have you ever been bitten by a cat?

[unclebilly]

Our old big white barn cat went missing the day I had my shop spray foamed. It is unclear if the workers did something terrible to him or if he ran away but it is an odd coincidence.

We posted pictures of him in social media and the SPCA replied saying they had a large white cat there. It wasn’t ours but we agreed to take him if nobody else did.

This turned into a fiasco. They spent thousands on this partially feral cat for various operations. He is a sweet cat except for one thing… he bites. And bite May be an understatement, you pat him, and he purrs like crazy, and you pat him more, and he purrs even crazier, and then out of the blue, he chomps down hard on your hand. They weren’t sure what to do with him.

We said he would be fine as a barn cat. They agreed we could have him (if we brought him back in 6 weeks for a dental extraction of a bad tooth). Then as I was about to leave with him, there was a change of heart (look how nice he is). As I was getting in my vehicle (pissed off for having my time wasted), they came running out with the cat and said I could take him. I imagine he but one of them while I was headed out.

So the cat has been great. We’ve had him about 4 years now, he has bit me probably 10 times (hard) but not in quite a while. He is a great hunter, very friendly, and loves his farm life. He catches gophers, mice, birds, small children…



And he’s smart too, he opened up the man door of the insulated water building he lives in when it was -40 this past winter and froze the entire water system for our farm… well sorta smart.

[Evans, Marv]

Yes, I just posted in the dog bite thread I went to the ER a day after my cat bit me in the early 2000s. I washed it up after she bit me but had a red line running up my arm the next day.

[masraum]

Yep, tiny kitten that wandered up to the dumpster at the officer's club in Rota, Spain as I was taking the garbage out (dependent with a summer job while visiting the parents). I was trying to feed the kitten. It seemed weird and didn't want to be picked up (college students know everything, so I ignored him). My finger swelled up a little, then a couple of hours later while I was taking a shower, I noticed streaking on that arm. Off to the hospital, IV for antibiotics, then the full rabies treatment (which is no longer the shots in the stomach with the giant needle like I used to hear about, thank goodness).

Cats almost universally like me.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

Yes, I just posted in the dog bite thread I went to the ER a day after my cat bit me in the early 2000s. I washed it up after she bit me but had a red line running up my arm the next day.

Yep "red line running up my arm" (streaking) is BAD. That's what sent me to the hospital.

The Drs at the hospital told me that if I'd waited another couple of hours before I came in, that I'd have probably been admitted for a couple of days. Apparently, cat bites in that area are often nasty.

https://www.medicinenet.com/lymphangitis/definition.htm

Lymphangitis: The red streaking and gland (lymph node) swelling in the area of an injury especially on the extremities. It is usually caused by a bacterial infection with Streptococcus. The bacteria enter the body through a cut, scrape, bite or wound of some sort. The bacteria can get into the lymphatic system, which is part of our immune system. The bacterial infection spreads rapidly in the lymph channels (causing the red streaking) and lymph nodes (causing hard swollen "knots" under the skin). If left untreated, the bacteria can spread in the skin around the area, causing cellulitis, and also rapidly spread to the bloodstream, causing sepsis. In the days before antibiotics people referred to lymphangitis as "blood poisoning" due to the infection rapidly causing severe illness and sometimes death.

[Nostril Cheese]

Yes. And I was pissed.

Roommate at the time had a cat that would wander into the shop sometimes. One day, i had just dumped a bunch of used oil into a 5 gallon bucket to take to the recycler.. Of course, the cat decided, for some reason, that it needed to jump into that bucket.

Im allergic to cats. Normally, the cat stayed away from me. The roommate was not home. I have to grab this cat soaked in oil and put in in a garbage bag up to its neck I then have to hold this thing by the neck while I one handed a google search on how to clean it. The little bastard sunk its teeth into my hand a coule times while Im holding it by the neck in the sink washing its fur with dish soap.

I washed that cat a couple times over, with red swollen eyes and my throat closing up. Making sure that cat didnt try to lick itself clean was a pain in the ass. I also had to clean the hell out of the shop. That cat got oil EVERYWHERE.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

Yes, I just posted in the dog bite thread I went to the ER a day after my cat bit me in the early 2000s. I washed it up after she bit me but had a red line running up my arm the next day.

Same issue. Second day, my fingers swelled up like sausages. Straight to ER. Admitted for 4 days for IV meds.

My second day in the hospital was the day of the OJ Simpson slow speed car chase. Nothing to watch on TV, every channel on the "chase".

[fanaudical]

Several times. I've never had an infection...

[Noah930]

We've had a couple kittens recently. Playing with a kitten is like playing with a cactus.

[Fast Freddy 944]

Cats scratch and bite, dogs bite, they are animals its their nature...

[Tim Hancock]

Many years ago when my girls were little and we had a bunch of outside cats, I was petting a normally very friendly one out by our pond. It was purring and loving it. All of the sudden it went berserk and scratched and bit me. Not a good life decision by kitty cat....

[drcoastline]

I've been bitten by cats a lot. Generally not bad broken skin a few times but one time OMG. We had a a Himalayan miserable thing. I was petting it one time near the base of the tail. It licked my hand once or twice and then bit down and went into some sort of convulsions for about a minute. It was locked on with it's eyes rolled back in it's head. I have since learned that when a cat is stressed the nerves at the base of the tail become ultra sensitive and painful. I am not sure why that cat would have been stressed but the bite hurt like hell.