Bats!

There I was, sitting on the couch, minding my own business, working on the index for the forthcoming second edition of Bring Your Own Bandages.  Something dark swooped overhead.  Big fly, wasp, whatever.  I was too engrossed in my work to notice.  Then again, but this time lower and closer. 

A bat!

The Tuesday night freakout session was officially in full swing.  Bats are fine outdoors where they belong, eating insects all night long.  They have no business indoors, especially in my indoors.  I just about lost it, much to my chagrin.  I mean, it’s not like the bat could really harm me.  The worst that could happen would be having to get the series of rabies shots.  Actually, the worst part would be having to make the extra trips into town. 

And yet, there I was, crawling on the floor in an attempt to stay out of its flight path.  Aaron disappeared to get a jacket and other protective gear.  But at the moment, it felt like he just disappeared.  I turned off the interior lights, flicked on the porch lights, and opened the front door, hoping the bat would catch a clue and leave. But I was too rattled to stick around and make sure he departed.  Mistake.  And I high-tailed it to my bedroom, shut the door, and put a blanket on the floor at the gap to make sure the bat didn’t plan a slumber party in my bedroom. 

Aaron, now suitably covered up, wandered out to check the situation.  He saw nothing, closed the door, and went to bed. 

While I slept fairly well that night, I was in no way persuaded that the bat was gone.  I refused to leave my bedroom door open, which meant we couldn’t run the evaporative cooler and the house got quite warm.  While I was in the rest of the house, and especially the living room, I spent an inordinate amount of time scanning the ceiling and chimney (which has plenty of gaps between the stones for a bat to hide).

The online sources all indicate that if there was no physical contact with the bat, and that it wasn’t in a room with a sleeping person, there is no need for the rabies shots.  Dodged that bullet.

But just in case you’re wondering about the signs of rabies in bats:

• Active during the day
• Found in unusual places, like your home or on the ground
• Unable to fly or you can easily approach
• Made contact with you[1]

If you made contact with the bat:

• Any physical contact with a bat wins you a series of prophylactic vaccines.  Pray that you have insurance to cover the cost. 
• What if you don’t know if there was contact?
• If the bat was in any room where people were sleeping.
• If the bat was in any room with an infant or child too young to speak, or non communicative individual
• Those people also win the post-exposure prophylaxis vaccine prize.

If the bat is still inside your home, take the following measures:

• Keep the bat in sight.  (I really wish I had done this.  I wouldn’t be constantly scanning for bats on my ceiling.)
• Close interior doors to limit where it can fly.
• Open an exterior door or window if there was no chance of physical contact with the bat.
• If there was any chance of physical contact with the bat, try to capture it without making contact. 
• Wear long sleeves and long gloves. 
• Put it in a cardboard box and seal it.  Poke a couple of small holes for ventilation. 
• Take it to the health department for immediate testing. 
• A negative test will invalidate your prophylactic vaccine prize, but will also save you a lot of grief and money.
• If there was a bite or scratch (and basically, even if you think there was nothing, but you only felt the bat), wash the wound/scratch/location of the brush-by for a full 15 minutes with soap and water.  If you have benzalkonium chloride disinfectant (Bactine’s active ingredient is benzalkonium chloride), use that as well as it has some efficacy against rabies.
• Call the doctor or ER to begin treatment. 
• Begin post-exposure prophylaxis immediately—that same day.
• Find a rabies treatment clinic. (If society is functioning, this website may help:  https://www.saferabies.com/clinic-finder) 
• Report the animal if you can capture it.  (Not sure on the efficacy of this recommendation.  Are they going to give it a warning?)

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[1] Preventing rabies from bats, CDC, 1 July 2025, https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/prevention/bats.html (accessed 6 August 2026).

Concerned about CKD? Brush Your Teeth!

Well, it probably goes a little beyond that.

We already know that a one in ten ER visits involves dental issues.  Abscesses, wisdom teeth, rotted teeth, necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis.  Perhaps knocked out teeth.  With the exception of the latter, all are completely avoidable with proper dental care and hygiene. 

