cat bites

I got nailed by a kitten today. She bit the daylights out of my hand. She
was scruffed and I let my hand get too close to her face and she bit and
wouldn't let go. What's the best way to get them to release. I though she
wouldn't bite because she was scruffed - wrong! Then she just hung on and
wouldn't let go. I finally almost ripped my hand out of her mouth. I got the
wound to bleed freely and then poured peroxide over it and let that bubble
away for a while. Anything else I should do?

W

In article <94-dnWaRgPEeO0benZ2dnUVZ_sednZ2d RemoveThis @comcast.com>,
"Wendy" <wendypart RemoveThis @nospam.com> wrote:

> I got nailed by a kitten today. She bit the daylights out of my hand. She
> was scruffed and I let my hand get too close to her face and she bit and
> wouldn't let go. What's the best way to get them to release. I though she
> wouldn't bite because she was scruffed - wrong! Then she just hung on and
> wouldn't let go. I finally almost ripped my hand out of her mouth. I got the
> wound to bleed freely and then poured peroxide over it and let that bubble
> away for a while. Anything else I should do?
>
> W

Without more details, it's hard to judge. My hand was mauled by a feral
cat at a colony I cared for. It was my fault, my mistake. I agitated and
apparently frightened the cat unintentionally while he was eating.

There was a lot of blood when he was done with me. At one point, I
literally felt his teeth sink into the knuckle bones of my left thumb. I
had to throw him to get him let go (he was alright, but not me). When I
finally recovered sufficient to get home, I didn't do anything but the
sort of stuff you did; wash the wounds, attempt to sterilize, bandage
and try to ignore how much it hurt. I was up-to-date on my rabies
vaccinations, so I thought I was safe.

Later I found out that there can be very severe consequences from animal
bites, not the least of which is fatal septic shock syndrome that can
occur quite some time after the attack. The infections that can occur
are terrifying. I won't presume to tell you what to do, but if I ever
get hurt like that again, I will go straight to the emergency room.

Another issue to consider is that if the animal is available, the
attack will be reported and, depending on certain criteria, authorities
may kill the animal to determine if it is rabid. This was another reason
why I didn't go to the doctor. I knew that the cat was not rabid (I had
earlier trapped, tested, vaccinated and neutered him). Stupid though it
may sound to some people, I didn't want to risk that he would be killed
for something that was my own damned fault.

I'm a lot more wary when dealing with unknown animals now.