stupid cat!! nbr *update

4littlebears

She just bit dd1's eye! Scratched her eyelid with her teeth, and her face. Thankfully it looks like dd1 closed her eye in time, so her actual eye is fine but I'm so mad! DD1 got a good talking to about not getting her face so close and leaving the cat alone when she doesn't want to be bothered but still.... Grr...

Update:

Thank you everyone for all the great advice and for caring so much. DD looks a LOT better this morning. The redness was all gone when she woke up, it just looks like a scratch now so we sent her to school! If it were a choice between the cat and dd, it wouldn't even be a choice. I'm not even that fond of our cat anymore (our kids are though!), I just didn't want to have to put dd through the rabies vaccines! She goes through enough sticks and pokes being a child with food allergies (and all the testing that goes along with that) I have an appointment to get our cat her shots this afternoon too. I won't let them lapse anymore in case this ever happens again.

kellimark

Yea my son had his first run in with the cat today. But in the cats defense my son was chasing her too much. Scratched his hand pretty good.
Hopefully your daughter is ok.

Bigboneded

Hopefully the lesson sticks about leaving the cat alone and not getting in her face! So glad she's not seriously hurt! Sorry for all that excitement.... :-(

4littlebears

Thanks ladies, I've been warning her for months to leave the cat alone. Maybe now it will sink in but I'm really thankful her actual eye wasn't hurt. That's the part that made me really upset. It could have been a really bad trip to the ER.

robsbabygirl08

Any concerns for Cat Scratch Fever? I got scratched really deeply one time and my dr made me get some shot. That was about 15-16 years ago so I cant remember exactly what it was.

4littlebears

I hope not. I called my dad and his wife, he's a doctor and she's a nurse. She's exclusively been an indoor cat, so I think the risk of weird infections is pretty low. Still, I washed the cut. Her eyelid is a bit swollen, but I'm hoping it will be better in the morning. Usually facial scratches heal pretty quickly.

BookitBoo

If the scratch starts to develop red streaking radiating out from the scratch she needs to go to the doctor ASAP.

It sucks when LO and pets are learning to cohabitat. I hope that it doesn't happen again, but if you're worried you can look into nail caps for kitty.

4littlebears

Thanks @BookitBoo, I will watch for that. She actually scratched dd's eyelid with her teeth! She doesn't even have front nails. 

BookitBoo

Sorry, I must have missed that. I would keep a very close eye on it Especially with it being bite.

My cat (also an indoor only cat) spazzed out an bit me on the hand last year. It got crazy swollen and I ended up going to the doctor, and she told me that cat bites can get bad pretty quicky. If I had waited another day, she said I would have needed to go to the hospital with an IV. I think she said the worst are hand and feet bites but I would be extra watchful. I'm don't want to scare you, just want to give you a heads up so you can keep an eye on it

4littlebears

@grumpycat88‌ that's my dd's problem too, she loves the cat too much.

@BookitBoo‌ I will watch it closely for sure, my dad was saying that too, that hand and feet bites are worse. Being her eye, it scares me though. I'll take her in if it gets any worse!

BackseatDriver

I hope that this lesson sticks and there aren't any more incidents. Cat scratches and bites can be bad, but moreso if it is a puncture. The wound can close on top sealing bacteria in causing a nasty infection. With scrapes and scratches you aren't as likely to have an issue like that. Still good to keep an eye on it. Hope it heals without any issues. Maybe the pedi will have recommendations for how to clean it?

4littlebears

Thanks @BackseatDriver‌, I'm giving it 1 more day to really see if it's healing on its own. If it doesn't look any better (or worse) I'm taking her in. I found out that if I take her to urgent care today, they have to report our cat to animal control. But then they may try to make me give dd a rabies shot. Anyone know if I can refuse that? There is absolutely 1,000% no way our cat has rabies. She isn't up to date, but she's strictly an indoor cat. Never been outside in 6 years, when she ran away but we gave her the rabies vaccine when she cake home and she was fine.

Eta: it's definitely a scratch, but it did draw blood

BackseatDriver

I would look up the protocol in your state. In some cases I think the animal might need to be quarantined and monitored for rabies symptoms for quite a while. Post expose rabies vaccines are no joke either. I believe you get a series of 8.

4littlebears

I don't know @Beckydewell‌, but I know she doesn't have it. It just isn't even possible. I'm hoping it looks better in the morning. The swelling has gone down more through the day, it's almost completely gone.

SheHulk723

Beckydewell said:

Can't they test the cat and figure out she doesn't have rabies? I'm sorry your daughter got hurt. I worry about DS and the pets constantly.

If I remember correctly, the only way to test for rabies is to cut open the brain, which requires the animal to be euthanized.  

Also, cats carry a ton of bacteria in their mouths, thus the higher rate of infection so definitely keep an eye on it.  And always always always keep up on rabies vaccines for your pets.  Not only is it probably legally required, but it's just not worth the risk.  Especially if the animal is around children.  There's always a risk.

4littlebears

Thanks @SheHulk723, I have an appointment to get her up to date on her shots this afternoon. I won't let her lapse again in case this ever happens again. DD's eye looks a lot better today.

SheHulk723

4littlebears said:

Thanks @SheHulk723, I have an appointment to get her up to date on her shots this afternoon. I won't let her lapse again in case this ever happens again. DD's eye looks a lot better today.

So glad she's doing better!  I was once bit by a puppy as a kid and I learned my lesson not to mess with them after they've had enough.  Good to hear everything is ok

4littlebears

Thanks @SheHulk723! DD seems to have learned, but I still see her putting her face in the cat's face. She really loves that cat. I will keep reminding her to let the cat come to her if she wants attention (which the cat loves the attention, just needs her space too).