my 3 year was tourturing the cat today. i didn't catch it until it was too late. she came out of her room screaming that the kitty hurt her arm... she has a deep puncture wound from a tooth on her arm.
i separated them from each other and took her and rinsed the arm with running water. then i rinsed it with antiseptic rinse (the band aid ouchless brand) and then applied some neosporin and bandaid.
the area around the wound is puffy. it seems pretty deep. it's not longer bleeding / draining and it has a small scab, but i am worried about it. she won't let me touch it (i have to fight with her to let me look at it) but she is using the arm to play with.
i feel so bad. the cat is declawed... i'm pretty sure he was just defending himself, seeing as how he came out of her bedroom meakly a few minutes later with a belt around his neck (i know, i am totally horrified). my daughter has had some serious time out today... i think we're going to end up getting rid of the cat.
should i worry about her arm and take her to the doctor? or just watch it and see if it starts to look better?
Any animal/human bite should be treated by a doctor....animals and some humans are cute but they carry many germs and diseases.
i agree with this. my then 2 yr old was bitten (nipped really) on the nose by a friends dog when she ran up to it to "give him a hug". I took her in to the docs because it broke the skin. they gave her a medicated cream to put on her nose for a week. The doc said it was better that it was a dog rather than a cat because we are even more susceptible to the germs in a cats mouth than a dogs. Don't mean to alarm you, but i would take her in just to be safe. Oh and by the way i also have a VERY creative and imaginative 4 yr old and while it is important to keep kitty safe I could totally see how a bright 3 yr old wouldn't think about her actions harming the kitty. She is just a normal little kid not a monster. It's a learning experience for both of you.
All animal (including human) bites should be treated urgently. Antibiotics is the key. I've seen some cat bites turn ugly very rapidly which required hospitalization and IV abx. Even with thourough irrigation, antibiotics are needed. This is something that I would not "wait till tomorrow and see your regular doctor" but come in to the ER now.
Cat bites can turn into ugly wounds very quickly. It's good that you took your daughter to urgent care and she is now on antibiotics. I know a veterinarian who nearly lost the use of his finger to a Pasturella infection from a cat bite. Hope that your daughter and kitty will soon learn to respect on another. It just takes time.
To some extent I am going to agree with the last 3 posters. Now you dont have to immediately run to the ER just because of a cat bite it does require close observation on your part. Cat bites very easily get to be nasty. Your inital treatment was correct.
Now for follow up you need to watch the wound very closely. If it shows any hint of infection she needs to be seen by your family physican ASAP. Even then though it still can get serious rather quickly. Having seen alot of cat bites if the get infected it usually happens quickly and unfortunately they tend to be nasty- ie IV antibiotics for a extended period of time.
As a last resort if you cant be seen by your family physican or urgent care the by all means go to the ER, but be prepared for a wait.
Jeepgirl, glad you took your DD to the doc's. I've had cellulitis from a cat bite before, and it wasn't fun. I was watching a friend's cat for a week, it ended up biting my foot and drawing blood. Psycho cat, I might add, and not the first time it had bitten anyone. Now, I grew up with cats and had no idea that some of them carry a certain germ in their saliva. By the end of the next day, my foot was swollen and hurt so much I couldn't walk. Needless to say, I went to the ER and a nurse said "You waited HOW long to come in here??" Like I said, I had NO idea how nasty some cat bites can be. I was treated with some pretty aggressive antibiotics, had blood drawn, and they checked for red streaks going up my leg. There weren't any, luckily, but I was very close to being held overnight. I still have two small scars on the top of my foot from that cat's fangs.
begalli
1,277 Posts
Glad you took her in and kitty does deserve a safe home.