and regular visits and short term stays in hospital.

Please, get medical attention as a matter of urgency!!!

off work for months, not month.

I've probably had around 50 or so bites. Only three of them have needed antibiotics, however one of those was very severe indeed and I ended up in hospital for a while.

So I always expect a little pain and swelling but it normally just clears itself up. However, if anything seems exceptionally painful, or if the swelling starts to travel, or if I feel feverish, then I get off to either my GP or A and E straight away.

I'm not saying you should take the risk yourself of course.

As for why the cat did it - there could be so many possible reasons, but maybe a health check for the cat could also be a good idea.

Are you still up, OP? Go with a field dressing.

Look, the OP has said she's in Ireland nowhere near a hospital. She's got some anti-biotics at home and has taken one.

Any advice based on this, and lashing on a decent field dressing?

She has to take a dependant to an important appointment tomorrow.

Last Good Friday I tripped over my very docile cat and her reaction was to sink a tooth into my right foot-it was a very deep puncture. I washed it with Dettol and watched....... 5 hours later the wound was swollen and I had a dull ache like I have never experienced before. Off to A and E and later was having a tetanus and a doctor insisted on watching me take the first pill of a 2 week course of antibiotics - he was that concerned. I remember him muttering that being stabbed in a nightclub (as long as it missed your vital organs) worried him much less than a cat bite because cat saliva is so full of bacteria and goes so deep into body tissue that it is not released through the wound and is trapped and just multiplies rapidly. I then needed a further 2 week course of yet more antibiotics to finally get over that innocent looking cat bite

LineyS. That sounds OK to me. As I said, most bites, in my extensive bite experience, need no antibiotics. You just need to be vigilant in case things take a sudden turn for the worst.

In her place I would certainly continue as normal and just keep an eye on it. And yes, I would also probably take antibiotics if I happened to have a full course of them lying around the house.

afaik puncture wounds caused by bites are high risk for infection because the wound is narrow and closes over trapping the bacteria inside, this especially applies to cat bites because of the needle like teeth.
I recently had an infected puncture would from a dog bite
it was extremely painful