Cat Bite, extreme pain, swelling, numbess

i work at an animal shelter & in june, 2009, my left hand was severely bitten by a cat that animal control brought in. 2 deep puncture wounds along the pinky by the wrist, 1 in the middle above the wrist & another with a tear by the wrist along the thumb. i had oral antibiotics along with 3 shots in my behind. 2 months later i started breaking out with bumps & dry patches & i started to catch a cold. now it's the end of jan. 2010, & the bumps are worse with a burning sensation to the skin & i feel like i have pneumonia. seems like i just keep getting sicker. not to mention that my doctor didn't send me to occupation therapy until 3 months after the bite & i still have nerve issues, popping & grinding in my wrist that make my pinky feel like it's not attached to the rest of my hand & not cooperate. i get joint pain, numbness, burning sensations & pain that i just can't describe anymore! i also get the shakes & cold chills. can anyone help me because i feel like noone is listening to what's going on & how i feel!!! i was healthy until this cat bit me. i was told that when they decapped it to send it in for testing, that green pus came out its neck. i'm frustrated & at my witts end! someone PLEASE help me!!!

I, too, got a deep puncture wound along with several superficial ones, from a mean cat bite. I cleaned the area with running water and after several hours of misery went to Urgent Care where I was put on antibiotics and told to soak in epsom salts and keep trying to move my "frozen" fingers. Two days since the bite, my whole hand is inflamed, hot and swollen, and I get the tingling, too. The extreme pain has let up, thankfully, and I can wiggle my fingers a bit. Reading others' stories is helping ! At least other's have had the same symptoms, like the pain traveling up the arm (my main wound is on the knuckles.)

I was also bitten and had deep puncture wound on top of hand, which began to swell and become painfully infected about 5 hours later. Went to walk-in urgent care which prescribed 2 antibiotics for 7 days. Am now on day 5 and swelling, redness, and some pain have decreased but there is still a painful, raised, hard area on my hand around the deepest wound. This allows me minimal usage of my (right) hand, due to either the swelling or perhaps nerve/muscle damage. Went to regular doc yesterday who said it is not an abcess and ordered exray to rule out bone damage and ?? She also said that I might have to take another course of antibiotic treatment. Am concerned about hand returning to normal.....any similarities with your bite?

My 2 year old cat that has been vaccinated, tore me up a few days ago. She was fighting with her mom who I just brought home from the vet. Don't get between two cats who are fighting. At least with any of your limbs. Anyway, major bite to my right index finger and left hand was scratched very bad to require medical attention. The bite, VERY painful within 30 seconds. Went to Urgent Care and am on antibiotics. But, the pain. Wow! I think why so many have such pain is the great chance the teeth hit a nerve, bone or tenden. My finger is numb and in pain at the same time. I have had nerve damage in the past and this is very similar. For anyone who does get bit, get on antibiotics ASAP. The nerve pain will eventually go away, even if it takes many months. It takes a long time IF it will heal. Otherwise, you will just lose the feeling if the nerve dies. Those with back pain, bad headaches, muscle twitching and cramping within a week, seek real medical attention. Rabies is nothing to play with. DON'T WAIT. If you have the animal, the blood work for them will be cheaper than your medical bill for treatment of rabies, just to confirm the animal is rabid. I'll bookmark this page and report back when my numbness and pain has gone away so you know the duration you might expect. I'm expecting weeks if not months for my finger to be normal again.

Cat bites are serious! I cannot emphasize enough, that this is something you cannot treat yourself with over-the-counter ointments, etc. Basically, cat bites can lead to blood poisoning.

I have been bitten seriously twice (by the same cat). The first time his teeth went thru most of my wrist. Within a couple of hours the area was in severe pain, swollen, and red. My husband thought it would resolve, but I knew something was wrong and called the doctor's office the next day. I was told to come in IMMEDIATELY. Because I am allergic to penicillin, I was given two other strong antibiotics, but was warned if the swelling didn't go down I would have to be admitted to the hospital and given antibiotics via IV. Also, the doctors (my personal internist and another doctor) had to take a report of an animal bite, for medical records, and I think, police records also!

