ALL YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT CAT BITES & MAYBE A BIT MORE

Have you ever had occasion to wonder what happens if you get bitten by a cat?  Nope, me either but since it happened to me 7 days ago, I have learned a lot not only about rabies but also about the inner workings of local politicos, Public Health, altruistic saviours and ambitious entrepreneurs.  I’ve also learned that most of the people I talk to, either know someone, or maybe it’s themselves, who’ve had a run-in with a cat.  End results of these skirmishes are not pretty for the people, some who apparently have come “THIS CLOSE” to losing their appendage ++ which suffered the bite.  Scares the bejesus out of me.

Everyone seems to have an opinion of how and what you should do after being bitten.  Heard most often, “Clean it up really well and see what happens.  If it doesn’t get red and swollen or you don’t see a red line (indicating blood poisoning) creeping up your arm to your shoulder within 24 hours or so, you should be good.”  Sounds logical and I really like the idea of NOT having to trek to the emergency room or the doctor.  Not to mention the anxiety of how much a prescription may cost or paying for parking at the hospital emergency, which would probably cost more than the medication.  Oh and I wonder how long I would have to sit in emerge and should I bring my jammies and maybe a pair of clean undies for the next day?

My friend, Lorna, gets me back to her house and administers prompt and competent first aid.  At first glance, the bite in the pad of my left thumb doesn’t look severe and I am relieved that I probably won’t have to go to the hospital.  After Lorna patches me up, she and Nyla walk Sofie and me home.  Surprisingly, I’m a bit on the shaky side and it’s good to have Lorna’s company.  We sit and have tea and talk about Puss Puss and wonder about her health.  Lorna leaves me  strict instructions to call her, no matter what the time, if my hand starts looking funny or swollen or becomes painful.  I spend most of the night online researching cat bites and rabies.  I finally stumble to bed around 4:00 a.m., after peeling the bandage off and checking for a creeping red line.  Nope, all clear, albeit still bleeding a bit and somewhat sore.  I finally fall asleep but am up after just a few hours.    

The next day I speak to Nigel, who is someone I’ve spoken with in the past about stray nuisance cats who had been tormenting my girls at my patio door when I first moved to Sandycove Acres, aka The New Wild West.  He seems to have dedicated his life to saving cats not only here in SCA but almost anywhere in the general area.  He reassures me that there hasn’t been a case of rabies in Ontario for years.  I am further relieved to hear that and make a mental note to check that out after we hang up.  I’m feeling much more optimistic until Nigel asks if I have any antibiotics in the house.  “Ummm, no”, I respond, “Why?”  “Oh it would probably be good to take some, if you have if you have any laying around “, says Nigel.  With that, I change my mind and decide to see my family doctor tout de suite.  I figured a pre-emptive course of antibiotic was the smartest thing to do. 

Well, doncha know it’s Friday – the one day of the week my doctor’s office closes at 12:00 noon.  It’s already 9:45.  Being a born optimist (not really, but I learned how) I called and explained the situation to his assistant.  She told me that since it was their early close day, the doctor was already double-booked.  And my doctor, bless him, is actually one who is pretty punctual and likes it that way.  I would have been more than happy just to go and pick up an Rx but she said she would talk to the doctor and see if he wants me to come in and would call me back, which she did pretty quickly.  Uh huh – a return call that fast usually bodes no good and yep, I have to go in and be there by 10:30. 

I lay in my supplies – a book, a bottle of water and an apple and head out, prepared for a long sojourn.  After about only 20 minutes, I was ushered into the exam room and prepared for to wait some more.   But not too long after, my doctor arrives and takes a look at the wound.  He is not impressed either with the gash or the circumstances surrounding it.  He said that it was already swollen and I would need to take a very strong antibiotic for 14 days and it was a darn good thing I had come in to see him.  Oh, and the antibiotic is very hard on the stomach.  Fun.

Cat bites are nothing to fool around with, as I came to learn from one of the stories someone told me about her brother-in-law who sustained a cat bite.  He did nothing about it except basic first-aid and apparently ended up in the hospital for 2 months, on the strongest intravenous antibiotics known to human-kind AND he came pretty damn close to having his arm amputated anyway. 

As I have learned over the course of the past 7 seven days and nights, in addition to basic first aid, which includes stopping the bleeding, cleaning the wound with soap and water, and applying an antibiotic ointment and bandage to the bite, you should call your local animal control agent, health department, and/or doctor to see if you are at risk for:

• a bacterial infection - many cats, although they don't have symptoms, have the Pasteurella multocida bacteria in their mouth.  From what I’ve researched, it will cause infections in about 80% of the cases
• tetanus - especially if it has been more than 5 years since your last tetanus shot and the cat bite is very deep or is contaminated with dirt, etc.   Luckily my tetanus shot is up-to-date, since I am such a notorious klutz and had to have one just 3 years ago for a pruning shears stabbing incident (self-inflicted), don’t ask
• rabies - Reported rabies cases in Ontario, 2011-2013, involving either cats or dogs, is higher for dogs – that’s nice to know.  Although the risk of getting rabies from a cat is fairly low, with most cases of rabies occurring in wild animals, such as raccoons, skunks, bats, and foxes, about 7 percent of rabies cases overall in Canada occur in domestic animals, including cats and dogs.

Oh joy!  Because my war wounds involve a rather nasty bite, my doctor is mandated by rules & regs to report the incident to the Public Health Department.  Since the cat is a stray and not in anyone’s custody, there’s a good chance that I may have to undergo a series of rabies shots and it's up to Public Health to make that determination.  Oy vey!

TO BE CONTINUED …