Fear of dentists, and thus refusing to address dental issues now when anesthetics and antibiotics are available—and most have insurance to cover the cost—is a ridiculous excuse.  The pain of correcting dental issues in TEOTWAWKI will be orders of magnitude worse, and you’ll quite possibly be paying in silver or gold to do it.  Get your teeth fixed and keep them fixed.  Remember, dental issues can be deadly.

Take care of your teeth!  Be prepared with toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental tools and other supplies, including temporary crown replacements and cement. 

And in case that wasn’t motivating enough, let’s turn our attention to new research revealing a link between oral hygiene and chronic kidney disease.

Periodontal disease and cavities have been shown to significantly contribute to chronic kidney disease (CKD).  How surprising is that!  Multiple clinical studies showed that oral disease severity increases in tandem with CKD progression and systemic inflammation.  Moreover, the studies show that it isn’t a one-way street.  CKD, including uremia-associated immune dysregulation and impaired tissue repair, exacerbates periodontal disease.  Oral health affects kidney health and vice-versa.[1]

However, in the real world, nephrologists and dentists don’t communicate.  Just like urologists and cardiologists don’t communicate.  Or when they do, they are usually arguing, insisting that their approach to disease management is the correct one, instead of recognizing that they must work together for the patient’s best interests to be met. 

That’s where we can make a difference, recognizing that our family members affected by chronic kidney disease or poor oral hygiene must address both conditions for better health or for delaying the progression of chronic conditions.   Periodontitis, this serious gum infection that damages the soft tissue and bone supporting the teeth, progresses from gingivitis.  It contributes to systemic inflammation and mortality in patients with CKD.  Maintaining oral hygiene, which includes brushing the teeth at least twice per day, reduces the incidence of diabetes and lowers the risk of cardiovascular events.[2]

The researchers also noted that CKD and periodontal disease are much more common in low- to middle-income countries where resources are scarce and health care and preventative care are limited.[3]  We’ll all be in the same situation when our world collapses.  However, we don’t have to be resource-poor with regard to our dental care.  Toothbrushes and floss are inexpensive now and will be incredibly valuable to preventing CKD and other diseases in the future.  Stock up.

 

Links to related posts:

Master Dental Shopping List

Trench Mouth 

Lose a Filling in TEOTWAWKI? 

Toothache in TEOTWAWKI 

Dealing with an Abscessed Tooth in TEOTWAWKI 

 

 

 

---

[1] Gudsoorkar, P., et al., Bridging systems: oral-kidney connections - pathophysiological links, clinical implications, and health system integration – a narrative review, BMC Nephrol 27, 201 (2026), https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12882-026-04843-y (accessed 27 May 2026).

[2] Gudsoorkar.

[3] Gudsoorkar.

The Medicinal Uses of Licorice

Disclaimer.  I am not a licensed health practitioner.  This is just another post on an item you might wish to have available if needed so that a physician can treat you and your family as best as possible.  No medication, including those available over the counter, should be taken without consulting a physician.  Information shared here is for educational and entertainment purposes only.  It is not medical advice nor a substitute for licensed medical care.  A qualified, licensed physician or other medical provider should be consulted before beginning any herbal or conventional treatment.

Here on the blog, I really like to focus on herbs that are sustainable, either plants that are easily raised at home or readily identified and located in the wild.  And while licorice can apparently be grown easily, it takes several years before harvesting it for medicine.  So in this case, we need to make an exception.  

Licorice is one powerful herb to add to the alternative medicine arsenal.  It can be grown at home.  (I haven't tried it yet--hopefully in the new house.)  But because it has so many unique properties and fills needs no other easily accessible herb can, it's one to have on hand.

Licorice is the best synergist when dealing with Gram-negative bacteria (Shigella, Salmonella, Enterobacter, Klebsiella, Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Cholera, etc.).[i]  Licorice works well with other herbs in treating these infections, as well as with conventional pharmaceuticals, especially when using penicillins, cephalosporins (Keflex), or fluoroquinolones (Cipro).[ii]  It is very rarely used alone and never for extended periods.

