Page 2 | Just been bitten by a mouse the cat brought in

MyCatEatsPrawnCrackers · 2021-07-05T21:48:35+00:00

I foolishly picked the mouse up just to get it out and it bit my finger. It has draw blood but has stopped hurting. What should I do? Ring 111? Just keep an eye on it? Will I need a tetanus jab? I know I sound thick but I'm in a panic here and the cat couldn't give a shit. Any advice?

TheNestedIf · 05/07/2021 23:14

Probably no need to panic. I was bitten by a mouse the neighbours' cat had caught in my late teens not too long before I was due a tetanus booster. I just washed it thoroughly and put some Savlon on.

Since I used to have my own cats, I found it's easiest and least bitey to throw a cloth object (towel, blanket, etc) over the mouse, grab the wriggly bit and then shake it gently outside. Top tip, don't do it where the cats are going to find it again and bring it back another two times. Ahem.

ShirleyDab · 05/07/2021 23:15

This is one of the million. reasons I don't have a cat.
Happy birthday, op.

GreenTeaBlackCoffeeAndRedWine · 05/07/2021 23:16

After reading this thread I am forever glad I'm a dog owner

RandomMess · 05/07/2021 23:17

Happened to me recently was sent to A&E - only they don't do anything to treat these days!

Original poster

MyCatEatsPrawnCrackers · 05/07/2021 23:24

@RandomMess

Happened to me recently was sent to A&E - only they don't do anything to treat these days!

Did they just send you home?

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RandomMess · 05/07/2021 23:26

Yep

ThatLibraryMiss · 05/07/2021 23:29

I had a night in hospital with IV antibiotics, a trip to the operating theatre with the plastic surgeon and a sick note for two weeks off work with what I thought was a very minor cat bite at the base of my thumb a few years ago - A&E took it very seriously. Being a puncture wound meant it sealed up fairly quickly and any bacteria and bits of skin that got pushed inside could stay there and fester. They said that the difference between what I presented with and a septic joint is 48 hours. I only went to A&E because it was ages since I'd had a tetanus vaccination and my doctors' surgery was closed (evening) and I didn't want to take time off work to go the following day. I thought they'd jab me, laugh at/with me and send me home, not tell me to get someone to bring my pyjamas in. I did quite enjoy the two weeks off though.

I was laughing with the nurse about getting a sick note for something that seemed so insignificant and she told me about a man who rescued a mouse, which thanked him by biting him. He ignored the redness spreading around the wound and nearly lost his lower arm. So, OP, please keep an eye on it.

Original poster

MyCatEatsPrawnCrackers · 05/07/2021 23:30

@RandomMess

Yep

What a waste of time! @RandomMess

I'll give the GP a ring tomorrow.

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Original poster

MyCatEatsPrawnCrackers · 05/07/2021 23:32

@ThatLibraryMiss

I had a night in hospital with IV antibiotics, a trip to the operating theatre with the plastic surgeon and a sick note for two weeks off work with what I thought was a very minor cat bite at the base of my thumb a few years ago - A&E took it very seriously. Being a puncture wound meant it sealed up fairly quickly and any bacteria and bits of skin that got pushed inside could stay there and fester. They said that the difference between what I presented with and a septic joint is 48 hours. I only went to A&E because it was ages since I'd had a tetanus vaccination and my doctors' surgery was closed (evening) and I didn't want to take time off work to go the following day. I thought they'd jab me, laugh at/with me and send me home, not tell me to get someone to bring my pyjamas in. I did quite enjoy the two weeks off though.

I was laughing with the nurse about getting a sick note for something that seemed so insignificant and she told me about a man who rescued a mouse, which thanked him by biting him. He ignored the redness spreading around the wound and nearly lost his lower arm. So, OP, please keep an eye on it.

I will definitely keep an eye!

