What should you know about sepsis from a cat scratch?

Most scratches remain local, but a deeper wound or contaminated claw can allow infection in the skin and soft tissue. Increasing redness, warmth, swelling, tenderness, pus, or red streaking can indicate a local infection such as cellulitis. Sepsis is the body's severe response to infection and may involve symptoms away from the scratch, including chills, fever, confusion, or profound weakness. The appearance of a scratch alone cannot show whether sepsis is present.

Wash the scratch with clean running water and soap, then cover it with a clean dressing. Avoid squeezing, cutting, or repeatedly irritating the area. Arrange medical advice if the wound is deep, near the eye or a joint, increasingly painful, swollen, or draining fluid. Tell the clinician when it happened, whether the cat was known, and whether your tetanus protection or immune health may affect care.

Use emergency services for confusion, fainting, severe breathing difficulty, cold clammy skin, inability to stay awake, very little urine, or rapidly worsening illness after a scratch. Fever or chills with spreading redness or marked weakness should be assessed urgently. Do not wait for the wound to look dramatic if the person is becoming generally unwell.

Ask whether the wound needs examination, antibiotics, tetanus care, or monitoring for cellulitis. Ask which changes in the skin or general health should prompt immediate review and how to keep the dressing clean.