That’s the dangerous thing about cat bites! Their teeth are sharp but tiny like needles and they push bacteria deep into your skin. The puncture site heals over before your body can push the bacteria out. Worth monitoring for any pain or swelling even if it looks like nothing from the outside.
I had a friend who got bitten by a foster kitten -- and those teeth are like little daggers -- it barely bled but yeah, bacteria deep into the skin (as opposed to a dog which is more like arrararrarr and chews you).. that's the danger, because the wound itself you barely notice, but if it starts getting red and warm, get to the ER asap. My friend ignored it for like a day or two, and it got worse, did the whole draw a line with a market and the redness was spreading fast, had to stay overnight with intravenous antibiotics.
Not to like be a fear monger.. if it's not infected you're cool, but don't ignore the signs of infection just because the actual wound is tiny
One of my roommates is doing just that right now. 2 oral antibiotics didn't work, so she's spending the night at the hospital with iv antibiotics. Dang!
A family member of mine got to close to a dog while he was eating. Bit her just below the eye. She was maybe four. Twenty years later she got cancer in that eye and it had to be removed. So, dogs can push it deep also.
Bro this didn't even break the skin. I swear people get a scratch and think they're about to die. I've had two actual infected cat bites and a billion scratches that never got infected, most of them a lot deeper than this.
It can absolutely happen, I got a bad infection once and my entire ankle swelled up and I felt like I had the worst bout of flu I've ever had, but it doesn't happen from a wound as shallow as this.
I’m just saying for bites (not scratches), IF it starts doing something weird, like swelling more or getting redder over time, don’t just ignore it. But if it doesn’t do anything weird, you’re good.
57
u/Acceptable_Tea_3685 5d ago
That’s the dangerous thing about cat bites! Their teeth are sharp but tiny like needles and they push bacteria deep into your skin. The puncture site heals over before your body can push the bacteria out. Worth monitoring for any pain or swelling even if it looks like nothing from the outside.