cat bites and antibiotics

Darn it all!!!! My 15 year old cat, who I believe is getting senile, bit me on my hand. He was wanting to sit in my lap and I was reading the paper and I moved him off me and he was mad about it. I will admit that he has done this stuff before, but this time he gave me a puncture wound in my hand. I washed it immediately and put on antibiotic cream but it started to swell up. The standard treatment for cat bites (which can be highly infectious) is augmentin, and I can't tolerate that at all (massive D) so the alternative is Doxycycline. My brother is an ER doc in another state, but he called it in for me.The cat is up to date on all his shots but I guess their mouths have bad bacteria. My hand is still significantly swollen, and if it still looks bad tomorrow, I'll go see my doctor. I hate taking antibiotics....I dread a Crohn's flare or a return of the evil c.difficile. I've never taken Doxycyline before....anyone here taken it?? How did you do Crohn's wise? I swear if it's not one thing, it's another!!!

I feel your pain. We have a Himalayan in our home and she's a biter too. We love her to death, but she has issues! So far I haven't had to take antibiotics. But I really do need to get a tetanus shot.

It's been a while since I've taken doxycycline, but I believe it's one that bothered me CD-wise. Not as bad as some I've taken though. I hope you do okay. -Joy

I had a tetanus shot a couple of years ago, so I'm not worried about that. It's 1:20 Am and I can't sleep...getting anxious I guess. My hand is very swollen. I think I'll get it looked at at the ER if the swelling doesn't start coming down in the next few hours. thanks for all your responses.

I just got back from the ER. My hand is very red and swollen. Normally they would give me IV antibiotics, but we are trying to balance the risk of a Crohn's flare and c.difficile vs spreading of infection. So I'm just going to stay on the oral Doxycycline for now, but if I get a fever or the swelling spreads, then I have to go back to the hospital. I'm in a lot of pain...just took a Vicodin, and they gave me Zofran because the antibiotics are already making me nauseous. I'm feeling rather sorry for myself, as I was just starting to stabilize from my anemia and Crohn's issues. Life sucks sometimes!

Thanks Sparkleplenty,
I'm feeling very nauseous from the antibiotics and it's only day 3! I have Zofran, it works for the nausea but gives me headaches. The swelling on my hand still is terrible too. I'm seeing my primary doc this afternoon. This is soooooo frustrating. I had to cancel my whole work day as I feel so ill, and I'm not all that hopeful about work tomorrow. Please please please don't let me get c.diff on top of this....I'll have a nervous breakdown. (I probably won't, but it feels like that right now!!!)

Awww Gumby.....you really didn;t need this.  I can't rem how I have done on doxy...I know the D for me on amox was really extreme (even taking cholestyramine) which makes me think that doxy wasn't as bad or I would have remembered that.  I know Vicodin gives me horrible C...so is it nice to hope the two balance each other out for you?!?!?!?!

Will be hoping for your easiest recovery from this.

 

Gumby, I feel your pain. I got bit by a squirrel once and had real problems.

about your cat - I had a cat that was not civil to anyone. I had taken it in when the neighbor could not move it to her new location. She would bit nip at me to get my attention. Fast forward a couple years and I started Imuran. Got my blood drawn week two, then week four. Day after the 4 week blood draw, I come home to a message asking that I call GI immediately.

Seems my white count was 2.1 [2100 mcL] -- way too low. GI asked if I had a cat. When I replied in the affirmative he said I had to have someone else take care of it at THEIR house. He was concerned that any bite could be extremely dangerous with my low white count. We ended up having the cat boarded for three weeks until my white count got back up.

Do you have someone else that can care for the cat until you are feeling better? Also, if he has had a recent change in behavior, perhaps he needs a check-up for medical issues. My friend has an 18 yr old cat that has real arthritis issues and gets mean when in pain. My friend has taken to getting her steroid injections every couple months so she is more comfortable and not so mean.

Also - re your C, diff fears: I had severe C.diff in 2010. Since then I have had to take antibiotics four times and had no problems. I even took the antibiotic that gave me C.diff the first time! Can you eat yogurt? The active cultures will help with the diarrhea.

Sorry for the long rambling post...feel better soon!

Just an update...I'm dramatically better today. I think the extra antibiotic shot of Rocephin did the trick. Thanks everyone for your support!

And this is me today....after our last vet visit, we've decided to start stepping up the kitties' (nonexistent) oral hygiene routine. After last night's nail trimming we started Maxiguard gel, and I had the bright idea of using my finger to put it in boy cat's mouth... (in all fairness, the directions suggest this too). Yeah. Of course he panicked and chomped down, of course my finger bled, and of course, it's swollen and red and I can barely bend my first knuckle (and, of course, I'm due for my Humira shot tomorrow).
Planning on popping over to Urgent Care for some antibiotics after a meeting this afternoon.
Ugh. Why does Crohn's + meds make everything so complicated?
I guess I'm lucky it's the first time I've needed medical care since moving...but I don't have a local GI (and my former GI just retired), and I haven't had a primary care physician in years (graduate student= ever-changing student health center staff).
Boy cat is his usual sweet snuggly self, and all of his shots are up-to-date (although, he is due for his rabies vaccine this month). Please tell me I don't have to worry about someone quarantining my indoor-only cat because I was an idiot and didn't think to use a Q-tip on his teeth?

Hi PV....this is a very old post....I'm not sure how it re-circulated. My cat died over the winter at age 15. So I guess I don't need to worry about cat bites any more, but I do miss the old guy.

Starryeyed girl,
I think when it's your own cat and he bit you, you won't need to have him quarantined. The Rocephin helped the cat bite, which got really bad, but then I developed massive D a few days later and needed Flagyl to counter-act the Rocephin shot.....Crohn's + Cat bites don't mix well. You absolutely should have your finger looked at and get antibiotics because you can get a bad cellulitis infection quite quickly. Let us know how you do!

gumby, I think it's my fault. I resurrected your old thread on cat bites rather than starting another one. (I feel like there's conflicting advice on when to start new threads vs just looking at the old ones). Sorry! And I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your kitty-I can't imagine life without my little rascals.
It's a nasty infection already- I was having a hard time writing to fill out the forms at urgent care, and my arm is now tingling all the way up to my shoulder.
I did make it to urgent care...the doc there prescribed both Augmentin and a Z-pack after looking at the bite site and being told about the Humira (and I'm supposed to come back tomorrow for a re-check). I raced over to the pharmacy, and had them filled and just took the first dose of both (also grabbed some probiotic capsules so I hopefully manage not to completely screw up my intestinal flora). Will call the nurse about the Humira dose....

starreyedgyrl,
I'm sorry to hear about your bite. Mine got bad pretty fast too. Augmentin is a killer for me....very nasty D. If you start getting bad D, call your GI right away. You don't want to end out with c.difficile. My doc started Flagyl as soon as I started to get bad D....we didn't even wait to get a stool sample to confirm it, with my past history. That helped a great deal. I think Florastor probiiotics are supposed to be the best to prevent c.diff, but I took it and it wan't enough to help. I hope your cat bite clears quickly. I originally took oral doxycycline and it didn't help but the shot of Rocephin cleared up the infection. I'll watch for your posts, and I hope you feel better soon.

PV and Starrey....My cat was old and getting senile and difficult. He died really fast...he was on my lap and purring one minute and then let out a yelp, jumped off the bed and was dead within about two minutes. I think he had a heart attack or brain aneurism or something. It was his time to go, and he didn't suffer, so I was grateful for that. Currently, I have a dog whose health is failing, and I'm finding that much more heartbreaking. Thanks to both of you for your good wishes. PV how are things with you??