Cat bite cellulitis treatment: what to know

A cat tooth can create a narrow puncture that closes at the surface while bacteria remain deeper in the tissue. Cellulitis may cause expanding redness, warmth, swelling, tenderness, or drainage around the bite. The affected skin may feel increasingly painful even when the puncture looks small. A clinician will consider the wound depth, location, time since the bite, vaccination history, allergies, and conditions such as type 2 diabetes that can affect healing. Athlete's foot or another break in the skin is a different possible entry point and does not explain every red area.

Rinse the wound thoroughly with running water and mild soap, remove rings near a swelling finger or hand, and cover it with a clean dressing. Do not seal a deep puncture with household glue or squeeze it aggressively. Contact a healthcare service promptly, particularly for bites to the hand, face, foot, or near a joint. The clinician may clean deeper tissue, prescribe antibiotics, check tetanus protection, and discuss rabies risk based on the animal and local guidance. Take the full prescribed course unless the prescriber changes it because of a reaction or new information.

Seek urgent care for rapidly spreading skin redness, worsening swelling or pain, pus, reduced movement, numbness, red streaks, or fever. Emergency assessment is needed for confusion, faintness, severe weakness, fast breathing, or difficulty staying awake, which may signal a serious infection such as sepsis. Do not wait for the bite mark to look dramatic if symptoms are progressing.

Does this wound show cellulitis or a deeper infection? Do I need antibiotics, a tetanus update, or wound review? Which changes in skin redness, pain, or swelling should prompt urgent help? Could the bite involve a tendon, joint, or bone?