I got lucky, and the antibiotics worked, but because they destroyed my immune system temporarily, I got thrush (fungal throat infection), and a yeast infection.

The second time I got bit, it was on the finger. Also, I got lucky and was able to get in to the doctor immediately. This time the antibiotics used were not as strong, because the infection hadn't gone as far.

My doctor, half jokingly, said in the old days, if the infection had gone too far, I would have been facing amputation of my arm. If it went further than that, it could have caused death from blood infection.

BTW, this cat (whom I still have), is an indoor cat. I have been bitten by other cats over the years (I've had cats since I was 4, so 46 years), and never had this reaction. My doctor said it was probably because these were deep cat bites, but also, it depends on the cat (i.e. what type of bacteria are in the cat's mouth).

Bit by my new cat 18 days ago on the top of my left foot. He sank 2 canines in my foot and shook his head and took off after being confronted by an unfamiliar cat. Started antibiotics 22 hrs post bite and went to ER 40 hrs post bite. Given IV antibiotics, pain meds and told to continue oral antibiotics due to Cellulitis. My toes turned blue, foot warm and red. I have had doctor follow up's and now it has been 18 days post bite. I am in tremendous pain, I can't raise my foot up towards my calf, it still turns blue when I stand up, throbs, and I still can't walk. I feel like the initial infection is under control but I wonder if something else is going on. My GP won't order an MRI to see what damage was done and why my foot won't heal. I have an appointment with a Podiatrist tomorrow but I feel that these doctors aren't taking this cat bit situation seriously. I feel like the top portion of my foot is encased in cement and incredibly painful when I try to move it. I really don't want to loose my foot because the doctors want to "wait" and see if it heals. I am only 34, kickbox 3 days a week, eat healthy, no diabetes and slim. There is nooo reason this should not be healing.
Anyone else experience something similar?

I was bitten two nights ago by my very terratorial siamese cat. He's three and usually a lovey cat. He bit me after handleing another male unfixed cat outside of my house. I have a three nasty deep puncture wounds and feel that the doctors that have seen me have not been taking this seriously and that the nurse practitioner (whom is a family friend) IS! I cleansed the wound as best I could that night, my friend wanted to take me to the hospital but I wanted to call instead. we called the er (because the doc on call NEVER CALLED BACK) and the er people just told me to wash it with warm soap and water. the next day I had redness and swelling and it was so hot over the area I wanted to cry. I got an appointment at my doc's office with another doc because my own was on vacation. She sent me home with an anti-biotic pill that is the size of my freekin index finger. My nurse practitioner thought I should get a shot in my rump... then today I went to the er because I noticed the size of the redness had gotten bigger (had marked it out yesterday). The nurse practitioner yet again was the one to not only send me to the er but to say that I'd be on IV. The er ended up sending me home with a MARKER. nothing else done to me except mark where the red had moved to. so now I am firmly believing that I am going to get much more sick before these idiots do anything about it and I'm trying to find a new job! Since the ER visit today around four (it now being 11 pm) the redness has moved a whole finger width since and is still growing. I was told that the redness has to wait until it reaches almost to my elbow before they will do anything for me at the er.

I recommend getting to urgent care or ER immediately after a cat bite and no later than 12 hours later to get a Tetanus booser, and Anti-biotics...like Augmentin. I was bitten on Memorial Day w/e on the back of my right hand w/ 2 puncture wounds, one btwn pinky & ring finger knuckle and one btwn the 2 fingers in the web. I was trying to separate 2 almost-fighting cats...don't do it because they get this sort of "tunnel-vision" when they are in that mode and will attack anything in their path. Anyway this happend at 11pm on a Sunday and i waited until the next day Memorial Day (fun!) and took my first anti-biotic @ 1pm (so, like 14hrs later) It was very painful and got worse thru that Wednesday (visible redness traveling across the back of my hand towards wrist, but feeling better and more functional each day. I am a bookkeeper, and this is my adding machine (and keyboard/writing hand of course :( By Thursday the redness had receded and I was on the mend Yay! However, I've been waking up in the night the past week or two with stiffness in that area...when I shake it out it's fine, and then ok in the morning. I just finished a housepainting project I worked on this weekend, and my hand has been sore for the past 2 days. Maybe from using a paint brush I'm not used to, but that doesn't explain the stiffness at nite prior to the painting job. I now fear joint or bone or tendon issues....I hope I can catch this in time whatever it may be...another infection...3 MONTHS LATER? I will post my results.....when I find out!

