well, Shannon, sorry to hear about your ordeal
doesn't sound like much fun... I'm a big advocate of tetnus shots. I was once told by my doctor (after partially severing my nose in a skiing accident) that a person can get tetnus from any open wound. Not a huge worry in the skiing accident, as it was so cold out and i was on fresh snow... but any open wound that comes in contact with dirt is a concern for tetnus. As a result, I am always up to date (I tend to be clumsy and tend to play in the dirt...litterally). When I get a good gouge from something I'm sure to call the doctor and see if they reccommend a shot- in general, it seems that if you've had a tetnus shot in the past year or two, you don't need one unless its a bad puncture/hole/gouge (i.e., requiring stitches). But after that, they seem to recommend a shot. in my experience anyway. which may or may not be reliable
nothing about me ever seems to happen the normal way.
I would say that after soap and running water, you could have run some peroxide on it, or betadine. I'm not above re-opening wounds to wash to get some disinfectant in there. hasn't killed me yet... and i haven't ever gotten an infection from an open wound. except for the tetnus shot thing, I avoid doctors like the plague (esp. now that I have military health care... I can't believe I gave up a job with a good HMO to be treated like a number- and second rate citizen- in the military healthcare system... its just now starting to sink in exactly what I've done.) I'm not against a little home surgery to avoid dealing with the system
Good for you on getting someone to check it out.
you should post a picture of your bite
I'm curious to see what it looks like. Is that too morbid? I don't know that I've ever seen a real cat bite is all. My house cats gnaw on my wrist bones...which is wierd. but they've never broken skin.
on a side note, I was cleaning the gutters on my house last week and I found what I assume to be a stray cat on my roof. I was a bit surprised. I guess thats what the dog is always chasing under the deck. I didn't feed it- I sprayed it with the hose and if ran off
my relatives in hawaii are obsessed with stray cats. they feed EVERY cat that comes to their door. They let the cats wander in- in fact leaving the doors open for them. I don't think they have rabies on the island yet, but still.... fleas, worms, etc.... yuck.