Would You Still Love Your Pet?

tHIS IS AWFUL, MAGGIE. I imagine minnie would be having a hard time sitting down if she belonged to me. I would not want an animal like that around me.

well, you know me, Nino sent me to the ER twice and Mitten chewed my finger a couple of years ago. Of course, the first ER visit with Nino wouldn't have happened IF either YOU or the roomie had been home at the time, but YOU were in the hospital and the roomie was at work! It wasn't that bad a scratch, but he tore the cartilage in ear and it was bleeding every where and I can't see the side/back of my head and treat myself at the same time... And I worked 11 hours to "bail" Mitten out of the pound after she chewed my finger only to lose her 6 months later. And I would do it again too! I currently host a few scratches on my hand from making my bed Friday night with Rygel's help, little darling... I honestly think my worst cat injuries have been from the tame cats, Mitten was the only feral to ever hurt me and I MORE than deserved being chewed by her!

We have a cat, Pretty boy, although my husband calls him "dufus", one day my husband was petting him and he just turned an bit my husband's hand. The hand became infected and swelled and he even had to have xrays, antibiotic shots and pills to take! WE never punished the cat, have no idea really why he bit, can only think that it was 'static electricity' that it gave the cat a 'shock' and he didn't like it. My husband, to this day will have nothing to do with the cat, although he is still in the house. One day the cat was laying in our patio door hissing and growling at the cats out doors (brave cat! If he had been outside he would have ran away!). I should have known better but just wasn't thinking and I went to push him out of the way with my foot so I could go outside, he turned on me, clawed my foot and bit me! WOW did that hurt! He did bite deep, I had a dr appointment and showed the Dr. my foot because it was swollen and still hurt. I also had to take antibiotic pills for it. I know it was my fault for touching him when he was so upset, but as I said I just wasn't thinking. No he wasn't punished and yes he is STILL in the house.

I have been scatched by our dogs but only because I seperated tham from fighing I thoughtit was there blood al over the front room turned out to be mine!

Maggiepie, I can't judge the cat on this one. You said this has happened before and yet you still reached out and touched the cat knowing she was asleep. Sorry Maggiepie but seriously, you should have learned. Nope, I would not hold it against the cat. We can not be held accountable for what we do in our sleep and especially in the midst of a bad dream. I hope you feel better real soon and that you have learned your lessen about messing with Minnie.

A few years ago, I was bitten by a neighbor's car with whom we were catsitting. He was lying on top of a file cabinet, and I had been petting h im. For some unknown reason, he decided that he had enough petting and sank his teeth into my hand. I took the procedures, soap and water and a bandaid with Neosporin on it, but the next day, my hand was swollen. I went to the ER and was given antibiotics, and the cat had to be quarantined. We are still friends with those neighbors and have taken care of their cats several more times after that incident. However, I stay on alert whenever Duke (the cat who bit me) is around, or rather when I'm around him. Our own cat has gotten into a biting mood recently, and I usually can't figure out why. He has brought blood several times. At our age, our skin is thin. So far, he has only just broken the skin. He is healthy and well fed. Guess that biting is the only way he can show his displeasure. I so wish he could talk.

Hi Maggie, I really hope that your Hand is getting better Gissi has bitten me a couple of times when I first got him, and I mean really hard, once in the Face and the other in my arm The reason being is I made some movement while he was on me that scared him badly (it does not any more) People asked why am I keeping him? Well the answer was...........if you where badly mistreated, then someone gives you a loving home, you are still scared though and then they make a move that scares you badly would you try to defend yourself? Gissi was not a vicious Dog, he was a very scared Dog, now he loves and trusts he knows that I will not ever let anyone hurt him So yes, I did and do love the little Fellow and forgave him as it was fear that made him do what he did Ok I have a small scar above my Lip where he got me that time but hey you can hardly see it

My Princess is a biter, much more than a lover. She is beautiful, she sleeps nicely on the foot of the bed, but she would be able to remove my hand at the wrist if she chose. She was a teeny stray of a few weeks old when I got her, and covered with fleas. The flea drops we put on her caused her to have seizures and I was washing a kitten at four in the morning. The vet kept her for observation for a few days, she is, as I said, healthy and beautiful, but she does not often want pet. When she does, you better count on being mauled by her sharp fangs and teeth. Yes, I still love her, but no, I do not just randomly pet her, especially bare handed. I do not punish her. I feel that she may have had some neurological damage.

