Cat scratch warning

I guess quite a few households may be acquiring a new puss at this time of
year, so thought I'd post a warning of the danger of cat bites and scratches
for those who may end up on the sharp end of their cat!
On Thursday morning a friend with dogs called at the house. Our ginger tom,
who is a generally docile old feller, is fine with our dog, but not with
strange dogs, and in his efforts to get away he scratched my wife.
A couple of the scratches were superficial, but one rear claw went deep into
her hand between the knuckles. Our cat is very much an outdoor animal, and a
keen rat-catcher, and we've owned cats for many years so were aware of the
risks of infection. We washed the wounds well, and she saw a GP within two
hours, but 24 hours later her hand was swollen and very painful, so we saw
the Dr again, and he prescribed antibiotics. Next day things were worse with
the swelling spreading up her arm. A trip to the local casualty unit
(remember it's Saturday, and Bank Holiday weekend....) resulted in the duty
Dr immediately admitting her to hospital for intravenous antibiotics and
further investigation, quoting the danger of losing fingers, hands, or even
death from blood poisoning. Today she's still in hospital, but it looks like
the swelling is going down. So, if you should pick up a bite or scratch,
PLEASE don't take it too lightly! My wife is normally fit and healthy, but a
child or elderly person could deteriorate very quickly I guess.

"Pidgeonpost" wrote in message
...
I guess quite a few households may be acquiring a new puss at this time of
year, so thought I'd post a warning of the danger of cat bites and
scratches for those who may end up on the sharp end of their cat!
On Thursday morning a friend with dogs called at the house. Our ginger
tom, who is a generally docile old feller, is fine with our dog, but not
with strange dogs, and in his efforts to get away he scratched my wife.

So sorry your wife is so unlucky. Hope she gets better soon. It is not only
animal scratches that can cause problems. Someone I know got pushed onto an
unclean floor and sustained a small scratch on the arm. He ended up in
hospital for a fortnight and on sick leave for a long while, also being
warned of amputation or death!

sandra