Cat was bitten by wild rat

lesserspottedchloe

Hi,

So my cat has just been bitten by a wild rat that he found and brought back to the garden. I tried to coax him inside away from it but he lurched at it when he saw me and killed it-it bit him on the snout in the process :mad: I'm a bit worried about possible infection and wondered should he go to the vet tomorrow or am I overreacting

SillyMangoX

With a rat bite it's better be safe than sorry, especially in such a sensitive areA. Be better getting him on a course of antibiotics to prevent an infection from setting in rather than waiting it out as it would be more severe. If he will let you, wash it out with lukewarm water with salt in it to help disinfect, but if it was me I would be bringing him to a vet in the morning!

Dodd

I would clean the wound and just keep an eye on it for a few days.

Cats do these things and sometimes we never even notice and they have no bother.

con___manx1

when a rat has wells disease its urine can be fatal to even humans. a friend of mine had a terrier years ago it always used to kill rats. sadly it got wells disease and died. i would bring the cat to the vet just to be safe.

lesserspottedchloe

Okay thanks guys, I'm half afraid to go near him for fear of Weil's disease but I'll be bringing him to the vet just incase ...He's a mostly indoor cat and a bit of a calamity so better to be safe than sorry!

Dodd

laylah wrote: »

Okay thanks guys, I'm half afraid to go near him for fear of Weil's disease but I'll be bringing him to the vet just incase ...He's a mostly indoor cat and a bit of a calamity so better to be safe than sorry!

You might want go give your doctor money to look at you as you have been near the cat after the fact.

That is if you want to be sure.............And have the money and time.

anniehoo

Weil's disease (Leptospirosis sp.) is actually the correct term for it and is passed through urine transmission normally, but the fact he's got bitten fullstop (normal bacterial infection) would be my concern before Weils/Lepto to be honest.

Vet and antibiotics TBH as any problems that will arise will be a bacterial infection from the bite rather than Lepto itself is my guess OP.

dodderangler

+1 on the Luke warm water an salt
I done this not so long ago while hunting rats with my ferrets
Two of my ferrets were scratched and bitten ( one actually ended up with black eye no joke) and straight away luke warm water and salt on the wounds with ear cleaning buds and for next few days twice a day cleaning and they were both brand new
It wasn't easy given ferrets bite when they feel like they are being attacked even by myself but job done and small jill had baby ferrets last week and she was who was really banged up after it
Your cat should be easier to treat. Wouldn't worry to much just treat it twice a day for next few days

MurdyWurdy

I would go to the vet, just to be on the safe side - our cat got an infection from a rat bite before (the bite was on his paw and we missed it until it got infected). They can be very nasty

Alun

+1 on going to the vet. An antibiotic shot should be your very first priority in this case.