Felis Punctatis: Cat Claw-induced Punctures

Abstract

Animal-induced conditions in humans predominantly present as infectious zoonoses. However, trauma-associated injuries from the teeth or claws can also occur. Several zoonotic infections can be transmitted by cats, a common household pet, to their owners. The clinical features of a woman who developed multiple sites of trauma-induced cutaneous punctures from her cat’s paws while it was kneading on her clothes-covered abdomen are described. The repetitive insertion and withdrawal of the sharp tips of the cat’s claws created distinctive groups of erythematous punctures on the patient’s skin. We suggest that Latin nomenclature be used to designate the name for this claw-induced dermatosis that includes not only the causative animal (felis for cat) but also a descriptive term for the skin lesions (punctatis for punctures): felis punctatis.

Rapidly Progressive Infection of Hand After a Cat Bite

“…Most patients with a cat scratch disease report a history of cat scratch or bite. Whether the cat is a mostly indoor or a mostly outdoor animal probably makes a difference in the likelihood of becoming a vector in the transmission of infectious organisms [9]. The transmission of Bartonella henselae to cats is vector mediated through the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis [10].…”

“…The initial treatment of choice for Bartonella henselae is beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitor combination, which stops bacterial growth by inhibiting the penicillin-binding proteins that are indispensable for the cross-linking process during cell wall biosynthesis. Therefore, antibiotic therapy with oral amoxicillin/clavulanic acid is considered the first-line treatment for animal bites [9]. Patients with penicillin allergy should be prescribed fluoroquinolones or trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole.…”

“…In this case, we performed only surgical debridement and necrectomy including antibiotic therapy, clinical-laboratory follow-up. In accordance with recommendations for treatment of thenar space infections, we performed the drainage via volar and dorsal incisions, then we identified neurovascular structures, and safely excised the walls of the wounds to open the abscess cavity and minimize the bacterial load [9]. We irrigated and debrided the wound and placed a catheter into the incisions, closed the wound and placed a compressive dressing and a plaster splint.…”