A question for the long time cat owners in my flists.

[linda_joyce]

Last night,the acceptances Pipin gives to Cosmo was proved to be only in effect in the kitchen. Last night she edged slowly and quietly into the living room, not a good moove. Pipin changed from comatose pussums to black spawn of hell in a nanno second. He was up and swearing and cutting off her retreat before she could move. The sensible lass took refuge behind a cupboard with walls at he back and right side and the low cupboard on the other. Pipd could not get at her but she couldn't get out either. I paused to let Gismo out,his eyes were like dinner plates and he was huddled by the kitchen door, he went with alacrity. Reconnoitering the cat fight I thought I would be able to grab Pipin by the scruff and get him into the hall at the front of the house, thus giving Cosmo an escape route through the kitchen at the back. Pipin must be a mind reader because I hadn't even touched him when he turned and wrapped his claws around my fore are and bit me on the base of the thumb drawing blood in both places. I was shocked and screamed quietly which is a signal that he has gone to far and he let go and cowered giving me the chance to pick him up and put him in the hall. Before I had turned from the door Cos was at the kitchen door and was out as soon as I opened it. When I opened the hall door Pip was just laying on the carpet looking at the door not exploring up stairs as I expected and he walked towards me making kitten noises then spent the next five minutes rubbing against any part of me he could touch and purring deeply when I skritched him. We then had a half hour of him sitting on my lap demanding more scritches and a final half hour of me just being laid on so we both knew he is and has forgiven.

Now the question, the bite on the back of my thumb although right on the first joint where it attaches to the hand is only mildly sore to touch but is not swollen or red so I'm not worried about that. The one on the front of the thumb, just where the thumb bends first near the palm is hurting like hell and is red(infalmation or bruising, I'm not sure)and swollen, it looks more like a pinch than a bite. How likely are cat bits to go septic and should I take myself off to the Emergency room at the Royal Gwent or would waiting until tomorrow morning to see how it develops over night and ring my Doctor's if it is any worse. Advice needed, Pipin is a successful hunter BTW if that makes any difference.

Comments

[san-valentine.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry that the cats you're looking after are brawling so nastily. I guess I might have approached Pippin more slowly, or thrown something over him before grabbing him, if I'd he was angry enough to turn on me. Harder to judge when they're not the cats you live with every day.

As for the bite, if it's red, sore and swollen, I'd give it a thorough wash and apply some distinfectant, and serious considered going to A&E or minor inuries unit if you have one. Cat's mouth's can be very dirty, and hunting won't improve things. A cat bite can get infected, so I'd have it checked. Look after any scratches on your forearm too.

Poor Cosmo - it's horrible to see one cat being bullied by another.

Sorry this happened to you, but at least you and Pippin seem to have forgiven one another.

[ultrapsychobrat.livejournal.com]

Yes, go to the emergency. I'm also diabetic which means infections get worse fast. Blood poisoning is not something you want. Go, go, go.... *Hugs*

[entropy-house.livejournal.com]

I'd clean both arms thoroughly and soak the hand in water as hot as I could stand for as long as I could stand and use my other hand to squeeze around the swollen area. It may be that you were bitten and it closed up (closed up dirty puncture wounds are *extremely* dangerous- I don't know if you can get tetanus from a cat-bite, but there are other things that can develop nearly as bad). If your emergency rooms are as bad as ours, I'd wait until morning to decide whether you need to go, but if you have some place that will look at you without a 6 hour wait, the sooner you go, the better.

And in future, please remember, do NOT try to physically stop a catfrontation. If they haven't yet begun to fight, squirting with a water bottle or hissing as loud as you can may stop them. If they're actually in combat, I'd throw a blanket over them, or throw a glass (or more) of water on them.

[tattooedraven.livejournal.com]

So this is what the fuss is about. Kitties can't change their nature, alpha animals will always want to reman alpha.

As for the bite, so long as you keep it clean, perhaps soak in warm water with epson salts it should be fine.

I don't know about your hospitals but here in New Mexico if one admits to medical staff you were bitten by an animal, even a household pet they are obligate to report it to the authorites and animal control is dispatched to try and collect the animal for rabies testing which of course is bad for the animal.

But I don't know how your authories will handle it, hopefully a bit more civilized for I'd hate to think of Poor Pippen in animal control. Heheh, next time toss some water on them, that'll get their attention.

[linda-joyce.livejournal.com]

Thanks to very strict quarantine laws the UK is Rabies free so far, so the fact I was bitten only raised the question have I had a tetanus injection in the last 10 years, which I have. I'm back now with my thumb swathed in dressings and anti-biotics for 7 days. I also have instructions to keep my arm raised but short of nailing the key board to the wall above my head there's not much I can do about that so I'm ignoring it.

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

Here I was starting to type up this long comment about what to do, based on all the research I did recently after having gotten an infected cat bite as a birthday present -- thanks, kitty! -- but I see from this you've already had it looked at. Good call! Cat bites apparently get infected very easily, and infected wounds can be extremely dangerous if not treated.

By the way, I was bitten in New Mexico, and the doctor simply took my word for it that I was bitten by my own cat and that his rabies shots were up to date (which they are), and there was no discussion about calling animal control. So either my doctor wasn't following legal guidelines (which is possible, as she was visiting physician from out of state and may not have known the local laws), or tattooedraven's information above isn't entirely accurate. Not that that matters to you unless you're planning to visit here and get bitten by exciting new American animals. :)

[linda-joyce.livejournal.com]

If/when I visit the USA getting bitten by strange, new or even familiar animals is about 1,500,623 on my to do list%P but thanks for the information, it will go into my rat pack memory and might come in useful one day.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Your arm is raised a fair bit when typing. I'm glad you had it looked at. I just put antiseptic ointment on bites and scratches, but they're always very minor.

[vjezkova.livejournal.com]

What - this sounds more like a stay in a tiger cage than cat-sitting...
Well, you never know, if it is so bad, you had better go to have it checked!