© sonyachny / stock.adobe.com
You have an outdoor cat that comes limping home? Then there’s a good chance that it was in a turf war. In this case, affected cats often have scratch and bite marks, which can lead to severe inflammations and dangerous bacterial sepsis if unrecognised. Along with cats themselves, we pet owners and other pets like dogs, rabbits or chickens can be affected by cat bites. Due to the very high risk of infection, early detection and treatment are of great importance. The following article tells you what you should concentrate on:
Unlike with cat bites, injuries caused by dog bites are superficial and spread over a larger area. Although tissue damage is usually greater, it is recognised sooner and can therefore be treated earlier.
Cats’ teeth are very long, narrow and pointed compared to those of dogs. At the same time, the canines in particular are slightly curved. A cat’s teeth penetrate deeply into the victim’s tissue when they bite. This can lead to major injuries of important anatomic structures like the tendons, muscles, vessels or nerves.
Cat bites also very often trigger wound infections, since the teeth leave a multitude of germs at the end of the injury. Since the formed passage is usually very deep and narrow, bacteria can multiply undisturbed due to the warmth and humidity. These bacteria include in particular environmental germs, which are normally found in the cat’s mouth. If they enter the victim’s bloodstream, they can reach the entire body and trigger life-threatening sepsis. Dangerous infectious diseases like tetanus (caused by the bacteria Clostridium tetani) or rabies (caused by the rabies virus) can be caused by cat bites. Since bite marks are often overlooked by pet owners in the first few days, the infection risk from cat bites is particularly high.
Since cat bites very often can’t be recognised straight away due to the victim’s fur or feathers, injured animals are mainly conspicuous due to other accompanying symptoms:
If you or a pet were bitten by a cat, it is very important for further planning treatment to take a look at the vaccination card or to determine the existing bacterial flora. If a tetanus vaccination has not been given, the victim’s immune system should be supported as soon as possible with a tetanus immunoglobulin. By taking a smear of the wound, the bacteria can be multiplied in a laboratory on specific culture mediums and then determined by several techniques (e.g. PCR or MALDI-TOF). Additional resistance testing is extremely important for later antibiotic treatment. Along with targeted and effective treatment, this also allows resistant germs to be avoided. Furthermore, it is recommended to examine the blood, nervous system and also deeper anatomical structures with imaging techniques (e.g. ultrasound).
If your cat, dog or another pet shows signs of having been attacked by a cat, it’s important to thoroughly examine the whole body for indentation marks. If you only see two bite marks, the presence of further bite marks on the opposite side of the body is very likely.
Nevertheless, a vet (or doctor with human bite victims) should always be consulted for treating cat bites in order to avoid later consequences like bacterial blood contamination. The focus is on the following treatment measures:
Cat bites can be very dangerous due to their high risk of infection. It’s important not to underestimate the situation and to take early measures to avoid wound infections. Bacterial sepsis, tetanus or rabies in particular can prove fatal for the victim. However, the prognosis of a cat bite is much better with effective vaccination and early treatment.
Effective vaccination against tetanus and rabies is the most important requirement for a better prognosis with cat bites. Although Ireland is officially rabies-free, illegally imported animals can transmit this life-threatening virus by biting. Tetanus vaccinations are part of the childhood vaccination programme and should give longterm protection, however, deeper or dirty wounds should still get checked by a GP. Infection with Clostridium tetani from a cat bite still cannot be ruled out. Furthermore, it’s recommended to be careful and to avoid too much or rough handling, especially of unfamiliar cats.
At the Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen I was extensively trained as a veterinarian and was able to gain experience in various fields such as small animal, large animal and exotic animal medicine as well as pharmacology, pathology and food hygiene. Since then, I have been working not only as a veterinary author, but also on my scientifically driven dissertation. My goal is to better protect animals from pathogenic bacterial organisms in the future. Besides my veterinary knowledge, I also share my own experiences as a happy dog owner and can thus understand and enlighten fears and problems as well as other important questions about animal health.
Are you concerned about your ageing cat's lack of response to its name? Or are you startled by your cat's inability to locate its food bowl? Allow us to explain how you can identify early signs of senility in your cat and enable it to lead a lengthy and robust life.
How long do cats take to grow and how big do they get? This depends partly on their genetic make-up and external factors such as diet. Cats have six growth phases. If we are aware of these, we can give our cats the perfect start to a healthy life and support them as well as possible on the road to adulthood.
Is there a better sound than a cat purring? For cat lovers, there surely isn't. Cats purr when they feel happy and this good feeling is spread to their owner. But did you know that cats also purr when injured or stressed? Read on to find out why cats purr and how they make this continuous, deep humming sound.
