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cyanraichu t1_jayqg24 wrote

Reply to comment by lyvanna in PsBattle: A cat with a helmet getting its claws trimmed. by ihaveabaguetteknife

Yeah you are (or you can). There's even a name for the resultant illness - cat scratch fever.

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lyvanna t1_jazv4s5 wrote

I would really hesitate to call cat scratches puncture wounds. It can happen, I suppose, but in the vast majority of scratches the cat slices not punctures, and slices have a much bigger surface area that bleed much more readily and are rarely deep.

Cat scratch fever is a catch-all name used for feline bartonellosis and is caught by scratches as well, but you're more likely to get it from a bite. It's also a rare and usually mild issue with 500 hospitalizations a year in the US and around 12k registered cases.

Cat scratches are harmless beyond bleeding and maybe a scar in the vast majority of cases, cat bites are not.

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cyanraichu t1_jb0mpcp wrote

I'd argue the origin of the name points to scratches also being dangerous. Bites are definitely more dangerous but I'd say better safe than sorry in general. If my cat draws blood with her claws I put a bit of rubbing alcohol on it after washing, to be safe.

Definitely not trying to argue that bites aren't worse though!

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