I got bit yesterday by a cat my hand swelled up like a balloon so I went to the doctor. They gave me a steriod shot and an antibiotic shot (in the butt ouch). The doctor then gave me amoxicicilin to take twice a day for ten days. The doc said that the fast swelling was due to a mild allergic reacion, and the heat and redness was from infection. I went back to the doctor today for a check up like they wanted, and then they told me to not use my hand for seven days. I must keep my hand elevated, and still. Now doing that just today the swelling in my hand went down into my wrist. They said it's normal for a severe swelling to spread, but only if the swelling goes down as it spreads. If you get bit by an animal the best to do is A) call the animal control (even though I called twice and they didn't show up) B) Restrain animal C) have someone monitor animal & wait for animal control D) GO TO A DOCTOR ASAP!

If you get bit by a cat...go to the doctor...it can be very serious if left untreated

It's the junk have in their teeth, mouths. That bacteria will cause all that pain. Magnificent creatures, aren't they? Observe the cat or quarantine for 10 days for chance of rabies. Get the tetanus shot if not up to date or don't remember and start keeping records of your shot dates! Visit a doctor if you are worried about the appearance of the site of the wound. I have been bitten a few times by both cats and dogs and would take a bite from a German Shepherd before I would a 8 pound cat! Cat bites are painful! I have worked with animals on and off since I was 15 years old as a Vet tech. I now train dogs and still deal with cats as pets. I also capture feral cats for neutering / spaying and then release.

Hope this gives some assurance that your limbs will not shrivel up and fall off!

;-)

I was bitten by my cat when a stray wandered into my home and she became very territorial.
Multiple small bites to my hand and two deep puncture bites near my knuckles.
Tremendous PAIN and immediate swelling and could not move my fingers or clench my hand.
Went to the Emergency room: I Was given a tetnus shot, pain medication and Doxycycline antibiotics for infection.
Two days later I was in the emergency room feeling run down with very slight improvement ( slightly less swelling) to my hand.
Physician said cat puncture bites are serious and contain multiple dangerous bacteria that can cause staph, gangrene etc.
I was placed on 2 different IV antibiotics Clindamycin and Cefazolin back to back, then when I was released I was given two antibiotics to take for 10 more days.
They were Cephalexin 500MG 4x per day and Clindamycin HCL 300MG 4x per day. He also referred me to a hand surgeon for follow-up.
I've had improvement but it's taken several days; with each day some more range of motion, but it is still very tender and stiff.
The infections make you feel very run down, hopefully when all the medication is done the bacteria will be wiped out and my hand will be 100% again.
I still love my kitty :-) albeit I will very careful in the future if another cat comes around!!

Yeah. I was a dumb ass and got bit by a stray,...right on and inbetween the center nuckel on my hand. Yep, I scrubed with alcohol and stuff, but four hours later the bite site was swollen and very painful. I think the little sucker got me right in the bone. It was so painful, I couldn't close my hand to make a fist. The ER gave me an antibiotics perscription, a tetanus shot, a vicodin perscription, and started me on the rabies vaccine shots. Next time, I'll just let my German Shepard rip the little @#$# apart instead of trying to give it a home. The shots aren't bad, its just going to be darn inconvienent to keep returning to the Hospital for the whole series of days for all the series of shots. I guess this is pay back for all those times when I got bit by dogs and cats as a kid and didn't go to the Hospital. I've been in worse scrapes, like having my foot crushed, but this stupid little cat bite on the bone hurts someting fierce.

