Cat bite

Cat bite
A cat wounded from the bite of another cat
Classification and external resources
Specialty Emergency Medicine, Plastic surgery, Pediatric Medicine, Veterinary Medicine
ICD-10 W55.01XA
MedlinePlus 000888
eMedicine emerg/

Cat bites are bites inflicted upon humans, other cats, and other animals by the domestic cat.[1][2] (Latin: Felis catus) Though uncommon, sometimes cat bites can lead to complications and very rarely, death.[3][4]

Classification

Cat bites are usually considered as minor injuries but can result in serious infection.[5] Not all infections that can be obtained from exposure to a cat are transmitted through a cat bite, like plague.[6]

Infections

Ancylostoma braziliense mouthparts

The resident flora in the mouth of the cat includes Pasteurella, Staph, Bartonella, and Streptococcus species.[5] Bites from cats develop infections more frequently than bites from dogs. The teeth of a cat are sharp, pointed and can cause deep wounds. After a cat bite, the skin usually healing closes rapidly over the bite and traps microorganisms.[7][4] The bites from cats can infect a person with:

  • Cat-scratch disease, caused by the bacterium Bartonella henselae)[4][8]
    • Cat-scratch disease is a bacterial disease that people may get after being bitten or scratched by a cat. About 40% of cats carry the bacteria at some time in their mouths, although kittens younger than 1 year of age are more likely to have it.[9]

Most cats with this infection show no signs of illness.

In people, pasteurellosis causes painful wound and skin infections. In severe cases, it can cause widespread infection and might even affect the nervous system.

  • Rabies, a fatal neurologic disease in animals and people, is caused by a virus. Animals and people are most commonly infected through bites from rabid animals. Infected cats may have a variety of signs, but most often have sudden behavioral changes and progressive paralysis.[13]

Diagnosis

The diagnosis is aided by obtaining a history of the circumstances surrounding the bite. The time the bite was experienced, the location of the bite, and examination of the bite is noted. The person may have drainage from the site of the bite. They may also be febrile. Swelling may also occur. Because the wound from the bite may have healed over the punctures, the wound it may be opened and explored. The site is anesthetized prior to exploration of the wound for is examined for damage. Neurovascular status is assessed. Immune status may determine treatment as does the presence of transplanted tissue or organs, rheumatic disease, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and sickle cell disease. Swollen glands (lymph nodes) and red streaks radiating upward may be evident.[14][8][5]

The diagnosis of a cat with rabies is evident by observing the cat. Cats with rabies may also appear restless, pant, and attack other animals, people, or objects. Animals with rabies typically die within a few days of appearing sick. Vaccination of the cat can prevent rabies being transmitted by the cat through a bite. If the cat is suspected of being infected with rabies, the person begins treatment with rabies vaccine.[13]

Prevention

Cat bites can often be prevented by:

  • instructing children not to tease cats or other pets.[15]
  • being cautious with unfamiliar cats.
  • approaching cats with care, even if they appear to be friendly.
  • avoiding rough play with cats and kittens.

Rough play is perceived as aggressive. This will lead to the cat being defensive when approached by people. Preventing cat bites includes not provoking the cat.

Treatment

The first step in treatment includes washing and then irrigating the bite wound.[16] [17][5] Often a tetanus shot is prescribed.[4] If a cat that has bitten another cat or animal and appears to be ill, the cat would benefit from an assessment and possible treatment from a veterinarian. If there is a low risk that the wound has a low risk of being infected, it is sometimes only sutured.[16] A person who has been bitten by a cat with rabies will need specialized treatment. Resulting infections from cat bites can be prevented by immediately. Washing wounds with soap and warm water is recommended. Seek medical attention if: if the cat has not been vaccinated against rabies.[15] A tetanous booster is given to the person if It has been more than 5 years since their last tetanus shot.[18] If a cat has bitten someone, and there is no evidence that the cat has been vaccinated against rabies, the person will be treated for rabies infection.[13]

Association with Depression

A 2009 study utilizing an association analysis tool on medical records found an association between the terms “cat bite” and “depression.” A much larger follow up study in 2013 utilized a dataset containing 41.2 million classifications from 1.6 million patients to dig deeper into the association. The researchers found that among those patients that had cat bites, the depression rate was 41.3%, much higher than the general population rate of depression (8.8%). More than three quarters (85.5%) of the 310 patients who had depression and a cat bite were women, meaning that if a woman presented with a cat bite, there was a 47.0% chance that she would be diagnosed with depression in her lifetime.[19]