However, licorice is employed more for its antiviral properties.  Licorice is extremely effective against:

• Dengue
• Enterovirus 71
• Hepatitis A, B, C and more
• Influenza A
• Measles
• Polio
• RSV
• Rotavirus
• SARS-related coronavirus
• Tick-borne encephalitis
• Viral pneumonia
• West Nile
• Yellow fever[iii]

Unfortunately, there is very little information on dosing for treating any of these conditions.  As licorice is never used alone, but rather in conjunction with other herbs, presumably the licorice is used as long as the other herbs are being administered.

Time to harvest:  If you are growing your own or finding it in the wild, make sure the roots are at least 3-4 years old.  The roots have their greatest content of glycyrrhizin in August and September.  If you are purchasing licorice, Glycyrrhiza glabra is best.  Do not purchase deglycyrrhized licorice.  It won't work as an antiviral. 

Medicinal uses:  In addition to its antimicrobial uses, licorice is used to relieve a dry cough, canker sores, and sore throat.[iv]  This sweet herb helps heal the mucosa, especially intestinal mucosa, and is thus helpful when dealing with GERD, acid reflux, and peptic and duodenal ulcers.  Herbal practitioners also use licorice in treating adrenal fatigue, chronic fatigue, and rheumatoid arthritis.[v]

PREPARATIONS

Capsules or powder.  4 grams daily in three divided doses.[vi]

Tincture.  1:5 ratio of herb by weight to fluid by volume, with the fluid being half 100-proof alcohol and half water.  The recommended dosage is 10 drops up to 3 times per day, when combined with other herbs.  Licorice is best used in formulas, not alone.[vii]  Studies show that glycyrrhizin is extracted better in slightly acidic water, so add a tablespoon of vinegar to the water.  You can also purchase licorice tinctures online.  Keep in mind, especially with licorice, that a tincture is stronger than a tea.  It functions like a corticosteroid, and in large doses (or in people with high blood pressure or kidney problems) it can cause side effects of water retention and bloating.

Infusion.  Simmer 1/2 - 1 teaspoon powdered root in 8 ounces water uncovered, and then strain.  Drink up to 3 cups per day.  May be taken up to every two hours in acute conditions.[viii]

Contraindications.  Licorice is not for use in people with hypertension, anemia, hypokalemia, hypernatremia, or low testosterone levels.  Short term use, ten days or less, in these people is fine.[ix] 

Cautions.  Do not use alone.  Do not use for more than six weeks.  Do not use if taking estrogenic pharmaceuticals, glycosides, diuretics, spironolactone, amiloride, corticosteroids, hydrocortisone.[x]

References:

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[i] Stephen Buhner, Herbal Antivirals, 219.

[iii] Herbal Antivirals, 218.

[iv] Joseph Alton, The Survival Medicine Handbook, 83; Sam Coffman, The Herbal Medic, 246.

[v] Sam Coffman, The Herbal Medic, 246.

[vi] Herbal Antivirals, 211.

[vii] Herbal Antibiotics, 371.

[viii] Herbal Antivirals, 211.

[ix] Herbal Antivirals, 213.

[x] Ibid.

Improvised Chest Seal Options

Disclaimer.  I am not a licensed health practitioner.  This is just another post on knowledge and understanding you might wish to acquire in advance of a disaster in case no higher care is available.  As long as our society is functioning, you should leave anything more substantial than applying a Band-Aid to the professionals.  No medication, including those available over the counter, should be taken without consulting a physician.  Information shared here is for educational and entertainment purposes only.  It is not medical advice nor a substitute for licensed medical care. 

 

Chest seals are used for injuries that penetrate the lungs.  When this happens, air begins to rush into the pleural cavity (where the lungs are).  This prevents the lungs from fully expanding, and it diminishes the amount of oxygen getting into the lungs.

A chest seal is one of the most easily improvised items.  One of the best things about it is that it uses items you likely already have on hand, even in a small medical kit.

Why might you want to go this route instead of buying a chest seal?  Probably because it's highly unlikely you will ever need a chest seal.  They take up a bit of space in the medical kit, and you can easily make one using a plastic square (plastic wrap, a plastic bag, Tegaderm, or an exam glove) and tape (something really sticky, like Transpore or duct tape), all items that are already in a good medical kit.

