Cat Scratch Treatment / When to Get Medical Care

Since 1999 I have been trapping feral, stray and abandoned cats for veterinarian care. During that entire time I did not get scratched. But on December 10th 2014 I was scratched with puncture wound to my hand by my own cat.  

I immediately cleaned the deep scratch wound with hydrogen peroxide and carefully removed the claw. I remember thinking that this is bad and will probably get infected. My six month old feral kitten was up to date with all of her vaccines but I was still worried about infection due to the deep puncture wound caused by the claw close to my fingers joint and tendon. Know that this area is great place for growing bacteria.

I took the cat scratch seriously and soaked my hand three times daily with Epsom salt and then cleaned the wound with hydrogen peroxide. Did not cover with bandage and hoped for the best. Within 7 days I had symptoms of infection and I did not ignore them. The area where the cat scratch occurred appeared red and swollen with pain and I had difficulty moving my hand. I went to urgent medical care.

Sure enough I had a cat bacteria infection in my joint and tendon. The physician told me to continue soaking my hand in hot Epsom bath three times a day and to keep hand elevated. He prescribed and antibiotic Amoxiclin and Clavulanate potassium tablets. Amoxiclin and clavulante is an antibiotic in the group of drugs called penicillin this medicine fights bacteria in the body.

I took the medication for five days and on the 6th day the pain and swelling had lessened. There was still redness with white blisters where infection resides. It took five additional days for my hand to heal.  I was happy because hand surgery was not be needed to remove bacteria from my hand.

Know that if you handle cats as a rescue, or if you socialize feral cats then any scratches that you get must be taken seriously, clean the scratch immediately and watch for infection. Since my hand infection I have made a point to wear heavy leather gloves. I keep the gloves in my pocket and put them on whenever I am handling cats.

Rescue Kitten Goes to Photo Shoot

I am not sure if it because the rescue kitten is used to me but she will not sit still long enough for me to get a photo for her adoption papers/flyer. Know that when you intend to pass out flyers of a cat or kitten that a darling photo is a must. Kittens with bows in their hair, sitting in a flower pot are so darling and will dug on the adopters heartstrings.  Try as I may this little rescue is a ball of energy and she does not want to sit still, she wants to play with her toys and my housecats.

Example of perfect photograph for cat adoption flyer

So I made an appointment with a pet groomer to bathe Purl, clip her claws and brush her so she is fluffy. Then I asked her to do a pet photo shoot. The appointment is on Monday and I will bring Purl in to the groomers in the morning along with her security stuffed cookie monster teething toy. Yes Purl has a stuffed toy that she sleeps with and bites. The toy will provide her with security if she is scared of the new surroundings.



We have had quite a few pet adopters that were interested in Purl but none were the right fit. Know that we do not adopt our rescue cats to anybody. Our cats are only placed when we know that it is the forever home. We do not want Purl to be put out of the house when she becomes an adult.  

We check to make sure that the apartment or rental home allows pets, know that so many people think they can have pets, sneak the cat in and not get caught. Then you have to find out about the other pets in the house.  I have had pending cat adopters tell me that they have four cats that do not need vaccines and are not spayed or neutered.   This is a red flag and no way is Purl going to that home.  

We have a list of questions that we ask and if people give us an attitude then the adoption process ends.   So far I have placed several cats in forever homes and you bet I have been lucky. 

Here is one of the flyers that I use, the information is on the backside.  Two photographs of cat are needed for this template.

Cat Adoption Template Flyer by Susang6
Create professional flyers on zazzle.com

I am certain we will find good people that will love this little Purl for the rest of her life.

Read the first post Found one Pound Bengal Maine Coon Kiiten

Feral Cat Photograph Calendar

Today the two neighbors that help my husband and I take care of the feral and stray cats asked me me to make them a calendar  Throughout the years these neighbors have been there to feed the cats, and to rescue. Both my husband and I  appreciate all that they have done.  So when they asked me to make a calendar from all of my photographs of the cats in our care know that I was happy to do this for them.

It took me awhile to pick out the photographs, to resize them so that they would fit on the calendar page.  I selected the template calendar at Zazzle because  the editor is easy to use.  This online calendar is a template.  Every photo in the calendar can be edited so if you want to add one of your own cat photos you can easily upload it to the template calendar.

Here is an image of the feral cat calendar

The photos are of feral of feral or stray cats. these cats are wild and cannot be socialized so they were trapped, vaccinated and sterilized.  The cats reside in thicket dens and small crevices in the rocks that are located in a dense woods of 25 acres.

Over the years I have taken many photographs, however, my favorite photographs make up this  calendar.