Cat Scratch
If you regularly play with your feline friend, sooner or later you my get a cat scratch. Perhaps your pet was overexcited and scratched your arm. Or maybe he mistakenly took your hand for that toy he was after. If your cat leaps down from his cat furniture or cat condo, he may accidentally puncture your hand if he lands on it. If you play with your cats on a regular basis, a cat scratch is inevitable. In most cases a cat scratch is completely harmless. At times, it may not even break the skin. If your cat does get overexcited and accidentally cause a nasty cat scratch, it should heal rather quickly.
Treating a Cat Scratch
In most cases, a cat scratch is not serious. It may sting a little, but generally it is not life-threatening. After receiving a cat scratch, you should step out of the cat outdoor run and go inside to take care of it.
First, wash the cat scratch under warm water with soap. Secondly, apply hydrogen-peroxide or some sort of anti-septic to the wound. If the cat scratch stings or burns, you may want to apply a soothing ointment to alleviate this sensation.
Watch the wound carefully to make sure there is no swelling, redness or signs of infection within the next couple of days. In rare cases, a cat scratch can develop into “cat scratch disease.” This infection is caused by a bacteria called bartonell henselae. If your pet cat is a carrier of this bacterium, he could transmit it to you. If your cat scratch becomes inflamed or starts to blister, it could be the first sign that you have contracted the bacteria. Other symptoms include fatigue, headaches, fever and swollen lymph nodes. If these symptoms do appear after a cat scratch, don’t be alarmed. Even cat scratch disease is not serious. With a small dose of antibiotics it will clear up quickly.
Many cats are carriers of the bacteria that cause cat scratch disease, although they show no clinical symptoms themselves. Cats that are infested with fleas and young kittens are more prone to being carriers. As a result, it’s a good idea to keep your outdoor cat run and cat furniture as clean and flea-free as possible to prevent a bacterial invasion. To avoid another cat scratch, you may want to consider wearing long-sleeves shirts and thick gloves when rough-housing with your cats in their cat condo or outdoor cat run. You my also want to wear long pants instead of shorts if you are on the floor with your cat.