Ouch. Cat bites can be nasty. I've been pretty lucky. Tiger drew a little blood last week when I was trying to pill him, but other than that I've done pretty well. About 10 years ago, our cat Tiger bit Richard pretty good. It really wasn't his fault though. A friend had come over and brought her dogs, the cat freaked and ran right out through the screen door. We got the dogs confined, and when R went outside and saw the cat. His hand was in front of Tiger, Tiger was still freaked out, saw the movement and bit. I went out, not knowing that Richard had already been there, scruffed the cat and tossed him in the bedroom. No harm, no foul, I thought. Took Richard's hand a year to heal.

I actually have six dogs and two cats and i can't say that any of them have ever hurt me. I suppose I am just lucky I guess but I have never had them be upset with me or bite me at all. Then again I did have them all since they were very little so I guess that helps them think that I am their mama and they are trained a bit. I think though that any animal if in a deep sleep and awoken by petting would just be so lost in sleep it would jump out. Of course it is natural for you to ban her from the desk that way it won't happen again because even though she doesn't mean it it really hurts I'm sure.

Doing cat rescue, of course, I have had my share of injuries but your story brought to mind a time when my sister's cat bit clean through my thumbnail, which was perhaps the worst injury I've ever sustained at the hands of a pet. My sister's Aspberger's affects the pets she has adversely. At some level pets are very empathic and pick up on the personalities of their owners. They do have their own personalities, of course, which dictates how this empathy is made manifest. Well, this particular cat of my sister's was perhaps wilder than any other in my household at the time. This was back when I was married and my sister was living with us. She kept her cat separated from the rest of the household, locked up in her room, letting him outside at night. Well, the occasion was nighttime and my sister was out somewhere so the job of putting her cat out fell to me. I chased him around her room a few times before catching him. As soon as I caught him, he sank his teeth into my thumb and. believe me, that was one bite that took forever to heal! He caught me right at the quick of the nail...where the pink part turns white under the nail...so it took forever for it to grow out. Of course, being as he was not my cat, the question of forgiving him was never presented to me...I just never dealt with him again. Still, I have had animals that have caused injury or just plain irritation that I have continued to work with and love. Since I don't know what your relationship is with your cat, I cannot judge. It all depends on the relationship. How much do you really love your kitty? That determines how much you are willing to forgive. I finally had to have my pekingese put down when he charged my baby intent on attacking her. He had a history of biting but only when you got in his face and he felt threatened but when he actually charged my 6 month old baby, I took all the factors into account and decided to put him down. He had cataracts, arthritis, hot spots and was 10 years old at the time. As a Peke, I could not find him another home as he was bonded to me and having that bond severed would have made him ill. So putting him down was as much for his sake as for my daughter's. I still love him to this day. With cats, we have to respect their space (personality). I have a cat who will not allow us to pet her unless she is under the blankets. Putting her under the blanket is tricky but when she asks for it, I will do it. I had a cat once who refused to get along with my other pets so I offered her to my boss at the time who had never owned a cat in her life. The boss' granddaughter was holding the cat when she spotted their rottweiler out the window. The cat could not get out of the girl's arms fast enough, scratching her face on the way. My boss freaked! Took the girl to the hospital for a cat scratch, for heaven's sake!!! Then she called me to take the cat back. This was a perfectly sweet kitty and the scratch was superficial. I can't count how many times our family cat scratched and bit me as a child growing up. It's no big deal. But some folks just can't handle the natural injuries that pet owners suffer just as par for the course. A few years ago my daughter came running home from the neighbor's after their dog bit her thigh...big bruise, broken skin, deep wound. The neighbor was freaking that I would press charges, make her put the dog down or something. Many people would. I, however, had grown up with animals. I know that a child sometimes fails to respect the animal's space which freaks the animal out and the only instinctual recourse the animal has is to attack. The way I handled the situation was to teach my daughter the proper way to approach a strange dog, even if the owner says it's okay. Eventually she became good friends with both the neighbor and her dog...once she got over the fear of being bit again. I'm glad that your cat has such an understanding and loving owner. I wish more folks would understand the animals that we call pets but then I guess not everyone is cut out to be a pet owner. Hugs and heal up quick!