Stray Cat Bite Concerns - Wild Texas Forums: Parks, Travel & Recreation

Shannon · 04-12-2004, 04:09 PM

Leave it to me to get bitten by the stray cat that prowls our backyard maybe once a week or so. It's a male and had become friendly ever since my (pathetic) soft streak for animals in trouble led me to feed it some stale cat food during San Antonio's snow "storm" in February.

So, imagine my surprise when as I'm petting it, it rears around and BITES ME square on the arm -- I heard a "pop" as he bit, similar to the sound of an apple being bitten into, and sure enough seconds later a couple fat cells sealed the wound. So, I got a full force, full depth bite with its jaws and in addition to the PAIN (I've only been truly bitten, as in drawing blood, by hamsters I had as a child, I'm now worried about what to do as far as rabies or anything else that I should be concerned with. The cat appears in good health and (in the St. Procrastinators Decision #1852) I keep meaning to capture him and take him in a pet carrier to one of the local no-kill shelters (Animal Defense League).

Anyway, so I'm bitten. What next? Is rabies really that prevalent or would getting testing be overly cautious? That, and would it be detectable immediately after the bite or after some sort of incubation period? If the critter is behaving normally and is of normal weight for its species, is that a sign it's rabies free? What other sorts of things might I need to pay attention for? <sigh> Figures... first half day home from vacation and I get bitten by a darn stray cat, one that "knows" me, on top of it all. (I've been petting my cats a lot, and maybe it smelled them on me and reacted in full offensive mode).

I had no idea true cat bites could be so painful. I am lucky he bit where he did (inner forearm of right arm, but missing the blood vessels and ligaments, as near as I can tell.) I have ice on the wound right now after having doused it with running water for 5 minutes or so. OW.

Mostly, though, I'm interested in anything folks know about rabies. I'm already doing a Google search for info.

Shannon · 04-13-2004, 08:58 AM

Okie dokie, here's the scoop now that I went and had my cat bite looked at by a doctor. I'm sharing it here since I posted my initial mishap and might as well provide a wrap-up on recommended treatment:

Between 50% to 80% of all cat bites get infected, due to a particular bacteria in their saliva and their sharp, pointed teeth which expose all layers of your skin at the wound site to the bacteria. Even with immediate water irrigation, disinfecting ointment and the whole nine yards, such bites get infected, so doctors recommend always starting antibiotics if you've received a cat bite (any bite that punctures your skin; scrapes and such tend to heal fine.) I received an antibiotic shot, since I was already running a low (99.3 degree F) fever within four hours of receiving the cat bite.

Tetanus. I always thought tetanus was only a concern if you stepped on a rusty nail or something. Justin's mom called the "Ask a Nurse" hotline and sure enough, tetanus is the other thing you want to make sure you're protected from if you've received a cat bite. I knew it'd been well over a decade since my last tetanus shot -- ideally, you'd want to have had one in the last 5 years or so. So, I also received a tetanus shot.

Rabies is relatively rare in the U.S., but ideally I'd observe or capture the stray cat that bit me -- if it shows no signs of illness within 10 days, I'm rabies-free. Animal Control could take the cat, but the easiest way to determine if a cat or dog has rabies is apparently to euthanize it and check its brain for the rabies virus. I'm sure our local no-kill shelter would take the cat and give me a call if it showed behaviour or health changes within 10 days. I only see the cat about once a week, so hopefully I'll see it again within the incubation period. I doubt it is ill; it probably bit due to smelling my three cats all at once when I reached to pet it, and reacting defensively.

However, rabies is no laughing matter -- it affects the neurologic system and can be fatal. It's rare in humans in the U.S. but plenty of animals have it -- it's most prevalent in skunks and other wild animals like that, as well as dogs and cats. It's far easier to vaccinate strays and pets against it than it is to take the course of injections needed to kill the virus if a person gets it -- it's a multiple course of shots at specific intervals (eg. 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, 11 days), with the first given directly in or near the wound site. It's also apparently an expensive set of shots -- someone at the office mentioned $1,000 for the first shot, so you really only want to take it if you KNOW you've been exposed. There are also preventative shots, but the same circumstances apply (costly, painful, etc.), so only veteriarians or others who know they're likely to at some point be bitten by a rabid animal are likely to go that route.

Alright, so the moral of the story here is ...?

Don't feed stray cats, and if they get close to you it's probably best to corral them carefully into a carrier and take them to your favorite pet shelter for adoption. That way they'll get observed for rabies, vaccinated, treated for any ailments (ringworm, etc.) and placed in a good home rather than roaming the streets making new kitties or biting the hands that feed it.

kai · 04-18-2004, 01:46 PM

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.

Shannon · 04-19-2004, 01:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kai

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.

I thought about posting a photo right after the bite occurred -- when it looked angriest (and hurt like something awful!) -- but I thought everyone would run me out of town for being too weird.

There's not much to show, now, although the bite's still bothering me a bit. I still have two noticable puncture marks but they're closed wounds now. The part that's bothering me is I have two hard lumps under the skin, one extending out from each puncture. I'm guessing it's the last of the infection being attacked, since it's now in the "Man, I want to ITCH this so badly!" phase of healing.