To make a chest seal, tape the plastic square securely above the skin incision/wound on three sides only.  In this manner, it functions as a valve, allowing air to escape the pleural cavity without letting air back in, thus permitting the lung to re-inflate.[1]

Links to related posts:

Gloves and Masks

The Best Medical Tapes and Wraps

Medical Uses for Duct Tape

References:
[1]Joseph Alton, The Survival Medicine Handbook, 359.  

Pepper Jelly

As we go about our lives, we often don't realize how important the little things are in our food.  We start off stocking hundreds of pounds of grains and beans and such in our pantry because they truly are essential.  They're the basics that we have to have.  However, having some variety in our options is critical to staving off food fatigue and keeping morale up.  Condiments are one of those little things, but spend a few days eating nothing but beans, rice, and wheat, and you'll realize they're not so little anymore.

Longer-term solutions for mayonnaise and ketchup have been previously covered.  I should probably address mustard in the near future.  Today, we're going to discuss pepper jelly.

My Smith's store had several bags of discounted bell peppers and jalapenos were on sale, so I decided it was a good time to replenish the pepper jelly supply.  I made two batches of it yesterday afternoon. 

It's pretty versatile and very easy to make.  This particular recipe is a perfect substitute for the sweet and sour sauce served with egg rolls at Chinese restaurants.  (And yes, we're planning on egg rolls, too, post-collapse, just not very often because they are pretty labor-intensive.)  It's also great as one of the layers in a seven-layer dip.  And it's pretty tasty and festive when warmed and poured over a block of cream cheese and served with crackers.  

Most people make it with green peppers, but it is quite beautiful when made with red bell peppers and red jalapenos.  And then it really does look just like the sweet and sour sauce used for dipping in egg rolls. The latter are very hard to find in stores; you usually just have to grow your own.  Some people prefer to add a little food coloring.

Jalapeno Pepper Jelly
1 cup chopped, seeded bell peppers
1/4 cup chopped, seeded jalapeno peppers
4 cups sugar
1 cup cider vinegar
1 package liquid pectin

Combine the peppers, sugar, and vinegar in a large stainless steel saucepan.  Bring to a boil and boil for five minutes.  Let cool at room temperature for an hour.  Stir in the pectin.  Return to heat, and bring to a full, rolling boil for one minute.  Pour into four- or eight-ounce canning jars to within 1/2" of the top.  Wipe the rims and apply lids and bands.  Process in a water bath for 5-15 minutes, depending on altitude.  Remove from the canner and cool overnight.

Family reviews:  Basically, this is an essential in our food storage.  Everybody loves it--not alone, but for the afore-mentioned uses--egg rolls and seven-layer dip, as well as a dip for won tons.  Some people use it on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but that sounds a little sketchy to me. 

Links to related posts:
Ketchup
Mayonnaise

Store What You Eat comment that won't post

 (I'm posting on Michael's behalf.  He can't make it post on his end, and it's not working for me here, either.  I have to assume it's a Blogger issue, and I have no control over that.)

Hello Jennifer I've tried several times as Michael and anon to post this about basic survival foods to no avail.

Even went to today's message to publish to no avail.

Not quite I posted a larger version of the above comment.  Maybe I missed publish button?

Anyway, I don't suggest eating "edible weeds" and sprouting wheat for vit C as I have look alike weeds here that will give you gastric issues or poison you and the Vit C in sprouts would require by my memory of about 3-4 cups full eaten for min daily requirement of C.

Bottles of good quality multi-vitamins is CHEAP.  As in a small bag of sugar Cheap.  Bottles of Vit C are also CHEAP.

SNIP Scurvy symptoms result from severe vitamin C deficiency and include fatigue, bleeding gums, bruising, joint pain, and poor wound healing.

Not to mention poor immune system response IE we get sick easily.

Treatment is Vit C tablet daily for about a week to "cure Scurvy" and at least every three days to keep it at bay.

If you find scurvy symptoms I'd assume a need for multi-vitamin treatment also, same schedule.

