Beware: a cat’s bite can be dangerous

I live in a wooded area by Lake Tapps within a stones throw of Auburn, and I thought this would be a concern to Auburnites and anyone who loves animals, particularly cats. There is a “neighborhood” cat that several neighbors feed, and one has taken the cat to get its shots. However, it is not licensed.

I live in a wooded area by Lake Tapps within a stones throw of Auburn, and I thought this would be a concern to Auburnites and anyone who loves animals, particularly cats.

There is a “neighborhood” cat that several neighbors feed, and one has taken the cat to get its shots. However, it is not licensed.

The cat recently ambled up my driveway as it often does, got to me and rubbed up against my legs several times and rolled over on its back, then back to its feet. I stroked the cat gently. On the last stroke, before I could react, the cat was on my forearm and hand like a mountain lion on a crippled deer, biting and scratching. I have 20 punctures and two bad bites.

I went to a medical clinic in Auburn and received a tetanus shot and antibiotic shot, and went home. The next morning I went in for a followup appointment, my hand had almost doubled in size from the swelling, and the doctor required me to go to the emergency room at Auburn Regional Medical Center and get IV antibiotics. Due to the raging infection, even after IV of antibiotics, I was admitted and spent four days in the hospital with a continued protocol of IV antibiotics. I am slowly healing.

I received a call from a friend in Oregon and explained the situation to him. He said I was very lucky. When I asked why, he shared that there is an individual in Bend, Ore., with bubonic plague from a cat bite.

Due to the severity of the infection that I contracted, cellulitis, often referred to as “blood poisoning,” the doctor at the medical clinic and my attending doctor at Auburn Regional recommended that I contact Pierce County Animal Control to report this incident. Animal control indicated that you are responsible for the cat bite, not the cat.

The lesson I want to share: Do not pet animals that are not your own. Also, for the safety of your children, you are responsible to make sure your children do not pet unknown animals.

– Gary W. Morris