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Torvean · 05/07/2021 23:32

Good luck getting a GP to give a tetanus jab. Like others have said they don't give them like they used to. I was refused one after I got bit by a feral cat and it drew blood.

FizzyPink · 05/07/2021 23:35

It ran up your back You are a hell of a lot braver than me. I’d have moved into a hotel at the first sighting!

Slub · 05/07/2021 23:37

I was bitten by something (8 legs or 6) on Friday on top of my foot. Swollen up so much I can't wear even a slipper - I'm taking antihistamines and applying suddocream but still bloody swollen,itchy and painful. It's hard to know what to do for the best nowadays (as in bother GP or not)

PurpleFlower1983 · 05/07/2021 23:39

Cats are twats even when they’re trying to be nice (not envy!)

Stripey3000 · 05/07/2021 23:40

Happy birthday OP! Hope the bite is ok.

As the designated mouse-catcher in my house (thanks to the regular gifts from my cat) I have become pretty adept at catching the squeaky little buggers with my hands. However, my top tip is to have an empty kitchen roll tube handy, and leave it close enough to the mouse that it will run in there for refuge. You can then just pick up the tube (covering each end with your palm or something) and take it outside so the mouse can wander off. I used this technique last night, and it saved me from what has occurred far too often, where the bloody mouse runs up my dressing gown sleeve! Mice, apparently, don't go backwards, so when that happened (3 separate occasions), I have had to disrobe in the garden in order to get the little blighter out of my clothes! Twice I had nothing on underneath so God knows what the neighbours thought!! Anyway, I'm now Mouse Tube all the way

Original poster

MyCatEatsPrawnCrackers · 05/07/2021 23:41

@FizzyPink

It ran up your back

You are a hell of a lot braver than me. I’d have moved into a hotel at the first sighting!

Things with 4 legs or fewer don't worry me but anything with more legs would send me over the edge.

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PattyPan · 05/07/2021 23:43

Oh this happened to my dad, he went straight to hospital for tetanus jab and they told him he’d done the right thing. If you call 111 they’ll book you in a time to minimise waiting around.

Juice9000 · 05/07/2021 23:45

I remember trying to catch a mouse once and I’m wondering how on earth anyone actually manages to get close enough to pick one up!

Original poster

MyCatEatsPrawnCrackers · 05/07/2021 23:51

The cat dropped it at my feet and it was temporarily stunned so it was easy to grab!

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WhoDidAndWhy · 06/07/2021 00:00

Happy birthday OP!

BonnyandPoppy · 06/07/2021 00:32

This is why I always grab them wearing skiing gloves when my cats bring mice in

BibBobb · 06/07/2021 00:47

After 7 years in a flat, we've finally bought a house... promised DD4 we'll get a cat... I'm rethinking my promise now!

Lellochip · 06/07/2021 00:57

@RandomMess

Happened to me recently was sent to A&E - only they don't do anything to treat these days!

I once did a round trip between 2 hospitals (went to minor injuries at one, sent to A&E at the other) with a dog bite only to get a bit of a rinse and a plaster

Beadley · 06/07/2021 01:00

You should get that checked. You might have cellulitis.

Beadley · 06/07/2021 01:01

Sorry - my post was in reply to Slub.

Happy birthday OP!

Justilou1 · 06/07/2021 03:33

I live in Australia and rodent bites are cause for alarm due to Leptospirosis (Weil’s Disease). We get tetanus shots and antibiotics for them here too. I would go to the GP or A&E too. Leptospirosis is rare in the UK, but if you live near or work with animals (pigs, cows, etc) or near water that runs through fields with them, there is a very remote possibility that the mouse may have been infected. Warmer weather creates a better environment for the incubation of the bacteria. These are the symptoms to watch for:
a high temperature, or you feel hot and shivery
a headache
been feeling sick (nausea), you're being sick, or you have diarrhoea
aching muscles and joints
red eyes
loss of appetite
You would need antibiotic treatment ASAP.