# My cat BIT me! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 28, 2004, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-bit-me/271655 "2004-10-28T12:59:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![booklover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@booklover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/booklover)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-bit-me/271655/1 "2004-10-28T12:59:41Z")
Max the cat likes to chew on various things, and perhaps I shouldn’t have let him chew on my wrist brace while I was wearing it. (I hurt my thumb a couple weeks ago playing Twister at work—don’t ask—and now I am wearing a soft brace per my doctor’s orders.) So, Max was gently gnawing and pawing at the brace while I was reading the paper…all of a sudden, CRUNCH! The little dear bit down on my already injured thumb and managed to puncture my nail straight down to the skin below. My nail now has a strange indentation and a purple-red circle on the skin beneath, and my thumb hurts even more than it did before. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-bit-me/271655/2 "2004-10-28T13:08:32Z")
Poor Max! I bet that hurt his teeth! Just kidding…I always “yell” at the kids if they trip over the cats or something (you whacked my kitty with your nasty hard legs?!) ---
**Author:** ![Salem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Salem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salem)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-bit-me/271655/3 "2004-10-28T13:19:17Z")
Did it break the skin? Don’t want to worry you needlessly, and I am not a medical professional by any means, but if it did break skin, you should probably call your doctor on this one. My Ex was a vet tech for awhile and was bitten by a kitty in the middle of a procedure. The cat’s teeth went clear through his finger. The Ex had to go to the ER where they adminstered IV antibiotics and then sent him home with more antibiotics. Apparently there’s a lot of nasty stuff in kitty mouths that can cause serious infections. Hope your thumb feels better soon. ---
**Author:** ![Iris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a5b964/32.png) [@Iris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iris)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-bit-me/271655/4 "2004-10-28T13:31:11Z")
I had a cat named Max that used to bite me every now and then. He would usually only bite while playing or chewing on things. One time he was really mad at me for leaving him so he latched onto my leg and bit me just above the knee. It broke the skin and left me with a nasty bruise (no infection though). Perhaps this has something to do with cats named Max? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-bit-me/271655/5 "2004-10-28T14:08:57Z")
I’d get it looked at FAST; better safe than sorry with cat bites. I wonder what on Earth Max was thinking…yum, THUMB??? Cats. Who knows. I love them, but I don’t claim to understand them, either! ---
**Author:** ![booklover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@booklover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/booklover)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-bit-me/271655/6 "2004-10-28T14:10:54Z")
Well, he is named Max after the main character in “Where the Wild Things Are”, so perhaps that accounts for his behavior. I did think about the whole antibiotic thing. The trouble is, I can’t actually tell whether the skin is broken because it’s below the nail. It looks a little bit like his teeth might have pressed the nail inward and that the nail itself pressed into the skin, causing the bruise-like thing. ---
**Author:** ![Nightingale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@Nightingale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightingale)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-bit-me/271655/7 "2004-10-28T14:54:47Z")
Oww, that had to hurt. Although you’re probably doing better than me – a PERSON bit me at work the other day! Seriously, you probably want to have a doctor take a look at the bite. Bites of any kind are super nasty and very prone to infection. Prophylactic antibiotics may be in order (you may need to update your tetanus shot, too!), and only a doctor will be able to tell you for sure. It’s just better not to take chances with such a “dirty” wound. Nightingale, RN 😉 ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-bit-me/271655/8 "2004-10-29T00:04:04Z")
> [@Nightingale](#): > > Oww, that had to hurt. Although you’re probably doing better than me – a PERSON bit me at work the other day! Seriously, you probably want to have a doctor take a look at the bite. Bites of any kind are super nasty and very prone to infection. Prophylactic antibiotics may be in order (you may need to update your tetanus shot, too!), and only a doctor will be able to tell you for sure. It’s just better not to take chances with such a “dirty” wound. > > Nightingale, RN 😉 Especially, since its a puncture wound. That allows for an entire set of nastier organisms to get a foot hold. ---
**Author:** ![shamrock227](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@shamrock227](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shamrock227)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-bit-me/271655/9 "2004-10-29T02:18:40Z")
> [@booklover](#): > > (I hurt my thumb a couple weeks ago playing Twister at work- Your company wouldn’t be hiring by any chance, hhmmmm? 😉 Better safe than sorry, go get it looked at. Either way hope it feels better soon. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-bit-me/271655/10 "2004-10-29T02:23:47Z")
> [@Nightingale](#): > > Oww, that had to hurt. Although you’re probably doing better than me – a PERSON bit me at work the other day! C’mon, you gotta tell this story! _A cat bit my sister once…_ (Actually, I was bitten, but it was a sharp nip to my big toe and I had socks on. My foot must’ve looked like a big white furry mouse or something :D) Seriously, do get it looked at. ---
**Author:** ![Keapon\_Laffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e274bd/32.png) [@Keapon\_Laffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keapon_Laffin)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-bit-me/271655/11 "2004-10-29T02:38:17Z")
> [@booklover](#): > > The little dear bit down on my already injured thumb and managed to puncture my nail straight down to the skin below. Bite it back. Hard. On the tail. Cats HATE it when you do that. Not that I ever have of course… ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-bit-me/271655/12 "2004-10-29T02:45:01Z")
Keapon, I _do_ like you in one piece… ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-bit-me/271655/13 "2004-10-29T03:23:36Z")
Could be worse,my cat tried to kill me with a hand grenade. House rule #34: We do not “frag” our human. ---
**Author:** ![Tenar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@Tenar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenar)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-bit-me/271655/14 "2004-10-29T03:26:02Z")
Had you run out of Fancy Feast? ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-bit-me/271655/15 "2004-10-29T03:41:44Z")
My mother’s cat used to bite her on the ankle if she talked too long on the phone. That cat thought its name was “Dammit.” ---
**Author:** ![Tentacle\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-bit-me/271655/16 "2004-10-29T04:37:53Z")
Housecat bites? Bah. My sister has a bobcat. Yes, she’s got all the appropriate permits, had him fixed and declawed, he came from a breeder, and he has all of his shots. Baxter the bobcat is a sweetie, really, but he has unusual habits. Apropos to the thread, he’ll bite you --just a little-- if he _likes_ you. But with those big teeth and powerful jaw muscles, he could take a chunk out of you if he wanted to. Fortunately, he hasn’t done that to anything but his toys yet. Then, there was the time he pooped in the toilet (of his own volition) and then fished it back out, but that’s a story for another day.