Do cats always need antibiotics for a bite?

[LoafofSellotape]

2 bites in the last couple of weeks, cost an absolute fortune at the vet. Do they always need treating with antibiotics or can you clean with hibiscrub/ salt water daily once they've burst and give pain killers and monitor ? Presuming cat is well and eating as normal of course.

yes cat bites are horrific and can cause damage or even death in some cases. my lad got them a few times too. one on his ear that was huge we had to go in to help drain it every few days if it burst could have burst his ear drum or could have lost the ear. we were lucky. neighbours refuse to neuter their cat and allowed him to wonder. lucky we moved since

I thought as much.

It's been pretty grim 🤢😢

oh it's disgusting worse when it bursts. it was like he had two pieces of skin on his ear they soon great back along with his fur..another time it was his nose and it looked like a big tumour on his nose 😱🤮

Blerk!!!

Last week he was on my lap and I stroke his head and it exploded, I didn't even know he had an abscess. Same happened this week so he obviously went to find the cat and finish the job 🙄

Still smarting at the vet charging £76 to wipe it with some hibiscrub, I'd done all the cleaning at home ffs. That is a ridiculously high charge.

wouldn't blame ya. Good clean with miceller water or detmold fine once he he git his antibiotics from vet. its burst now so it's healing the poor thing

Never taken a bite to the vet in 50 years of having cats. Every single time it swells up and either bursts then heals or disappears on its own.

The worst that ever happens is they get a scar on their ears and tbh I don't see how a vet might prevent that.

Interesting, he's got 10 days of antibiotics for the last one and I'm to start a new 10 days worth once they're finished.

I suppose I'm trying to gauge at what point I should go to the vet because I'll be bankrupt at this rate 🙄

These bites are on his forehead.

I take my cats to the vet if they stop eating or grooming themselves. If they just hide in the corner for a day or so I leave them to it because they tend to really hate the vet!

When I was little we had several unneutered toms, they would go out for days and return covered in wounds and basically sleep them off.

I’ve only taken mine once for a bite as he was poorly with it and really not eating. Other times it’s healed by itself

I’ve never taken a cat to the vet for a bite in my life. I didn’t even realise this was a thing.

Worst one was a proper hole, that ended up bubbling and bursting a fishy smell all over my jeans. We put some sort of antiseptic cream on it, which he hated and it healed quickly. 🤷🏽‍♀️

This was a proper hole and it burst radioactive green pus, the smell was horrendous.

This was the one from last week

yep last one was like taht but three times time size of yours 🤮 it was rank
you did going to the vet

Latest evidence suggests only need antibiotics if systemically unwell, large area of necrosis or not settling. Otherwise pain relief and antiseptic flushing should do it. Obviously should see a vet if you’re not sure

Yes, vet - £160

Another one worse today and that was £237

After reading these I'm considering trying to treat at home first for a day or so when it happens again.

it's so hard to know. I think you were right to go to the vet. mine as siad was three times bigger than yours and he had two sets of skin on his ear fir ages. so it was worth going to vet. it's honestly so hard to know. he didn't go out too much after that one happened and then he died there only a few months ago. I had a payment thing with my vet that I pay a fee every month and get discount on visits and medicine might be something to see with your vet

Oh I'm sorry about your cat x

Yes , we have the health plan and we get 10%off treatment

We have insurance but by the time excess has been paid they pay about half of the remainder.

We've had six cats over the years and have never taken a single one of them to the vets for a bite. We just keep them clean (hibiscrub) and let them heal on their own.

I'll get some hibiscrub.

Having for the first time in my life got a fighter about 4 years ago I've learnt a lot about managing fight injuries. My vet has been really good, teaching me along the way. I have hibiscrub and metacalm painkiller at home and will try these for a day or two first. I end up taking about half the bites for antibiotics and managing the other half without. My sign to go to the vet is stopping eating.

Our vet won't routinely give antibiotics for bites now, they say to keep a close eye on it, keep it clean and as long as the cat is OK in themselves, they're fine. If the bite doesn't heal, or the cat is off colour they'll then consider antibiotics. We have one who is a fighter (neutered at 4 months but nobody has told him that is supposed to stop him fighting) so this approach does save me a lot of money!

Thank you, I think I next time I might try the clean and wait and see approach first.

The problem is abscesses can turn to sepsis or necrosis very fast so you need to watch it like a hawk. Clip all the hair from around the wound so you can really see the extent of it and easier to see, clean it frequently and watch out for excessive heat, swelling or spreading outwards from original puncture wound. If it starts getting bigger, leaving them to burst on their own isn't advisable.

My previous cat had a habit of getting bad abscesses from cat bites. He was rarely the aggressor - one was on his bum right near his tail! . One time he got bitten on his side, we didn't even realise until partner went to stroke him and he cried out and jumped up. The puncture wounds were quite small and not particularly swollen but the whole area felt hot so we took him to the vet, who said it was almost at the point of spreading down and in between the muscles around the ribs. She said that is a massive problem as if it needed surgery to get rid of dead tissue and infection it just wouldn't work on such a large area.

He cost us a small fortune but I was always wary about bites after that.