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I was recently bit on my ring finger by my indoor house cat. Unbeknownst to me, people were messing with the poor guy all night during a party. I ended up being
by apotatopot 7y ago
I was recently bit on my ring finger by my indoor house cat. Unbeknownst to me, people were messing with the poor guy all night during a party. I ended up being near him when he freaked out and bit (I am glad it wasn't someone else). Had to go to urgent care and was almost sent to the hospital for an IV drip because my coffee made it seem like I had a fever when they took my oral temp.
The DR reported the bite to the state, who forced a home investigation and vet checks on me. Even though it's no longer infected, my finger/hand still hurts and I expect it to for a long time. The whole thing cost me time away from work, prescriptions/medical stuff, and the cat's vet exam. 10/10 will never own a cat again, especially if I had kids in the house.
- vidanay 7y agoMaybe don't let assholes fuck with your cat? On second thought, you never owning a cat again is probably the best choice.
- Tehchops 7y ago>On second thought, you never owning a cat again is probably the best choice. The net take away for me as well. From OP: >Unbeknownst to me, people were messing with the poor guy all night during a party Doesn't say a whole lot of positives if OP is freely acquainted with people who willingly hurt/disturb animals. I own multiple cats. Have a child. We foster additional cats as well. I've never seen anyone hurt by a domesticated cat(non-feral) that didn't have it coming.
- phowon 7y agoMy roommate has a cat who mostly hangs out in the living room. I never had pets growing up, so I never interact with it. Every so often, when I'm walking past it to get around the apartment, it swipes at/scratches me, even drawing blood at times. Did I also have it coming?
- carapace 7y agoThe first time, no. The following times, yes. The cat is making it clear that you are not respecting its personal space. (It can't talk, yeah?) If you never interact with it, it has no idea whether or not you're cool.
- chipperyman573 7y agoWhat's GP supposed to do, never walk around the apartment? Avoid the living room entirely?
- vict00ms 7y agoI personally wouldn't say you "had it coming" or "deserved it", but there is an extremely high likelihood that a person attuned to cat behavior observing your interactions with this particular cat would not being surprised by the reaction.
- lovehashbrowns 7y agoNo, you don't. That's on your roommate.
- jbarberu 7y agoYou might want to try to interact more with the cat, ask your room-mate what the favorite toy is. That's the best way to form a bond with any cat. It may be trying to assert dominance over you.
- 08-15 7y agoMight be your roommate plays rough with the cat and it thinks all humans like being swiped at. Some cat owners are surprisingly incompetent...
- apotatopot 7y agoThis is my situation. Cats have different personalities and some don't like to be touched, some like to hunt more than others. Those aren't factors that need to be fixed or are the result of us as owners. My cat doesn't like to be touched, but likes to sit near people when they come over. When I say "messing with my cat" I meant they were just trying to pet him all night, but that appears to have been interpreted as "tormenting" him by judgy assholes on this site. You can buy all the toys, trees, and catnip you want, but sometimes cats just behave in a way we don't prefer as pet owners. Doesn't mean you or your roommate are at fault like others are saying.
- apotatopot 7y ago1. cats have different personalities, just like people. 2. anecdotal evidence of "I have blah blah..." doesn't mean anything. 3. We have cut off those people. Fuck off with being so judgemental. You don't know anything about the situation and should be less of an asshole to strangers online.
- apotatopot 7y agoAnd that's been fixed, so maybe don't assume. No need to be an asshole to strangers when you don't know anything about them but a few words.
- dang 7y agoPersonal attacks will get you banned here, regardless of how wrong someone else is, or you feel they are, about cats. Please review https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and don't post like this to HN in the future,
- notfromhere 7y agoDogs would do the same thing
- Ace17 7y agoI suggest you google for "cat bites vs dog bites".
- arethuza 7y agoHaving been hospitalised following a bite from one of our cats (caused by a dog scaring him witless) I hadn't realised how dangerous their bites are - I now know that if you get a proper deep bite from a cat get medical attention.
- spiralx 7y agoCat bites are the strongest of any animal in terms of PSI because their teeth are so sharp, and they're ambush predators that kill with a single bite. I would totally go to hospital after a full-on bite from our cat.
- apotatopot 7y agoJust in case, because of my experience, the cat bite doesn't have to be powerful/severe or deep to require medical attention. Mine was on my finger and quit bleeding after I washed it, but now I know I should've gone to urgent care pretty much right away. I've read a ton of stories lately about folks who barely bled/hurt and ended up requiring surgery.
- fenwick67 7y agoexcept the dog would have had the potential to maul and kill you
- apotatopot 7y agoI've learned from my recent experience that dog maulings is why states take animal bites so seriously. My cat bit me, requiring medical attention (due to infection, the bite wasn't bad at all), cat may have rabies, may be an outdoor cat (mine isn't), and may bite a dog that would potentially maul someone. The problem with cat bites is that people don't know how they can cause sepsis and kill you within a few days, despite appearing relatively minor. If their teeth penetrates ligament lining, it can totally destroy it, etc. My doctor told me they'll clean dog bite and send you on your way, but a cat bite they may hospitalize you for days for monitoring, antibiotics, etc. expecting a wide variety of dangerous ailments.
- nkrisc 7y agoBut 10/10 would still party with people who torment animals?
- apotatopot 7y agoNo, absolutely not. man, i really don't get why people are tearing me apart here when none of you know anything about me or my cat. You all sound like a bunch of assholes.