Both schedules assume Adults and teens, adjust for children and babies.  Ground up multi and vit C mixed a scant 1/4 teaspoon into apple sauce would work pretty well with babies.

Potatoes and Cabbage are high vit C easily stored and easily grown foods. (kimchee-sauerkraut).

SALT is CHEAP.  Needed for many food storage techniques like Kimchee-Sauerkraut, dried-smoked meats and even egg storage.

Sugar is cheap and as you've mentioned Jennifer excellent for infected wounds treatments.  Rice and sweet beans make a very nice breakfast meal.

In fact, today I'm heading over to Walmart to fill a couple of 5 gallon pails with lids with some of the above.

 

(Now, my reply, since Blogger probably won't be functioning yet.   

 Cursory online searching indicated that the vitamin content of wheat grass varies considerably depending on the conditions as well as how long it is allowed to grow.  There is certainly enough to keep scurvy at bay.  It is far better to grow a garden, preserve the fruit, and maintain a diverse pantry.  Foraging weeds isn't my first choice for meeting nutritional needs.  If one is going that route, you better know what you're picking.  No worries about poisonous lookalikes out here.  

 

Yes, salt is cheap.  The amounts posted in the Store What You Eat article are the minimum.  Most families would be well served to store 4-5x the minimum for preserving foods.  Thank you, Michael.) 

Eating the Trash—A 19th Way to Use the Juice and Syrup from Canned Fruits

This is the first post I’ve written since school started earlier this week.  And even though I no longer have children in school, I like to keep with a school schedule.  I need summers off for the garden and for occasional holidays and family time together.  We welcomed another granddaughter two months ago.  We have a grandson due in two weeks, and another grandbaby due next month.  Happy times for me, and I might have to take a posting break as well, but I hope not.  Ellie and Cowboy live a few hours beyond the middle of nowhere, and she’ll need my help for a couple of weeks.  Their two-year old is a busy girl.  Ellie called me in a panic yesterday about how to help her.  Little Love decided to pop a jalapeno pepper from the garden into her mouth.  Ellie couldn’t even get her to calm down enough to put a bite of ice cream onto her tongue.  I think I will have my hands full. 

And as I consider the school schedule and the rigors of weekday posting, I’m beginning to look very fondly at a four-day school week, like what my county adopted a year ago.  Especially as I sit here with toothpicks propping my eyelids open.  I slept so well all summer long, but with the start of another year of blogging, I’m apparently back to not sleeping so well.  I hope it will be short-lived.  I actually really enjoy sleeping. 

I’ve got about a month’s worth of medical articles already in the queue, so it’s mainly food storage and recipe articles that I need to get working on.  I’d hoped to get a zucchini recipe tested for today, but no such luck.  I’m deep in the throes of a major overhaul of the Bring Your Own Bandages, 2^nd Edition, manuscript.  Reformatting about 5000 footnotes.  I think I’d prefer to have my fingernails pulled out. 

Enough about my summer.  I do actually have a good food storage recipe for you today. 

 

Chia Fruit Pudding

¼ cup fruit juice or syrup

1 tablespoon chia seeds*

 

Whisk the seeds into the juice and refrigerate overnight.  Or blend the seeds into the juice. (The original recipe claims that an immersion blender works well, but this was not my experience).  Serves 1.

*For eye appeal, match the color of the chia seeds to the color of the liquid.  Black chia seeds in peach syrup taste fabulous, but the result is very visually unappealing. 

Family reviews:  Aaron, Blueberry Girl, KOTPE, and I all thought it was really good—probably a tastier way of using up fruit juice than any of the other 18 ways covered in a previous post.  I used peach syrup from home-canned peaches (super divine all by itself) and black chia seeds.  The original recipe recommended white seeds for light-colored syrups and black seeds for dark syrups.  But I only had black, so that is what I used.  And the color was rather unappetizing.  But the taste was phenomenal.  I’ll probably buy a few more chia seeds just for this pudding.

