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|---|---|
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| Red | 50-149 |
| Orange | 150-299 |
| Green | 300-599 |
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| Brown | 10000-24999 |
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if any cat bites you, could you lose a limb if left untreated?
my boyfriends aunt told us today that if any cat, whether household or stray were to bite you and puncture through the skin, and left untreated that you could lose a limb where the bite was. She said that all cats have a bacteria in them and that if u were to be bitten you would immediately have to go to the hospital to get 24 hours of antibiotics. does anyone know if this is true?
Keywords: bites, cats with bacteria
Answers to this question
9 Answers
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Cat bites become infected 90% of the time. Cats mouths do have a lot of bacteria. What makes cat bites so dangerous is they are puncture wounds. That means the bacteria gets pushed deep into your skin. It doesn\\\’t stay on the surface like if you had a scratch. So washing it and putting antibiotic ointment on it most likely will not be enough. It is recommened if you get bit by a cat, you go to the doctor immediately (within a couple of hours) to get antibiotics.
I can tell you from personal experience that you DO NOT want to wait to go to the doctor. I was bit on the finger by my sister\\\’s cat during a play session. I decided to wait because I was out of town and had big plans for the day. Well, I got so sick from the infection. My finger swelled and hurt immediately. I decided to suck it up and continue with my plans to go to Six Flags. Have you ever been to Six Flags when you have the flu? That\\\’s what this felt like. I was achy, didn\\\’t feel good. I just wanted to lay down. My finger was swollen and hurt so bad. When I finally went to the doctor 24 hours after the bite, the doctor told me if I had waited any longer he would have had to put me in the hospital with IV antibiotics. He said don\\\’t ever wait to see if it will get infected because there is a 90% chance that it will. Just go to the doctor.
My veterinarian backed this up when my cat bit her one day. She was out of the office within 10 minutes to go get antibiotics and a tetanus shot. Another vet had to finish up for her.
Based on my experiences, it is unlikely you would lose a limb because you would get too sick too quickly to wait long enough to lose a limb. However, unless it is a severe bite, you won\\\’t have to have 24 hours of antibiotics in the hospital. If you wait to see the doctor, you will have to have 24 hours of antibiotics in the hospital. If you go to the doctor soon after the bite, they should clean it up and send you packing with a prescription, most likely for Augmentin. That is the most common drug prescribed for cat bites.
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Reply to telegramsam - It could be one of those weird things where 90% of bites get infected but you only hear about the ones that don\\\’t and I only hear about the ones that do. My bite might have been so bad because of the location. I was bit on the finger down to the bone. And when it started swelling so quickly, I should have known to go to the doc right away but I was stupid and didn\\\’t. It was my first bite. Live and learn.
I\\\’ve also been bit twice by my cat. I believe 99% of the time when a person gets bit it\\\’s the person\\\’s fault because the cat is just acting on instinct. Well, it wasn\\\’t my fault. I was sitting perfectly still and my cat bit me while trying to get my house shoes. I thought it was because they were black and fussy and looked like my other cat. That was on the calf. It didn\\\’t get infected like the first time but I went ahead and got antibiotics anyway. I wasn\\\’t taking any more chances. The second time she bit me she was after the house shoes again, this time it was a smooth pink pair. I\\\’ve since stopped wearing house shoes. It\\\’s just too dangerous. 
Comments to Answer
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It probably depends on the person as well, people have different immune systems too. Ive personally not had to take antibiotics for anything since I was about 12 so Im just not prone to infection whereas I know some people who get ear and sinus infections every winter without fail. Go figure.
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Your boyfriend\\\’s aunt is paranoid. There always is a risk of infection with a bite from ANY animal. Common sense tells you to cleanse the wound well, apply antibiotic ointment and make sure you\\\’ve had a tetanus shot. Of course, make sure the animal has had a Rabies shot. I\\\’ve been bitten many times by strays and feral cats and I still have all my limbs.
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It\\\’s extremely unlikely. Cats are very small animals, they do not generally leave large bite wounds even when they mean business. The worst they can inflict are a few small puncture wounds with their canine teeth.
Catsofmany is right - if you get a bad bite from a cat, you just need to make sure you clean it out well to prevent infection. If your tetanus vaccine is out-of-date you might need to go to the doctor to get a booster. If it is a stray cat that you do not know if it has been vaccinated you may need preventative treatment for rabies. That is all though. Your arm is not going to just instantaneously rot off. And this isn\\\’t specific to cats either, if you got bitten by a dog or some other animal you would need to do the same. All animals and humans as well have bacteria in their mouths.
I suppose if a bite became infected and you just literally ignored it completely as spread and worsened over the course of many weeks you could end up with gangrene but you\\\’d have to be both extremely stupid and incapable of feeling pain. I\\\’m pretty sure your boyfriend\\\’s aunt is thinking of Komodo Dragons, not cats.
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Reply to Tonklady - Hmmm.. I got a bad bite from a pet cat when I was 10, all they did at the doctor\\\’s office was flush the punctures out well with a syringe of fluid, and give me a tetanus booster since I was a year away from needing one anyway. I don\\\’t recall needing antibiotics at all. I was told to keep the wound clean and let it heal up, which it did eventually. I would definitely say get it cleaned out but antibiotics aren\\\’t always necessary and over-using them contributes to resistant bacterial strains (not that it stops doctors from overprescribing them for everything).
Are comment replies ever going to be fixed on this website? This is crazy.
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Ok, I have been bit and scratched by my cats plenty of times, and nothing has ever happened to me.
If you get bit, just wash it then leave it alone. If it is really bad, then put a band-aid on it.
And, no! You will never loose a limb because a cat bit you. It might become infected, but I highly doubt you would lose a limb.
Comments to Answer
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no its not true iv been bitten a bunch of times and i never went to the ER so she lied and if she said it the truth just disagree
Source Link: lily
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if you get bit wash your hands and put a band aid on the spot where you got bit.
Source Link: cat
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