Epidemiology and special populations

Over 400,000 cat bites are reported each year in the US, though the actual number of bites is much higher since many such bites are under-reported.[14] 40 million households in the United States have domestic cats.[20] Data on the number of people bitten or scratched by cats is limited because most of these incidents are not reported; however, 20%-80% of cat bites and scratches become infected.[11] Cat-scratch disease or cat-scratch fever, an infection that causes fever and swollen lymph nodes, can develop from cat scratches even if they only break the surface of the skin. Based on reports of people treated for cat bites at hospitals, women are most likely to be victims of cat bites and scratches.[13] Because of their smaller build, children are more likely to be bitten on their head, neck and face. Adults are more likely to bitten on the hands and arms.[5] Those who are immunocompromised are more susceptible to infection from a cat bite.[4]


See also

References

  1. ↑ Wozencraft, W.C. (2005). "Species Felis catus". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 534–535. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. ↑ "ITIS Standard Report Page: Felis catus". ITIS Online Database. Reston, Virginia: Integrated Taxonomic Information System. 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  3. ↑ Gurry, Greta A.; Campion, Veronique; Premawardena, Chamath; Woolley, Ian; Shortt, Jake; Bowden, Donald K.; Kaplan, Zane; Dendle, Claire (2017). "High rates of potentially infectious exposures between immunocompromised patients and their companion animals: an unmet need for education". Internal Medicine Journal. 47 (3): 333–335. doi:10.1111/imj.13361. ISSN 1444-0903.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "First Aid: Animal Bites". The Nemours Foundation. 2017. Retrieved 2017-06-18.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Maniscalco, K; Edens, MA (April 20, 2017). "Animal Bites". National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  6. ↑ Gage, K. L.; Dennis, D. T.; Orloski, K. A.; Ettestad, P.; Brown, T. L.; Reynolds, P. J.; Pape, W. J.; Fritz, C. L.; Carter, L. G.; Stein, J. D. (2000). "Cases of Cat-Associated Human Plague in the Western US, 1977-1998". Clinical Infectious Diseases. 30 (6): 893–900. doi:10.1086/313804. ISSN 1058-4838.
  7. ↑ "Animal Bites". Handcare.org. American Society for Surgery of the Hand. 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  8. 1 2 "Cat scratch disease". U.S. National Library of Medicine. September 10, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  9. ↑ Rijks, J.M.; Cito, F.; Cunningham, A.A.; Rantsios, A.T.; Giovannini, A. (2016). "Disease Risk Assessments Involving Companion Animals: an Overview for 15 Selected Pathogens Taking a European Perspective". Journal of Comparative Pathology. 155 (1): S75–S97. doi:10.1016/j.jcpa.2015.08.003. ISSN 0021-9975.
  10. ↑ Joanna Zajkowska, Monika Król, Daniel Falkowski, Norina Syed, Anna Kamieńska. "Capnocytophaga canimorsus - An Underestimated Danger After Dog or Cat Bite - Review of the Literature", Przegl Epidemiol. 2016;70(2):289-295. n.d.
  11. 1 2 Lloret, Albert; Egberink, Herman; Addie, Diane; Belák, Sándor; Boucraut-Baralon, Corine; Frymus, Tadeusz; Gruffydd-Jones, Tim; Hartmann, Katrin; Hosie, Margaret J; Lutz, Hans; Marsilio, Fulvio; Möstl, Karin; Pennisi, Maria Grazia; Radford, Alan D; Thiry, Etienne; Truyen, Uwe; Horzinek, Marian C (2013). "Pasteurella Multocida Infection in Cats". Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. 15 (7): 570–572. doi:10.1177/1098612X13489215. ISSN 1098-612X.
  12. ↑ Chomel, Bruno (2014). "Emerging and Re-Emerging Zoonoses of Dogs and Cats". Animals. 4 (3): 434–445. doi:10.3390/ani4030434. ISSN 2076-2615.
  13. 1 2 3 4 https://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/pets/cats.html  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  14. 1 2 "Prevent Bite Wounds". American Academy of Pediatrics. 2017. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  15. 1 2 https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/animal-bites-sheet.html?WT.ac=p-ra
  16. 1 2 "Animal bites Fact sheet N°373". World Health Organization. February 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  17. ↑ https://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/pets/cats.html#what-to-do  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  18. ↑ "Cats - Healthy Pets Healthy People - CDC". www.cdc.gov. Retrieved 18 June 2017.  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  19. ↑ Hanauer, D.A., Ramakrishnan, N. and Seyfried, L.S., 2013. Describing the relationship between cat bites and human depression using data from an electronic health record. PLoS One, 8(8), p.e70585.-
  20. ↑ https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/pets/index.html  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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