Danger from cat bites?

Take it seriously yes but it doesn't panic me. Most cat owners know that bacteria can be pushed into the wound because the wounds received by moggies in cat fights will often go septic. The worst problem I had was when my dog bit me by accident as we were mucking around; ended up seeing the doctor for that one.

Cat scratch fever is well known

Tiny number of injuries. Non story.
Human bites are the most dangerous because we share bacteria and viruses within species. Dog bites most likely to harm dogs etc
If a cat has bitten someone hard enough to inflict a deep puncture wound (into the joint!!!) well it stands to reason - get it professionally dressed, watch out for signs of serious infection and get rid of the horrible creature!

my cat scratches and bites me every now and then. Sometimes she draws blood. I've been alright so far!

I trained as a vet nurse when I left school, and worked in the profession for a good few years till I changed career. I had a lot of cat scratches that went yucky, and a couple of bites that needed careful watching but nothing more serious. However we were forever treating abscesses in cats that were the result of bites from other moggies, so I've no doubt cat bites can turn really nasty.

It is not scarey but it based on fact isn't it.

Toxoplasma gondi is however scarey. It is a single celled organism that has evolved to breed only in the gut of cats where it produces millions of tiny egg-like spores called 'oocysts'. For two weeks after infection a cat sheds several million cysts in it's droppings. Cat's show no sign of being infected but it naturally follows anywhere it uses as a toilet or touches will be contaminated.

If the eggs are eaten by say a bird and that bird harbours the spore, maybe for years' then that bird is eaten by a cat, that cat becomes infected also. It is a brilliant survival teqnique for the parasite.

Don't eat raw or undercooked meat and always wash your hands are simple things we all know to do but some people will be infected and as we all know the damage it can cause can be horrible.

Sorry cat lovers, of which I am one.

I saw a man in the doctor's waiting room once with a grossly swollen hand - cat scratched him.

I was bitten by a cat a few years ago. After a couple of days my hand was very swollen and going a bit green. I went into the surgery and asked if someone could look at it. I got the usual "I can make you an appointment for next week" response, so I unveiled my hand and a doctor miraculously appeared in moments Antibiotics and a week off work because I was handling food.
Sadly it hasn't stopped me stroking strange cats though!

It does worry me as Ds and DIL have just got a kitten and DGD2 does not really understand ( but is learning ) not to squeeze or 'love' the cat too much.

My daughter was recently bitten by my cat, her hand and her whole arm became seriously infected. She was admitted to hospital and was on intravenous antibiotics for three days. It took her weeks for her hand to recover and to maintain full mobility in her fingers. I was on holiday at the time so Googled 'cat bites' and OMG she got off lightly. Needless to say I was mortified as I am careful with worming etc. and had said what a big softy my cat was!
She is self employed and missed two weeks work...so definitely not scaremongering.

My son and family have one rather unpredictable cat - large, fat and lazy, but apt to bite and scratch without warning. Need I say that as soon as I sit down, he makes a bee line for my lap. I have had one or two glancing blows from him, but luckily nothing went deep enough to be dangerous. I'll be even more careful with him in future.

I have been bitten, mostly playfully and the vet gave me the name of that orange disinfectant and we treated all our bites with it. In Germany we still have rabies and all dogs and cats have to be vaccinated yearly. If your cat bites a child the parents can insist you show them your vaccination certificate. If the cat hasn't been done and the child falls ill then the cat can be killed as the only to prove they didn't have rabies is a brain examination. As you can imagine we all have our cats and dogs done.
I was bitten very badly by a rescue cat and needed a fair dose of anti biotic but he had been done against rabies.

Yes, my neighbour, a cat lover, tried to separate two cats when they were fighting. One sunk it's teeth into her arm. She was taken to hospital as she was bleeding profusely, she developed an abscess which took weeks of antibiotic shots to clear.

Not scaremongering. My neighbour - a cat lover - was trying to separate two fighting cats (not a good idea) when she was bitten badly on her forearm. She was bleeding profusely and was taken to A&E. The next day her arm was badly swollen despite being administered antibiotics. She developed and abscess and it took weeks of hospital visits before it cleared up.

One of our cats went missing and was found living wild three months later. When I went to collect him from the chap who had trapped him he bit right through my hand! I never had any trouble from the bite though - possibly because of the way it poured with blood. It's amazing what you can do if you have to. I knew that if I let him go I'd never see him again so I didn't have time to worry about the pain.

I would be the same Deedaa I adore my cats.