# My Cat Bite Saga!



## Invicta (Feb 9, 2006)

I know I have only myself to blame but my cat bit me yesterday morning while I was trying to give him his medication.

What an absolute fiasco it turned out to be. Yesterday evening a dear friend who happens to be a nurse called in to see me. On learning that I had been bitten by a cat she said "You need antibiotics, they are the recognised treatment for animal bites, this in now the protocol". As my finger was becoming more swollen and painful I took her advice and rang the out of hours GP service at 18.10hrs. The following is the sequence of events:

18.10 Spoke to a receptionist. She asked me the usual details and made the very pleasant comment that I didn't sound as old as my age! She said a nurse would ring me back.

19.10 A woman who said she was a nurse did ring me and asked details about the time of the bite and the condition of my finger. On questioning from her I said that the cat had bitten me in the morning and my finger was now red, swollen, hot and quite painful. It became more and more obvious that she was asking me questions from a computer screen. She said she a doctor or a nurse practitioner would ring me after she had given them the details.

20.10 A man called Phil I think it was rang to tell me there was no doctor available to see me at the centre I was in contact with, (the nearest one to me) and said I should go to a community hospital some 10 miles away from me to see one. I said it didn't need to be seen, all I needed was a prescription. He then said "We have a doctor here who can write a prescription and I will get him to ring you".

21.05 A man who introduced himself as a doctor then rang and asked me what I wanted. I must admit I did have some difficulty in understanding what he was saying due to his pronunciation of the English language. I told him 'antibiotics' as I had sustained a cat bite and I understood that it was now protocol to routinely give antibiotics animal bites. He then asked me who had told me this and before I could answer a nurse, he said yes that is right. After asking me about my tetanus state and any allergies he said he would leave a prescription for me to be collected. I was to take the antibiotic for three days after which if I had any problems I should go to see my own GP.

I immediately went to collect the prescription from the male receptionist at the desk who I think may have been Phil and was told which pharmacies were open. I chose to go to go the one (Asda) that I was told would be closed at 22.00hrs as it was more convenient for me than the other one suggested. I arrived at 21.40 to find the pharmacy was shut although the store was still open. On questioning a member of staff I was informed that the pharmacy closed an hour earlier than the rest of the store on Saturday evenings in order to comply with the Sunday Trading hours. Whatever that means I don't know!

I then went to the other one (Boots) I had been told at the hospital was open till midnight. I duly presented the prescription only to be told they could only give me three tablets as they had no more until the delivery on Monday. The prescription was for Co- Amoxiclav. I was then advised not to commence the treatment till today due to the shortage of stock of the antibiotic. The prescription clearly stated 'Take one tablet three times a day'. I was told there would be a new supply in on Monday. If I had followed the advice given I would have been short of at least two doses by the time I had returned to collect the remainder of the prescription on Monday. I then said "give the prescription back to me and I will go back to the hospital and ask for guidance on this matter".

I duly returned to the hospital and told the receptionist behind the desk what had happened, the one who had previously told me which pharmacies were open. . He said he didn't think the doctor there who was writing prescriptions had a stock of medicines he could give out. I then asked "What about trying Minor Injuries?" This is situated next door to the out of hours GP service. He was somewhat hesitant to do so but eventually did take the prescription off with him and headed off in the direction of the Minor Injuries Unit.

Five minutes later he appeared with the Nurse Practitioner from the Minor Injuries Unit. What a relief, I was actually SEEING a nurse in the flesh. At last I felt, someone who will sort this situation out for me. I then saw he was holding a packet in his hand it was a supply of the antibiotic I had been trying to acquire for the past four and a half hours. He gave me the box and said that if I have another cat bite I should go straight to the MIU and not to a GP as Minor Injuries routinely treat animal bites!

I had contacted the GP Out of Hours service as there had been an article in the local paper only on Thursday about the misuse of the A & E and Minor Injuries departments in the local hospitals. The article told the public that they should use the Out of Hours GP Services whenever possible and not the hospital services.

After my experience last evening I am left wondering just what would have happened if I had been a persistence lacking patient with no knowledge and had taken the advice given to me at Boots, that was not to commence the treatment today, some 16 hours after the cat had bitten me.


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## jocie (Dec 24, 2006)

An excellent and informative post which should ideally be copied to the most senior member of your local health authority for a formal response, with a copy to your local newspaper perhaps!!


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Oh my goodness!

I think the NHS owes you a fortnight in the Bahamas for giving you such a stress inducing run around!!

This is my experience of a cat bite, sustained in the course of my work as a vet nurse some years ago.

