How do you know if a scratch from a cat is serious?

Question:

I found a "house cat" living under my house. After a week I decided to go get him and found that he was pretty tame. I brought him into the house to put him in a cage until I could call the Cat Rescue on Monday morning. As I carried him to the cage I was going to hold him in, my cat saw him and began to hiss. The cat I had in my hands freaked out and one of his claws caught the knuckle on my left hand. The puncture wound wasn't that bad when it happened, but was a bit deep and I had cleaned the wound out right away. Ten hours later my pointer finger and middle finger are in horrible pain, especially when I try to bend them. Also, to the left of the puncture wound I have developed this red swollen area that wasn't there earlier in the day. Now I have been scratched by my cat several times and this has never happened. I am not sure if I should go to the ER or if this is normal.

Answers:
Any cat scratch, even from your own kitty, is potentially a serious matter. A stray cat's claws are a one-stop supermarket of diseases. You know darned well your hand isn't normal right now, so get off the computer and GO TO THE ER!

If it is infected you should have a discharge that comes out of the wound, but in a situation like that I would definitely go to the doctor and get some antibiotics. If severe swelling occurs go to the E.R. but otherwise you'll be okay just visiting you doctor the following day.

see a doctor. i was bitten once, the puncture was so deep it got infected. the doctor had to giv me a shot & thing get better less than 1 week.

I don't know that much about cat's, but I was watching an episode of Animal ER on Animal Planet and a woman came in with a cat she had rescued from a car accident and the cat had scratched her on the arms and the doctors were more worried about her than the cat. The vet told her that cats have something like a poison in their claws and they make her go straight to the emergency room and she came back days later to check on the cat and her arms were all bandaged up to the elbows and she said she almost lost one arm, so it must be bad and I think you should go to the emergency room or at least call and ask someone at the hospital. Better safe than sorry.

i would get myself in to be checked out..

the fact that you have no idea if this cat is carrying any diseases is cause for concern along with the fact that your finger is getting worse.

my guess is the area has now become infected and could spread into your bloodstream which usually requires hospitalization for iv antibiotics

don't take any chances with this one-cat scratches (especially from strays) can turn serious-i've seen people hospitalized for them. these cats are digging into trash cans to get their food, fighting with other cats, and doing who know what else-so they're claws have to have tons of germs..

report to your nearest emergency room or urgent care asap

good luck

It sounds like you might be trying to get an infection. You need to clean it with rubbing alcohol and put some triple antibiotic ointment on it. Then put a bandage of some type over it to keep the area safe from any other bacteria. If this does not help after a few days then call your doctor.

You should probably go to the ER especially if you can't see a dr. right away. You prolly got what is commonly known as cat scratch fever. Do you know how a cat buries it's fecal matter? Yeah, I'd go to the ER..

It's definitely possible it's infected. Either go to your family doctor, or if there is one available, a walk-in, or urgent care clinic.

Be aware that all animal bites will have to be reported to Animal Control.

Go to the ER NOW. you have "cat scratch feaver" if this infection spreads you may need amputation or you could die. Don't panic you have a few mins. I had this , you'll need special antibiotics designed for this. feel better

How do you know if a scratch from a cat is serious?

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