Three year study finds complications are common
Nearly one in three people who sought medical attention after being bitten on the hand by a cat, needed hospital treatment, a three year study in America has found.
Researchers from the Mayo Medical School in Minnesota, looked at 193 bite cases between between 2009 and 2011.
Of those 30 per cent ended up in hospital with the average length of stay just over three days.
The study found that 67 per cent of those admitted to hospital underwent irrigation and debridement.
Eight of the patients required more than one operation.
"Complications were common among these patients," said lead author Brian Carlsen in the study, published this month in The Journal of Hand Surgery.
The research team said sharp teeth on cats meant bites often penetrated soft tissue and resulted in bacteria in tendons sheaths, joints and bone.
They said treatment could often involve prolonged use of antibiotics as well as multiple operations.
The paper added that two patients who had their wounds closed and were treated with antibiotics, returned a day later with a worsening infection, and were subsequently hospitalised.
"We caution strongly against closure of any cat bite wound. An exception is after incision and drainage with debridement when deeper structures are exposed, such as tendon, bone joint, or neuromuscular structures."
Read the study in full here.
The BSAVA has opened submissions for the BSAVA Clinical Research Abstracts 2026.