On 12/23/10 I was attempting to rescue a cat that matched a missing kitty poster in my neighborhood. The cat was very sweet and even let me rub his belly as I called the number on his tag to see if it was a match. Sure enough it was, so I picked up the cat to go meet the owner down the street. A few yards into the walk to my car, the cat FREAKED out and bit me on my left index finger, a few times on the top of my hand, and multiple scratches.

Immediately my left finger swelled and went numb, and my right hand had a large lump that turned bright red and throbbed. I felt light headed and ready to vomit for several minutes. Unfortunately the cat ran away, and I was just shocked at how fast it all had happened and how I felt. I called the owner to let him know what happened and that I was unable to meet them. After deliberating for several minutes on if I should go to an express clinic or wait it out...I decided to go to the clinic since it was the day before Christmas eve and I wasn't sure they'd even be open the next day.

After waiting to be seen at the express clinic for about 2 hours, the Dr. put me on 2 different IV antibiotics. By then my left finger and right hand had nearly doubled and were so painful! I've broken my ankle 4 times (yes....4!) and that pain was NOTHING compared to what I was experiencing from the cat. I got an rx for pain meds and Augmentin, and was told to come back to the clinic first thing in the A.M. to make sure the swelling wasn't worse. They marked my hand with a sharpie (I felt like I was on Venom ER) and wrapped it.
All night I was in so much pain and nearly puked when i'd walk around....

Went back the next A.M. (Dec 24th) was in the waiting room for another 2 hours, and as soon as the Dr. looked at my hand she sent me straight to the ER for more IV antibiotics because they didn't have anything besides what I got the night before.

Went to the ER (Now, i'm driving this whole time because i'm a dork and didn't want to bother my mom who lives 30min away and was worried about being able to get home to let my dog out at some point...) and they started me on 3 different IV antibiotics, took an xray to make sure there weren't any teeth fragments in my hand...and marked my hand w/ a sharpie yet again since the redness had spread further up my right arm and it hadn't even been 24 hours since the initial bite.

In the ER they treated it very seriously, and almost admitted me into the hospital for 24hr treatment. However I would have to be relocated because the ER was new and the hospital portion was not finished construction wise. So they asked me to come back 5hrs later to check swelling and do another round of IV antibiotics.

Went back 5hrs later, got the antibiotics (and IV pain meds finally since I had a ride there! yay!) THEN they told me to come back the next AM (12/25/10) for ANOTHER round of IV antibiotics and pain meds.

Went in Christmas a.m., things were not better but not worse, so I got the IV antibiotics, pain meds, and was told to soak my hands in warm water every hour and elevate for the next week...and of course go back if it gets worse.

It's been almost 2 weeks since the bite, my hands are still stiff, left finger is still numb, but all redness and swelling is almost gone! I'm seeing a hand specialist per my family Dr's request to make sure everything is ok since i've still got numbness in my finger and pain.

Cat bites are NOTHING to take lightly, when in doubt have it looked at. The express clinic I went to didn't even clean out the wounds because they were so busy, which was weird to me since they wrapped it up and I couldn't clean it myself once I got home.

But once I went to the REAL Emergency Room, they were on top of it and loaded me up on antibiotics, xrays...and pain management (once I stopped attempting to drive myself around!) I highly recommend demanding IV antibiotics if you get a bite that has quick swelling/redness/pain. What the ER Dr. told me was oral antibiotics are needed too, but IV antibiotics are necessary because it goes straight to the source asap, and oral will help to keep it at bay but takes longer.

Good luck to anyone who's been bitten and take it seriously! Especially if it's your hands.

Was bitten by a cat at an SPCA. Have 12 puncture wounds all over hand. Went to ER due to swelling and had to wait 5 hours to see a DR. Given a tetanus shot, a double dose of antibiotics plus prescription for more antibiotics. Once home I cleansed the wonds well but now the 2 wounds on my thumb are unbearable. Thumb is 3 times normal size, cannot move thumb at all (typing w/ left hand). Doctor said it wil get worse before it gets better cause meds take some time to kick in. Cats can be little bastards sometimes!!