Right after the bite, within 4 hours time, I had a large red welt from about two inches below the bites (towards my elbow) extending all the way to about one inch from where my wrist meets my palm; the entire area was extremely sore to the touch, like a very bad bruise. It took about 3 days of frequent hydrogen peroxide cleanings (just dabbing it on with a Q-tip, nothing invasive), to get the puncture holes to close up on their own. About a day and a half into my antibiotic doses, the red welt stuff dissipated to where it was just red, but not raised or painful, just sensitive to pressure.

Weird stuff... it still sort of looks like I had a run in with a small vampire or something. I'm glad the cat couldn't get both of its top incisors in me, since I can't imagine doubling the pain of the two puncture holes I wound up with (one from the top jaw incisor, one from the corresponding bottom incisor).

The cat's been back but is back to being extremely skittish (I must've made an impression on it, hissing and running after it after it bit me. <grin>) Animal Control visited, wanted to put a trap in my yard, and I declined. I feed birds in my yard, the neighbor's dog frequently gets out and runs loose in my yard (and other neighbors' yards...sigh), etc. I should still try to capture the cat and take it in to the Animal Defense League or similar, but right now I've been letting it fend for itself. Not the best option, but better than it being captured in my backyard by Animal Control and put down.

I tell you what, though, it gives me a whole new appreciation for pet cats and how much they "hold back" when they're playing with us -- their jaws/teeth/claws can do some good damage, if they want them to, yet they resist their instincts and live (more or less) peacefully with us. Pretty cool, I think.

kai · 04-19-2004, 09:41 AM

I used to have a neighbor whose dogs got loose in our, and all of our neighbors yards. they've gotten rid of all but one dog. not a problem anymore. but now their 4 year old son gets loose in our yard and our neighbors yard, and rings the doorbells and wants to talk about various body functions...

moral of the story: your neighbor's dog(s) could be worse.

or, as a friend of mine routinely says: "it could be worse. you could be on fire."

glad to hear your healing. I think if it were me, i wouldn't be able to resist the scratching, or at least poking at those lumps. I'm not very patient

good for you!

Shannon · 04-19-2004, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kai

glad to hear your healing. I think if it were me, i wouldn't be able to resist the scratching, or at least poking at those lumps. I'm not very patient

good for you!

I poked around on Google a little -- here's a medical photo of a cat bite that looks very similar to the way my bites reacted -- in fact, the bite in the photo is in much the same location as the bites on my arm, though I got two punctures out of the "deal".

Note: The black/blue ink line on the patient's arm is used by doctors to track if/how the infection/swelling is spreading, as it does so rapidly.

kai · 04-19-2004, 10:28 AM

Ewwwww.... thanks for satisfying my morbid curiousity. while you're looking up med pics- have you seen the pics of the bite of brown recluse spider? AHHHHHHHHHHH

04-21-2004, 07:38 PM

Check the Parks and Wildlife site for info on feral cats and the harm they bring. I know in my neighborhood the ratio of predators is way out of whack due to all the cats running around. It bugs me when people get all weepy over cruelty to stray cats, but all sorts of violence/poisoning is accepted when done to wildlife.

04-22-2005, 12:27 PM

Shannon, I can relate to your ordeal. I have rescued a number of cats (and other creatures, including birds) in my life and somewhere along the line you may get bitten. It can happen when they are defensive, scared, or in great pain. Overall my bad experiences have been very few compared to the good ones. I am always sad to see bird lovers react so negatively to cats. The problem is irresponsible pet owners who do not spay/neuter their animals, and don't keep them safely confined. But I don't think that the moral is that you should not feed a hungry, homeless animal. Maybe, you just should not approach one too closely. Feral cats are a lot more unpredictable than the domesticated lost house cat. I applaud your refusal to let animal control trap the cat. (I made that mistake once after a wild, stray bit me and I felt terrible after the unfeeling Nazi-prison-guard-like animal control person took him.) However, the best way for you to handle this would be to see if your local no-kill shelter will lend you a humane trap so that you can give the cat to them. As all shelters are overrun, particularly in spring and summer, you hopefully won't trap a neighbor's cat who accidentally escaped. And if you know which neighbor is letting their cats run free you can express your concern that people may call animal control and with no tag to ID their pet, it would likely be put to sleep very quickly.

My stance now is that, if you care enough to feed a cat on an ongoing basis, you should also care enough to trap him humanely, and to get him shots and neutering. Even if you can't provide an inside home for him, you can then continue to feed him outside and hopefully provide some shelter from the weather, without worrying about him creating more homeless babies or infecting other cats or people. And, of course, a neutered animal will be less aggressive too. I know cat-hating bird lovers won't like this, but a hungry cat would probably be a lot more of a threat to your backyard birds than a well fed one.

So, that's my more than 2cents worth. And also, for people to see a doctor quickly anytime you're bit so you can start on antibiotics immediately. I hope you recover very soon, and continue to love all of god's creatures.

Shannon · 04-22-2005, 02:29 PM

I'm all healed -- I got bit last April, not this year. The cat is long gone -- it either was adopted by a neighbor or returned to its home (I later discovered several neighbors "let their cats out at night" -- something I've never done. All my cats have always been strictly indoor-only pets.)

The cat originally started coming around my yard because I have bird feeders, and the birds and bird seed were attracting it. It was so hungry when I began feeding it, it was actually eating sunflower seeds on the ground.