Cat Bites and Cat Bites Infection: Why you should keep an eye
Sally, the office cat, once took a bite of my left pinkie from under the table. While this was uncommon, Sally had lately been showing aggressive signs. Still, I had a part of my skin torn. But the worst part was not the cat bite harm rather what was to follow next.
Why are cat bites dangerous?
Cat bites are quite infectious as I found out. That is despite coming in second to dog bites accounting for 10-20% of animal-related bite injuries. Dog bites tend to be more significant wounds, but with cats, the scars are small but deep like hypodermic needles.
Research puts it as cat bites being infectious due to several reasons.
First, cats room around with various bacteria in their mouths and teeth. These bacteria are capable of tissue infection on other animals and even humans.
One-bite has infectious pathogenic bacteria such as staphylococci, streptococci, and Pasteurella multocida. These spread and either cause cat bite cellulitis or cat-scratch disease(Bartonella henselae) Infection.
How long after a cat bite does infection set in?
Symptoms should not be expected immediately at the onset of a cat-bite. On average, the cat bite infection will develop within a day or two in about 20% of the cases. But, this depends on the situation with other symptoms that may show in three to fourteen days.
What are the cat bite symptoms?
Prompt medical evaluation and proper treatment are mandatory upon a cat-bite to determine a favorable outcome. If not done the following symptoms are common in most patients.
- Redness
- Swollen wound with pus or abscess
- Fever on the whole body
- Heat in the bite wound
- Odor can also develop from the bite wound
- Blood infection(septicemia) in severe infections cases
What to do if a cat bites you
- Apply pressure to stop bleeding before drying it off
- Wash the wound immediately using a mild salt solution or soap and water. Avoid disinfectants and use peroxide instead.
- Get a sterile bandage and apply after stitching
- Contact a physician immediately for a check-up and anti-biotics. That is especially for the elderly or people with pre-existing health conditions such as diabetes
- Get your rabies shot within 14-days
Some jurisdictions may need you to contact the local department of health for a follow-up. This totals up to help you act and prevent a health risk from the cat bite.
References: WHO, Medicine Journal, Medscape, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, cdc.gov
Copyright: Local Value