Links to related posts:

Eighteen Ways to Use the Juice and Syrup from Canned Fruits

Store What You Eat; Eat What You Store—And Make Sure It’s Healthy

Store what you eat; eat what you store.  We’ve all seen that counsel frequently enough.  And it’s important.  There’s no point in storing food you won’t eat.  If you don’t like it now, you won’t like it later.  What isn’t often emphasized, however, is the caution to make sure it’s nutritious food.  Perhaps the implication is there, but I know the message isn’t getting through to everyone, including members of my own family.  Some of them are trying.  Only one has ditched white flour completely.  Unfortunately, when it comes to white flour, most take after their dad. 

So I thought it would be good today to review why the long-term food storage staples are the healthiest choice as far as disease prevention goes.  Here is the basic long-term food storage staple list. 

·       400 lbs whole grains

·       20 lbs dry milk 

·       60 lbs dry beans and legumes

·       60 lbs sugar

·       20 lbs oil

·       10 lbs salt

Discussions on how to store and use these items are provided in other articles on the blog.  I’m also not going to address sugar, oil, or salt here, because they don’t contribute all that much to disease prevention. 

The whole grains, milk, and beans/legumes naturally provide most of the vitamins and minerals we need to be healthy.  Whole grains can be sprouted to provide vitamin C and trace minerals.  Unfortunately, many people prefer processed and ultra-processed foods.  White flour.  Excess sugar.  Excess fat.  No beans. 

And that’s what I see a lot of people storing, refusing to store much in the way of whole grains and anything else healthy.  They’re planning on diets extremely low in fiber.  Remember, a diet centered on whole grains and high fiber is associated with a lower risk for chronic disease and digestive issues.  It’s best when the fiber comes from real food rather than supplements. 

Strong or emerging evidence indicate the following diseases and conditions affected by a whole-grain, high fiber diet include:

·       Cardiovascular

-      Atherosclerosis

-      Cardiovascular disease

-      Coronary artery disease

-      Hypertension

-      Peripheral artery disease

-      Stroke

-      Venous thromboembolism

-      Varicose veins[1]

·       Endocrine

-      High cholesterol

-      Type-2 diabetes

-      Metabolic syndrome

·       Gastrointestinal

-      Anal fistula

-      Appendicitis

-      Colorectal cancer

-      Constipation

-      Crohn’s

-      Diverticulitis

-      GERD

-      Hemorrhoids

-      Inflammatory bowel disease

-      Irritable bowel

-      Obesity

·       Hepatic

-      Gallstones

-      Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

·       Musculoskeletal

-      Hernia

·       Neurologic

-      Alzheimer’s

-      Dementia

·       Urogenital

-      Chronic kidney disease

-      Polycystic ovary syndrome

·       Other

-      Cancer

Endometrial

                  Colorectal

                  Pancreatic

                  Breast

 

Emerging evidence indicates that a high-fiber diet also supports healthier intestinal bacteria, which affects the immune system and inflammation, as well as anxiety and depression.  Research, however, is ongoing.

The poor white-flour devotees have fought the advantages of whole grains for a long time, and they’re fighting back again, hoping—praying that there is something of redeeming value in their white flour.

Fortunately, there is.  I’m not saying that there is no place for refined, low-fiber foods in our preparations.  There are conditions and illnesses, usually quite temporary, that call for low-fiber, easily digested foods:

·       Bowel obstruction

·       Crohn’s disease, during acute flares

·       Diverticulitis, during active inflammation

·       Gastroenteritis (stomach flu), refined, bland foods are easier to digest during recovery

·       Gastroparesis

·       Ulcerative colitis, during severe flares

 

If we’re going to be storing food anyway, doesn’t it make sense to store what will help us be healthy and prevent disease? 

 

Links to related posts:

Review of Long-Term Food Storage and Minimum Amounts 

Calories and Recommended Food Storage Amounts

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[1] https://www.ithriveveins.com/education/how-to-stop-varicose-vein-bleeding

More on Cat Bites. What’s the Big Deal?

We’re now closing in on eight years of writing this blog.  Back in 2018, I would have sworn on a stack of Bibles that I didn’t have more than a few months of topics to write on.  Because I didn’t. 

But topics appeared, things like dog and cat bites, which I dutifully covered, because those are relatively common occurrences and we should all be prepared to deal with them. 

