Cat bite me when i tried to blow dry him...

[jamie anderson]

Okay let me start off by saying i am a complete idiot when it comes to cats. These are my first two i have ever owned and i've done a tun of research but i never thought blow drying him would cause him to lash out the way he did. He's a 2 year old male, he's a real sweet cat. I washed him and his brother and decided, since it was cold, to try and blow dry them a bit. The first one didn't *like* it, but more or less allowed me to dry him off a little. The other one, well.... he attacked me a good one. So now i have two questions...

1. He bite me on my hand by my knuckle, and it's hurting for worse than i think it should be... Infection can happen with 24-48 hours, i read. And the wounds are still oozing blood. And i'm concerned. I washed it out instantly after he bite me, and put peroxide on it. After hours later of it hurting still, i got a bit concerned and, well, obviously my research as made me a little scared. He is raw fed... should i be extra precaution now..?

2. Since the attack he's been REALLY mean, not just to me, but his brother, too. He's been growling and hiding under the bed. I've since given him food and he doesn't seem at all hurt... Normal cat behavior i assume? I'm a bit scared to pick him up after what just happened...

Note: I also had the hair dryer on LOW, i allowed him to smell it and i wasn't pinning him to the ground to make him sit there... He did try to walk away but i assumed he was just scared of the noise so i pushed him back towards me and that's when he bite me. Obviously partly my fault, i assumed the reaction would be that similar to a dog, and didn't expect him to attack me.

 

[Kieka]

Welcome to the wonderful world of cats. They are pretty direct in their displeasure and aren't afraid to fight back. 

In your case, I would say your cat probably had some other warning signs other than walking away. Usually they will give a low growl, hunch down, ears back and tail thumping or swishing depending on the personality. By cutting off the escape your cat felt he had no choice but to attack. I'd recommend looking into cat body language so you can get a little better at that aspect. 

As to the behavior change, he is upset. Not sure how recent this is but give him about a week and try to bribe him back with treats. He should return to normal once he gets past the upset of what happened (cats memories are typically thought to be about a week). While baths aren't out of the question you probably want to stick with closing him into a room with a heater going and letting him dry himself off. I usually will bundle mine into a towel (purrito!) and change towels a few times before letting them dry themselves just to avoid dripping. 

To yourself, time to visit the doctor. While a majority of cat caused injuries will heal on their own you seem to be experiencing continued swelling and pain at the injury site. Continued pain and swelling likely indicate that you should get some antibiotics just to be safe. Cat bites can turn nasty fairly quickly if left untreated so the sooner you see the doctor the better. Assuming you were healthy and with no major problems prior to the bite it isn't a, "OMG! OMG! OMG! Medic!" thing more like, "Shoot, I stepped on a nail and my tetanus was who knows how long ago". 

 

[surya]

I have had a cat bite that hurt really bad like you are describing and it healed fine on it's own, no doctor. So it's probably OK, but I'm not a doctor...I'm just saying it might be OK. The kitty will forgive you eventually. Watch when they start wagging their tail. That let's you know they are upset.

 

[Primula]

Can I ask why you bathed your cats? This is unpleasant for most cats, especially adult ones. Personally, I would never attempt to use a blow dryer on a cat. Their ears are very sensitive & I'm sure the sound is horrendous for them. When I've had to bathe a kitten for fleas I've always towel-dried them.

 

[DreamerRose]

He told you in no uncertain terms that he didn't like the blow dryer. Under most circumstances, it's not necessary to bathe cats, so if I were you, I wouldn't do that again. He will get over it and return to his friendly self, but it may take a while.

I don't think your bite will get infected. You disinfected it, and if it's still oozing blood, then it's still being cleansed. Nothing is getting in. If it is still painful 5-7 days from now and swells up, then go see the doctor. I'm not a doctor, either, just the mother of two boys with lots of experience with burns, cuts, and other boy stuff.

 

[posiepurrs]

First let me address drying him. If he had never been bathed and dried before I can understand him attacking. Cats do give warning signs before going into ninja mode. Eyes dilate, ears go back, growling, crouching, and tail swishing back and forth are all signs. You have to learn to look for these signs - don't blame your cat, he wasn't trying to be mean, he was just trying to protect himself from something he was terrified of. It takes time and consistency  for them to get used being bathed and dried. I start mine at 6 weeks because I show them, but you are working with an adult. First thing is to not bath him but just put the dryer where he can inspect it when he wants - don't turn it on, and just leave it out. After he is comfortable with it, turn it on for a short while with him in the room. Next pick it up, turn it on low, and point it at him while he is a safe distance away (for a very short time)  just keep doing this until you can stand next to him with the dryer pointed at him. This can be a long process, don't go to the next step until he is comfortable. Under NO circumstances do you try to restrain him in anyway. I have to tell you, some cats never get used to it.

Now the bite. Over the years I have been bitten numerous times (always my fault for not paying attention) and never had infections, But my husband got bitten  (entirely his fault) breaking up a fight between 2 stud cats who managed to get in together. He ended up at the ER twice, and because of the location of the bite has some permanent damage to his finger. I am currently writing an article about cat bites for Cat Talk magazine and realize just how lucky I have been. The Mayo clinic did a small study and found that almost a third of the people who come in for treatment of cat bites need to be hospitalized, and of that group 2/3s of them require surgery! WATCH the bite closely. A cat bite is a puncture wound. Bacteria isn't easy to flush out with washing. The teeth are very sharp, unlike dogs teeth and go deep. If the bite is on a joint, I would not wait to see if there is infection, it could cause damage. If you see signs of redness, swelling, still have pain, a red line going up your hand, pus or a fever - go to the ER.

A side note here. Depending on where you live you will likely have to prove your cat has been in vaccinated for rabies. He will most likely be quarantined - my cat was quarantined n my home when he bit my husband, but laws vary.

A cat is acting on instinct when something like this happens - they don't reason it out and think " HMMM I think I will get even with him by biting him.". They just know there is a terrible monster (the dryer) trying to get them and react to the threat.

 

[cocobutterfly]

Wow, he got a REAL good scare. You live and you learn... no one should ever put a blow dryer to a cat unless it's been proven consistently over time that they actually like it. I personally do not know of a single cat that likes blow dryers blowing anywhere near them. 

 

[daisyd]

The vet told us you do not have to bath cats as they clean themselves ! Is this true

 

[surya]

​Yes, this is true.

 

[basscat]

Every now and then you may have to bathe them.  (fleas, or they get into something nasty).    But, just towel them off.  The blow dryer is loud and scary to a cat.  If the bath wasn't bad enough, topping it off with a blow dryer would send any cat into defensive attic I'd think.

For the bite.  If he broke the skin pretty hard, you're probably fine with cleaning and band aids.
If the bite was DEEP, you kind of have to make that decision on your own.  Being new to this kind of stuff, you might should have a Dr. check it out.

The last deep bite I got was of the "bite variety" of no different than trying to be eaten.  (teeth buried to the bone and chewing).  I should have had it looked at, but, I didn't.  I bled A LOT and that's good.  And I had it under running water within a minute, and soap, and peroxide.
And STILL, it got swollen and looked bad for a month.  No red streaks or anything, but, it was bad.
If that ever happens again, I'll go to the ER.

Had one attack me and grab ahold of my arm with her teeth.  My arm was straight out to my side and she was clamped down and hanging by her teeth.
That was years ago, but, the wound was as bad as the one I described above.  Although, the "bite" wasn't.