A recent report in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases describes the case of a healthy middled-aged man who went to a hospital emergency department because both of his hands swelled so much that it was painful. He had been bitten several times by a feral cat, sustaining puncture wounds and scrapes.
His wounds were bathed in an iodine-containing solution, a tetanus shot was administered, and he was sent home with three different antibiotics. They didn’t work.
Twenty-four hours later, the man was back at the hospital. He had swelling in a couple of his fingers, and there was now swelling that went beyond his hands, up to his forearms. The doctors then administered antibiotics intravenously — there was no time to lose — and removed the damaged skin. Afterwards, he was sent home with more oral antibiotics.
Fortunately, the man made a full recovery five days later. But he could have died. Part of the difficulty was that the infecting bacterium was new to the medical community, so picking antibiotics that would work was hit-and-miss. The bacterium couldn’t even be properly identified until it underwent genomic sequencing.
“Cat bites are common sources of zoonotic infection” [infection that jumps from one species to another], the doctors write. “This report highlights the role of cats as reservoirs of as yet undiscovered bacterial species that have human pathogenic potential.” In other words, we don’t even know all the harm that being punctured by a cat bite or deep scratch can cause.
That’s why, if you end up with a feline bite or scratch wound that pierces your skin, it’s not enough to just wash off the blood and continue going about your business. You really need to get to the doctor. Granted, a bite from a cat doesn’t cause the blunt trauma that can come from a dog bite. But it can be life-threatening nonetheless.
A final note: If the cat is not your own but is also not a stray and lives with someone else, find out if the pet is up to date on his rabies shot. If not, it has to be figured into your own treatment mix. The World Health Organization says that rabies is a significant health concern following cat bites.