11.10 am - cat bites hand (ungrateful little **** as I was only trying to save its life).

11.20 am - Clean hand - show vet. Vet reaches onto shelf and gives me five days worth of antibiotic cover.

Result - no infection - very little pain or stress.

DON'T TELL THE PC BRIGADE :lol: :lol: :lol: 

Pat


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## autostratus (May 9, 2005)

patp said:


> .....11.20 am - Clean hand - show vet. Vet reaches onto shelf and gives me five days worth of antibiotic cover.
> 
> Result - no infection - very little pain or stress.
> 
> ...


Left you purring with pleasure, no doubt.


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## zulurita (May 9, 2005)

Thank goodness you had your wits about you  

To start a course and then miss two doses before getting more is not the way to go about things.  To leave the infection until Monday is NO good either!!

As it was an injury (cat bite) I would go to MIU as they are good and quicker than a full blown A&E.

As a Sister in charge of a MIU unit in a former life, I know the importance of giving and taking antibiotics correctly. The advice given at the pharmacy is not very good!

MIU units generally are very good and the nursing staff trained to a high standard as they have to do the MIU course etc.

Hope the finger is on the mend.


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## Invicta (Feb 9, 2006)

My finger is on the mend thank goodness!

I have great faith in the local Minor Injuries Unit. With the greatest respect to them and I know they all have to learn, but I have always been relieved to see a Nurse Practitioner in MIU, especially the one that was there last evening, rather than an F1/2 doctor.

One of the side effects of antibiotics did stop me from going to church this morning as there is no loo there!

I do intent to send a copy of my experience to the PCT and the local press.


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## rowley (May 14, 2005)

Glad that you getting better.
Quote--One of the side effects of antibiotics did stop me from going to church this morning as there is no loo there!

Thank goodness our Church has a loo, I always need it, even without anti-biotics!


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## daddysgirl (May 31, 2008)

Invicta, - very trying times for you, 
given the circumstances, I hope you find this funny and not offensive,
laughter being the best medicine etc.......

*How to Give a Cat A Pill*

1. Pick up cat and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby.Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand As cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth. 
Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.

2.. Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa 
Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.

3. Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.

4. Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm, holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.

5.. Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call spouse from garden.

6. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws Ignore low growls emitted by cat.. Get spouse to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.

7 Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines and vases from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.

8. Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. 
Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw.

9. Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink 1 beer to take taste away. Apply Band-Aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap

10. Retrieve cat from neighbor's shed. Get another pill. Open another beer. Place cat in cupboard, and close door onto neck, to leave head showing. 
Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.

11. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on hinges. Drink beer. Fetch bottle of scotch. Pour shot, drink. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot.

Apply whiskey compress to cheek to disinfect. Toss back another shot.  Throw tee shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.

12. Call fire department to retrieve the damn cat from across the road. Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil wrap.

13. Tie the little *&#%^'s front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table, find heavy-duty pruning gloves from shed. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of filet steak. Be rough about it. Hold head vertically and pour 2 pints of water down throat to wash pill down.

14. Consume remainder of scotch. Get spouse to drive you to the emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pill remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to order new table.

15. Arrange for RSPCA to collect mutant cat from hell and call local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.

How To Give A Dog A Pill

1. Wrap it in bacon.

2. Toss it in the air.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery!!
XD


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## Invicta (Feb 9, 2006)

Trouble is XD, I am left handed so cannot follow your suggestion!


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## ChrisandJohn (Feb 3, 2008)

daddysgirl said:


> Invicta, - very trying times for you,
> given the circumstances, I hope you find this funny and not offensive,
> laughter being the best medicine etc.......
> 
> ...


 XD, I've come across this several times over the years and still laugh out loud each time.

Invicta, your saga sounds horrendous. Hope your finger is getting better and your cat is suitably repentant.

Chris


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## georgiemac (Oct 22, 2007)

It really nice to see that Nurse practitioners are valued (especially sometimes over F1/2 Doctors) We do not always get recognition from the public - very ofter people prefer to see a doctor - not knowing the training N.P's have to go through - my degree and masters took years to obtain and my prescribing course another 6 months. I run an MIU in the A/E dept. and do it with very little input from Dr's Hope your finger is better !!


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## MrsW (Feb 8, 2009)

If in doubt a phone call to NHS Direct should have been able to point you in the right direction and tell you which pharmacies were open. Out of hours I always give callers the phone number for the pharmacy within a store so the caller can ring and check opening hours rather than having a wasted journey.

Cats are just such ungrateful creatures! Whwn will they learn that you are medicating them for their own good!

I hope the finger is on the mend now! :lol:


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