feral cat bites

Question
i was bitten by a feral cat on Thursday night, i went to the doctor on Friday and was admitted into hospital for antibiotics until Sunday, i was then told by my doctor that i had to stay in another night, well i didn't want to so i signed myself out and the doctor came and told me if i left that the skin off my hand would probably start falling off and the muscles would get stiff and i would most probably lose full use in my right hand. is this true because im really worried that i may have made a mistake by leaving the hospital? he sent me home with some oral antibiotics and pain killers.

Answer
Sarah,

Wow, I have never heard of the skin falling off, however, cat bites can contain rabies and pastorella (a type of bacteria).  It really depends on how severe the bite is, whether you are allergic to cats, if the bite went deep into bone or muscle, etc as to whether you can have problems with your hand stemming from the bite.

I have seen people lose partial use of their hand after a severe cat bite. If the bite is sufficiently sever and very deep, people are often given anti-biotics IV.  The anti-biotics usually need to be kept up for a couple of weeks.  I would go to your normal doctor and continue care for the cat bite and see how prevalent rabies may be in your area.  If it is very rare, you are probably OK, if it is very prevalent, you may want to see about getting a rabies vaccine series (this is not as bad as it used to be).

I would certainly continue the anti-biotics and take the pain killers as needed.  It would also be wise to get a tetanus anti-toxin shot.  If the swelling does not go down, you may need a stronger anti-biotic or more aggressive anti-biotic therapy.  

I know the hospital doctor was somewhat alarmist, but cat bites are not to be trifled with.

I hope your hand heals up completely.  Please feel free to come back to me with follow ups.

Best regards... Norm.