Clearly, however, I did not cover it well enough.  And so through Blueberry Girl, God has given all of us the opportunity to learn a little more.  She hopes you appreciate her sacrifice.

So what’s the big deal with cat bites, anyway?  They’re not like snake bites, which I don’t care if it’s not venomous, it would freak me out.  They’re not like dog bites, which can totally maim and even kill.  Cat bites come from cats.  Kittens.  Furballs.  Probably pets.  Cute.  And no one wants to admit she (it’s usually women) was messing with the cat and provoked the bite.

Well, according to the CDC, 20-80% of reported cat bites become infected.[1]  (Yeah, I find their wide range a little puzzling, but it is the CDC.)  A Mayo Clinic study found that 30% of people, mostly middle-aged women, seeking medical attention for a cat bite required hospitalization.  Two-thirds of those needed surgery.  The average hospital stay?  Three days.[2]  So we can’t say the concern is overblown.[3]

Why are cat bites so problematic?  Cats have much sharper teeth than dogs.  Due to being so sharp and thin, their canine teeth easily penetrate deeply into the skin.  Even a shallow bite can seed bacteria in the joint and tendon sheaths, particularly on the back of the hand, which is where most cat bites actually occur.  The joints and tendons are poorly vascularized, meaning there isn’t a good blood supply.[4]   Which means the microbes reproduce much more easily.  In addition, because the cat bite often looks like a simple pinprick, many people don’t take them seriously until infection has set in, a critical mistake.[5]   Don’t be suckered. 

Signs and symptoms

What infections can your feline friend pass along?

Pasteurella multocida.[6]  These bacteria live in 70-90% of cats, so it’s the most common infection following a cat bite.  Signs of infection--including pain, swelling and tenderness--develop within a few hours.[7] [8]

Cat scratch disease (CSD), also known as cat scratch fever, manifests with swollen lymph nodes, a rash or skin bumps, fatigue, and muscle aches up to ten days after the bite or scratch.  Cats get the bacteria causing this disease from fleas before passing it to you.[9]

Campylobacteriosis from the feces of cats and other animals manifests with stomach cramps, fever, nausea, and diarrhea.[10]  [11]

Toxoplasmosis is of particular concern for pregnant women and is transmitted by contact with cat waste. 

Staphylococcus aureus.[12]

Streptococcus spp.[13]

Tetanus vaccine boosters are sometimes recommended after a cat bite.[14]

Treatment

First rinse the wound to flush out as many bacteria as possible, and then wash well with soap and water.  Stop bleeding with direct pressure.  Then apply antibiotic ointment and bandage.[15] [16]

Seek licensed medical attention within 8 hours to reduce the risk of infection.[17] [18]

Prophylaxis

Adults.  First line, Augmentin 875/125mg, every 12 hours, Alternative, clindamycin, 300 mg, 3x per day, PLUS Cipro, 500 mg, 2x per day.[19]

Children.  First line Augmentin, 45 mg/kg, every 12 hours.  Alternative, clindamycin, 10-25 mg/kg, divided, every 6-8 hours, PLUS Septra, 8-10 mg/kg, divided, every 12 hours. 

Pregnant patients allergic to penicillin:  clindamycin, 300 mg/3x per day, PLUS Septra, 160 mg of the trimethoprim component every 12 hours. 

Alternative:  Zithromax, 250-500 mg per day.

All regimens are taken for 3-7 days. 

Any cat bite that penetrates the skin should be allowed to heal by secondary intention—no stitches or other wound closure.[20]

The risk of infection rises for those with diabetes or who are immunocompromised.[21] [22]

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[1] Should you worry about a cat bite or scratch, Cleveland Clinic, 3 March 2025, https://health.clevelandclinic.org/cat-bites-scratches (accessed 18 July 2026).

[2] S.  Theimer, When cats bite, 1 in 3 patients bitten in hand hospitalized, infections common, MayoClinic.org, 5 February 2014, https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/when-cats-bite-1-in-3-patients-bitten-in-hand-hospitalized-infections-common/ (accessed 18 July 2026).

[3] Cleveland Clinic.

[4] Theimer.

[5] Theimer.

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