Oddly, this happened to my mother, with her cat (always indoors). He “love bit” and “cromched” hard. My mother didn’t think much of it. She’s had cats for decades and had been bitten and scratched without incident. Cats are furry murder machines, and being lovingly lacerated is just what you sign up for as a cat parent.

Well, her hand swelled up something fierce, and she almost lost her hand. She had never gone through anything like that, but her cat never bit her again. It was just a weird, one-off.

The takeaway is: whenever your skin is cut deeper than a scratch, have it checked out. The cat is not the problem, any more than a rusty nail is. Rather your skin is a barrier, and when it is breeched, you risk infection. This is why such care is taken to minimize exposure in advance of surgery (and why you follow surgery prep to the letter).

[–] MadMenace@beehaw.org 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Good advice, but it's worth mentioning that ANY animal bite is an infection risk because animal mouths harbor bacteria.

Any injury that opens your insides up to the outside should be thoroughly washed with soap and water to minimize the amount of pathogens that pass through, but animal mouths and claws can harbor some nasty pathogens that have evolved to coexist with animals. Ever heard of cat scratch fever?

[–] Hirom@beehaw.org 3 points 1 year ago

My takeaway is: Make sure your tetanus vaccine is current. Use disinfectant even for tiniest cut/wound. Hope prevention is enough, but know how to recognize infection symptoms.