Cats bite for various reasons: from overstimulation to display of affection. The cats may be teething if they’re babies. They may also be depressed, terrified, furious or unwell.
Cat biting incidences are common among experienced cat parents. If you’re new to this, it’s good to be aware that your four-legged furry friend can, sometimes, give you a soft bite.
Because the bacterial flora in a cat’s mouth includes some undesirable anaerobic bacteria, the cat bite can be severe and infectious at times. Furthermore, cats’ tooth structure can cause a sharp and deep bite, resulting in the injection of an aggressive virus into human tissues.
The premolar and molar teeth of a cat, designed for cutting and crushing, can cause tissue injury, causing pain and infection.
After considering the bite’s depth, the feline’s vaccination status speaks volumes about the risk of rabies transmission.
If a cat bites you and breaks your skin, cleanse the wound immediately. Any swelling, discomfort, or redness that spreads should be investigated.
What Makes Cats Bite?
Have you ever been puzzled why your affectionate feline will turn around and bite you merely for caressing it?
Some writers classify this as petting-induced aggressiveness in cats. When a cat is highly excited, it is often due to overstimulation.
On the other hand, cats don’t have a lot of ways to communicate with us that we can understand. Other body language clues, such as a swishing tail or ears laid back, could have been used by the biting cat to warn us away. Cats bite when we ignore those signs.
Cats bite for various reasons, and the age of the cat might help determine the reason for the bite.
• It could be a display of power or a reaction to a threat. Cat bit as a reaction could be the situation if a cat bites and then refuses to back down.
• Some cats bite humans or other animals to halt undesired actions or behaviors, primarily if this has worked in the past. They may have learned that biting while having their nails clipped is an effective tool if they previously bit while having their nails trimmed and subsequently the nail trimming stopped.
• Some cats bite to communicate or get attention. They bite instead of meowing. Attention-seeking could happen if a cat nips you and then tries to lure you to an activity, such as playing with a toy.
• It’s typical for community cats to become terrified and bite if cornered.
• Cats may bite as a result of pain or discomfort.
Adult cats bite for various reasons, including fear, dominance, and attention. Kittens naturally nibble, chew, and paw things to explore their surroundings. While a kitten bite is adorable, an adult cat bite can be excruciating.
Allowing a cat of any age to bite as much as they like could result in many painful bites for the owner later on and an increased risk while encouraging your cat to do anything, from taking medication to seeing the clinic.
How to Stop Your Cat from Biting
It is critical to teach your cat from childhood that biting is not acceptable, even during play. It’s better not to encourage physical play with a kitten or adult cat that involves your hands or other body parts.
While you may not be able to stop your cat from biting in the future, you can attempt specific strategies. You’ll probably need to adjust your answer based on your cat’s age (older cat vs. kitten) and the reason for the bite (dominance assertion versus communication).
• Maintain a consistent response pattern and ensure that all family members and visitors adhere to the same rules.
• Never let your kitten or cat play with your fingers, toes, or hands. Releasing your body to cats is a dangerous habit of replacing toys for your body. Hands should not be used as toys by any cat.
• Provide a fun, interactive toy for the cat to bite. To keep your cat entertained, provide the cat with a range of toy objects.
Praise your cat for soft paws (claws removed). Make a noise and move your hand away to convey your disgust if the claws come out or the mouthing hurts.
• Develop a replacement behavior. If your cat gets enthusiastic and attacks your feet when you walk into a room, teach the cat to sit and treat the cat for it.
• Physical punishment serves to agitate cats, making them more ready to fight back and defend themselves or indulge in rough play.
How to Avoid Getting Bitten by a Cat
Allow your cat to exit petting sessions whenever possible, and do not constrain it.
Because kittens are born with the instinct to attack, provide them with toys or balls to engage them.
Don’t pet a stray cat; however nice it appears, the risk attached is much, so it is not a good idea.
If you’re attempting to resurrect a cat, put on heavy gloves and have it inspected by a certified veterinarian.
How Long Does Infection Take After a Cat Bite?
An infection from a cat bite may appear within a few hours, but some diseases, such as cat-scratch illness, might take up to 10 days to manifest symptoms.
Because cat saliva is likely to have touched human skin surface, especially when the bite is deep, rabies transmission is another infection risk from a cat bite.
It’s also worth noting that rabies is not a death sentence, as the disease is avoidable in humans if the vaccine is given after a bite but before symptoms develop.
Where the cat has been appropriately vaccinated and is primarily kept indoors, your fear of infection may be slight. The only infection risk is from an outside cat bite; whether other animals or humans, they’re more likely to infect them.
Symptoms of Cat Bite Infections
The following are some of the most common signs of a cat bite infection:
• pain.
• swelling.
• inflammation.
• skin discoloration or redness around the wound
• warmth.
• a blister, hump, or lump on the bite site
• the wound is bleeding pus or fluid.
What to Do After a Cat Bite?
• After cleansing a cat bite wound, it’s common to use a sterile bandage to avoid infection.
• Consult a medical professional if the bitten area becomes progressively painful or swollen, pus or any discharge (especially with a foul odor) coming from the wound, or if you develop a fever or swollen lymph nodes (glands).
• If your doctor is unavailable, administer antibiotic ointment (Neosporin, Bacitracin) three times a day for three days to the bite.
• Most abscesses should cure in five to seven days if treated properly. Cellulitis-related edema might take a long time to heal.
• Cat scratch disease is usually self-limiting and does not require antibiotic treatment.
• Antibiotics can be used to treat cat scratch disease. Azithromycin (Zithromax) or amoxicillin with clavulanate help shorten the duration of lymphadenopathy.
Regardless of cats’ harmful behavior, I still urge you to love your wonderful feline friend if you already have one; or help that homeless kitten, but please avoid those feline teeth.