[I_Like_Plants]

I have a place on the side of my face where a rambunctious half-grown cat once hung off of my face by a claw, yeah kitty plays rough! Anyway, it swelled way up, pus came out, it eventually calmed down and I always had a hole there and if I squeezed really hard, could get some sebum out. Well, a few months ago, a cyst formed right next to the hole, but not in communication with the hole, and then recently the stuff "discovered" the way out and I got to squeeze out lots of gunk. It will always be there though, some's still in there, it's calmed down for now but ...

Cats. Feh.

{Split from Tooth extracted thread -Falconoffury}

[cynthia]

The cat bite story I withheld until I heard from Shannymara that she was on the mend is one that involved a cat and her longtime owner.
Said owner/friend petted her elderly cat near the tail end, wherein the cat expressed her displeasure by biting her owner on the hand. Specifically on her little finger where blood flow is not so generous.
Within twelve hours my friend was scheduled for surgery to clean out the painfully swelling wound. An overnight hospital stay and several thousand dollars later my friend recovered but never regained full use of her digit (the incision no doubt crossed once functioning tendons).
I thought she should put the cat down but she wouldn't.
A couple of years later she wept over the day she finally had to put the cat down because of kidney failure. Then she wept further because she learned she could have been hydrating the cat to prolong its life.
I thought if a bad back scratch sent that cat over the top what would home hydration provoke?
Sheesh!
Can't blame you for your efforts Shannymara but you did the right thing in taking care of yourself in the end. Happy ending there.
I love cats and always plan to keep one around as long as it doesn't pee in the house or eat birds, or bite.
Our 14 yo Sophia is a bit cranky and while petting her I watch her body language, wary at the possibility she could bite at any time. We keep her around because of her love of mice and she does give a good snuggle.
Again, thank goodness for your recovery. Antibiotics are helpful when applied appropriately and I'm guessing you know what to do to restore your flora and fauna once the course is over.
With highest regards and thanks for sharing,
cynthia

[max_power29]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', '
')As for feral cats, why mess with them at all? Let em eat the mice and mind their own business and I'll mind mine.

[smallpoxgirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('max_power29', 'T')hey will eat a lot more than mice. They will clear a very large area of game in a very short time.

[threadbear]

Shannymara--If you're lucky, you may have picked up toxoplasmosis. Check out these suspected "symptoms" I should be so lucky!

Wikipedia:

"Women carriers are suggested to be more outgoing, friendly, more promiscuous, and are considered more attractive to men compared with non-infected controls"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxoplasmosis

[I_Like_Plants]

Friendly snakes will keep rats and mice down, so will storing grain and things responsibly, so will traps.

And you can eat those little buggers - better stay away from the deer mice though.

Humans and rats/mice got along fine until graneries came along.

Oh, little yappy dogs can be good ratters/mousers too. Easier to feed than a Rottweiler, they can be good little alarm systems. Most today I think are inbred but I've seen a few that are very smart.

[BlisteredWhippet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('threadbear', '
')http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxoplasmosis

[smallpoxgirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BlisteredWhippet', 'M')eowch! I am only going to say that if I were bitten, it would provoke me to take the step of testing for T. gondii antibodies. If you do have this done, let us know what your experience was like.

BTW I was bitten by a cat on the hand at a very young age, so its possible I too am a drooling cat-man zombie. Although I am not so
stupid and dim-witted as the male symptoms would suggest.

[BlisteredWhippet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', 'T')oxo is generally not acquired from cat bites but from contact with cat poop. (Think litter box duty.)

[gampy]

I think I can agree with SPG that toxoplasmosis is generally found in cat litter, and sandboxes. Mothers take note: don't let your kiddies play in the sandbox in the local park.

Speaking of catbites, here is my horror story.

A local neighbourhood tom had been harassing my cat and others for some time. After hearing a ruckus at my front door, I see this savage beast is fighting with my cat. I prodeed to give it a swift kick, and it bites me on the back of the calf. My cat had a puncture wound in it's side as well.

Two days later, we both have to go to the hospital for IV antibiotics, and wound cutting, and cleansing. I was lucky...I just had a nasty hole in my leg, and a good size bandage. My cat had to have surgery and drains installed in the wound. Poor guy. I hope that cat got his come uppance from some other cat.

Surprisingly, human bites are just as nasty. People's mouth's are pretty rotten.

But not as bad as the Kimodo Dragon. This is how they kill their prey: Bite them, and follow around until the game dies of infection.

[max_power29]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('max_power29', 'T')hey will eat a lot more than mice. They will clear a very large area of game in a very short time.

[threadbear]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('gampy', 'I') think I can agree with SPG that toxoplasmosis is generally found in cat litter, and sandboxes. Mothers take note: don't let your kiddies play in the sandbox in the local park.

Speaking of catbites, here is my horror story.


Surprisingly, human bites are just as nasty. People's mouth's are pretty rotten.

But not as bad as the Kimodo Dragon. This is how they kill their prey: Bite them, and follow around until the game dies of infection.

[UncoveringTruths]

Feral cats have severly hurt the quail population around my homestead we used to have hundreds of them now we are lucky to see a mating pair every other day. I shoot every feral cat I see. The local city folk population thinks its a good idea to drive there kitties out to the country and drop them off at my driveway, when they are no longer considered cute, loveable, or concluded they are just a pain in the @ss pissing on the sofa and eating food off the counter.

I sure wish they would take them to the local animal shelter.

[smallpoxgirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('max_power29', 'Y')our mouser cats will also eat all the good stuff, like grouse, quails, pheasants etc.

[max_power29]

If you use peanut butter as bait on victor spring snapping mouse traps and remember their routes (they always use the same routes) you can clear an entire infestation in less than a day I'm talking one after another a minute after you set the trap again.

I've never had rats before, but they make the same traps only bigger for rats. Rats are probably a lot smarter.