My kitty bit my knuckle ... and nothing really happened.

After googling cat bites, I realized that people really only tell the horror stories. I mean, why would you ever go to the trouble of telling your story if nothing really happened. 

So I thought I would tell my mundane story. And if by chance you're freaking out the way I did after seeing so many worst case scenarios - just take a deep breath and make sure you really need to freak out. Because maybe, like me, nothing serious will even happen and you can laugh about it with me after the dust settles and you realize your actually fine :)

New Kitty Arrives...

So we got a new kitten. We already had one cat and unfortunately I didn't do any research before bringing new kitty home. I was at work, so it was up to my husband. And for those 5 hours, I guess our resident cat terrorized our new kitty. By the time I got home, new kitty was under the fridge, freaking out while Leia (our resident cat) was growling & hissing at her. 

Every time I tried to even LOOK at new kitty, she just growled and hissed and spat at me. I eventually gave up and went to bed.

About an hour later, the growls started again as Leia provoked new kitty. I got up and decided it was time to get her out from under the fridge. If for nothing else then to put her in my office and close it up so she could be safe and hopefully calm down.

It took a lot of maneuvering of the fridge (and stove for that matter) before I could even get near her. I had a blanket over my hand, trying to minimize the scratches I knew I would get. At one point I was able to grab one of her legs. I wasn't about to let go, so I grabbed her other leg and started to gently pull her out. I knew it was coming, but you can't really prepare. She eventually came out and immediately curled up and bit down on the first thing she came into contact with. Unfortunately it was my knuckle.

I didn't stop though as I grasped the nape of her neck and put her in a box with a blanket and then placed her in my office where she could be safe from Leia and anything else she was scared of.


The Bite...

I had numerous scratches, which sucked. But that knuckle bite was the worst for sure. It started bleeding, which I later read was really good. That could (and probably did) help any nasty stuff that might have gotten in there to come out as it bled. I washed it out. Peroxided the crap out of it. Then put a slab of triple antibiotic cream on a band aide and went to bed.

The next day, I was a little shocked at the numbness of it. It was slightly swollen, and I assumed it was numb due to it being swollen. 

 
By the afternoon, I was a little worried at the heat I felt on it and the redness that was growing. 


 And then I did something stupid. 

I googled.

Oh you better believe that I found thee WORST case scenario stories. Tiny bites, that led to hands swollen to the size of a melon, that lead to multiple surgeries to clean out the tendon tissue that had become infected from bacteria introduced from the cat's teeth when it bit into said tendons. Reading the warning signs, I was in danger of being one of the worst case scenarios. Especially since these horror stories tended to be fast moving. In other words - cat bit hand, hand swollen in 24hr, surgery by 48hrs. I was already 12hrs into my story, and I was slowly getting redder and swollener (not a word, I know) every hour. 



So I debated. Go to the doc and possibly make a mountain out of a mole hill. Or wait and see, and possibly let the bacteria I may have in my finger get worse and worse and worse. If my husband had been home, I would have ended up in the ER. As it was, he got home late and the kids were already in bed. I didn't want to go alone, so I decided to give it another day.


Out of the Woods...

Good thing I did, because by 48hrs, I was starting to get feeling back into the numb areas. And by 72hrs, the redness went down and I considered myself officially out of the woods. And Haley & I were fast becoming friends. Leia & Haley - not so much, but we gave it some time and they eventually became pals :)





Warning though - I thought my knuckle wouldn't bend due to swelling. I waited for almost a week for it to bend without pain. I guess kitty (now named Haley) got into the tendons or bones or muscle or something because I've had to massage the area and stretch it to get it to bend. It still hurts a little, but it's more like a deep itch now every time I try to bend it. I just make sure to keep bending so that (hopefully) it will heal completely and I can count myself lucky to NOT have been one of those worst case scenarios lol :)

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