Scratched by a cat!

[Em.ma]

Hello.
I was round a friends today. (They have a new cat)
It's a stray. Well the owner next door has not been seen for weeks and they took the cat in,
The cat scratched me and it drew blood. It's sore now and quite deep. I washed it with soap. I have no were near me to get antiseptic.
The cats actually a kitten. Can I get diseases?!

[aggiecuttler]

i would have thought that as long as you keep it clean it will be ok, you could always use some salt water on it as salt is a good cleaner, if its a kitten then i am guessing its not outside so not much risk of infection blessings

[Em.ma]

Thanks,
They don't let it out to much and they do spray with flee spray but I'm scared, next door was a drug addict and alchoholic so could be carrying anything,
My friend has a few scratches I think from it as well.
I was playing with it and it seemed to of got over excited :(

[Edie]

I have a cat who loves to dig big holes in the garden and trample mud all over the house. Cats also have a lot of nasty bacteria in their mouths. My cat has a history of abuse and can get quite aggressive. She's been biting and scratching me for the past 8 years and I've never caught anything from her. I just wash with soap. Cat scratches can be quite sore, and kitten claws are really sharp, but you're highly unlikely to catch anything nasty.

[joelhall]

Any wound can become infected, but as long as you keep it clean there's little risk. By the way, soap and water is among the best things for cleaning microbes.

[KeeKee]

I have 2 adult cats and 1 9 month old kitten. I have been clawed numerous times over the last 2 years and have never had any wounds that didn't heal very quickly. Bearing in mind cats use the litter etc so I doubt you will get anything.

[Annie0904]

My cat is always scratching me when playing and sometimes the scratches bleed but I have never had any problems from them.

[almamatters]

Same here, I have two cats and have suffered a scratch or two! I would just make sure you have washed it and keep it clean.

[Tessar]

Once u clean any minor wound there isn't anything else to do other than protect it from any source of infection, such as if you are doing things likely to get it dirty, then keep it covered. Also though make sure the wound has time to breath as that will help it heal. It's pointless worrying once you have sorted it out initially. Keep your energy for living life as thats much more fun than worrying :D

[Speranza]

Just don't worry if tomorrow it looks a bit raised. They do that. I've never had a problem with cat scratches. On the other hand, I got cellulitis from a small insect... <sigh>

[Tessar]

Is the luck of the draw isn't it? That's why there's no point worrying. our cat got me big time & I had a really bad looking scratch on my hand. Quite unsightly, sore for ages but they just take time to heal, they do get raised as you said.

[Em.ma]

Thanks guys.
I bet a 'normal' person would not think twice about this lol

I was thinking any germs the cat carries could be passed to me?
What's cellutius?

[Timo]

I let my cat sit on my shoulders sometimes, and they get so scratched up. Oh well.

[Speranza]

You're not tricking me into being Dr Google!! LOL No, it's an infection - sort of 'blood poisoning' which is a not-very common reaction to things. I am quite allergic to tiny biting insects for some reason, and one bite went bad. It's never happened again though. You won't get it from a cat scratch. As Joel says, soap and water is the best thing you can do for it really, deals with most of the nasties. I didn't know about the insect bite till it was too late!

---------- Post added at 21:55 ---------- Previous post was at 21:49 ----------

A cat wouldn't pick up something from drug users and pass it to you, btw.

[Tessar]

Best thing to do is decide to draw a line under it Emma. To move on. In a few days it'll be healed and then there will be something else worrying you. But maybe rather than having lots of little worries you out loads of effort into thinking about......have a think about ways you could use that energy more productively? Otherwise, I can see that the various things that bother you, will continue to do so. Hopefully this makes sense?
For me it's a case of keeping busy. If I feel something is getting a unhealthy grip on my mind, that is when the alarm bells start to ring, I realise I need to stop those thoughts there & then. Stop!!!!! The I need something else to get busy on. It doesn't matter what it is.
The problem otherwise is, the more you look into something, the more you ask questions or seek further knowledge about it, the worse you are making yourself feel. Ultimately this isn't going to help you because it'll fuel your fear.
I know it isn't easy when there is a tendency to get stuck on some stuff and obsess but imagine living a life where to you were free of these worries. More time. More energy. It could be really good for you and lots of us for that matter.
Night all.

[Em.ma]

Thanks guys.
Yes I wasn't worried about normal infection from cuts as that's unlikely. But more so if something from the cat getting passed on to me instead. Like something getting in my blood
I work in a factory so when I remembered about 12pm i put a plaster on realising all morning I had bloody forgotten so it was open to lots of dirt.


Oh well time to watch a film before I think about it too much!

[Tessar]

Your last line sums is up for me, Emma......

"Oh well time to watch a film before I think about it too much"

It's a case of spotting early when you are triggered.
Act to distract yourself as soon as this happens.
Do not dwell on whatever it is.

I know I make it sound simple but I suppose if you simplify what to do, perhaps you are more likely to succeed. As an additional exercise, I'd suggest noting times when the things you feared didn't happen because there will be plenty of them. Then, thinking of it in terms of numbers, you'll see that the odds are stacked in your favour.
When I had a fear of certain things happening to me if I got on a plane, my treatment included looking at statistics. Rather than address my emotions, it was a case of stripping my fears down to the bare bones, facts. Sticking to facts.of course when I first flew I was scared. But the point is I did survive. More importantly none of the things I imagined might happen occurred.

So, Emma, like you say... I encourage you to try avoiding over thinking & instead focusing on more productive things.:yesyes: