I was attacked!!!

[Miss Chicken]

I have endured childbirth x3 so there is no way I would ever call a cat scratching me 'searing pain'.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

I have endured childbirth x3 so there is no way I would ever call a cat scratching me 'searing pain'.

Yeah, but you haven't given birth to three kittens. Totally different ballgame. They're like the Alien struggling to emerge from John Hurt. Which is why cats need nine lives. Babies are bundles of joy. Kittens are bundles of death ready to lunge for Babaganoosh's or Tachy's jugular to deliver the killing blow from the moment they're born. That's just science.

 

[nevermore]

^Conveniently, they're born with their eyes closed so that the spurting blood of their first victim doesn't blind them. Isn't nature brilliant?

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Makes me believe in a higher power, Bast be thy name.

 

[gturner]

I seriously doubt you were attacked by a cat. It's far more likely that it was a Tasmanian devil.

However, cat attacks can be very dangerous. I found this reference in The Journal of Trauma:

Abstract

A 28-year-old man was attacked by a large female tiger at an exotic animal farm, sustaining penetrating injuries to the neck and pharynx as well as a cervical spine fracture. This case and review of the literature demonstrates the ability of these animals to cause significant trauma and occult injuries. Furthermore, this case demonstrates the need for a high index of suspicion when treating these patients, as serious underlying bony and soft tissue damage can easily be overlooked.

Notice their use of the phrase "significant trauma and occult injuries." Certainly a tiger can inflict more trauma than a domestic cat, but what if Miss Chicken had suffered "occult injuries"? Those don't necessarily depend on the size of the cat, only its connection to the beyond or the powers of Hell.

 

[Miss Chicken]

I would be interested if anyone can work out what the person was actually trying to say when they used the term 'occult injuries', I can't think of anything.

 

[gturner]

And what about this potentially fatal 2008 attack from a domestic cat?

Two people were slightly injured Thursday when a 70-year-old woman's cat attacked her face, causing her to slam her Toyota Solara into the restaurant where the two people were eating lunch, Folsom police reported Friday.

The incident occurred about 12:23 p.m. at Barbecue Express in the 6600 block of Folsom-Auburn Road. The Solara nearly came through the wall and the two diners were struck by a piece of that wall as well as a soft drink machine and a table, said Officer Michelle Beattie, police spokeswoman.

 

[Miss Chicken]

The woman should have had her cat in a cat carrier when in the car.

I admit I only have one cat carrier even though I have three cats. When I moved house I put the cat most likely to freak out in the carrier, but the second cat in a strong cardboard box and carried Miss Chicken on my knee while my neighbour did the driving. Miss Chicken is such an easy going cat that I thought she would behave (and she did - she loved the ride).

 

[gturner]

I would be interested if anyone can work out what the person was actually trying to say when they used the term 'occult injuries', I can't think of anything.

Googles... Googles... Googles again.

It's certainly a well-used term in the medical literature.

I found this tidbit on the term's use:

With the blossoming of such reports, I am beginning to think we should be careful about what we term as “occult?’ In diagnostic radiology, “occult” has traditionally meant difficult if not impossible to see, below the threshold of visibility. This definition has been used specifically in reference to radiographically inapparent skeletal fractures, those not disclosed on the initial examination but often seen subsequently on a reexamination traditionally obtained 7 to 10 days later. This definition of occult is being marginalized as more and more reports appear in the literature concerning the clear demonstration of various forms of skeletal injuiy by MR imaging: bone bruises, contusions, and cracks, as well as just plain fractures, all occurring in cases wherein the radiographic examination had been negative. It seems the term “occult” begs for an updated definition to encompass these new observations. While such injuries may be “occult” to radiography, they are certainly not so “occult” to MR imaging.

Whew. That makes more sense.

 

[Miss Chicken]

Thanks for that - now the term makes sense.

 

[gturner]

Yes it does, and now we can all abuse it.

"Then my Jamaican boyfriend hit me with a voodoo doll. The doctor said it was nothing, but I'm convinced it's an occult injury."

My adopted black cat gnaws on me when we play rough, but he never bites hard at all, and he keeps his claws in check.

On the sad side, today I had to take Erigeron bunny to the vet. Apparently the wild bird that got into my house when I was in North Carolina caused the cat to hours of enjoyment. Either the cat or the rabbits managed to open a door that kept Erigeron and Emma bunny seperate from the living room bunnies, specifically Tron bunny, Erigeron's grandson. Tron always viciously attacks Erigeron in a dominance fight, and when I came home from a week absence I found Erigeron huddled in the bathroom, very weak and dehydrated, even though food and water were only six feet away. He's that afraid of Tron.

I immediately started Erigeron on Pedialyte rehydration therapy and now he's at the vet's home on an IV drip. His body temperature was only 91F, so they put him in an incubator. Blood work shows his kidneys are still functioning, but the vet had never seen any rabbit as dehydrated as he was.

The estimated bill is going to be $500 to $1100. I think I'll drag Tron into bunny court and make him pay up!

 

[Miss Chicken]

Oh dear, poor bunny. I hope he will recover OK.

 

[gturner]

Me too. He's a sweatheart, about five years old, and sleeps on my bed. He carries the genes to make a plush lop, which is why he cost $400.

Plush lop pics

A plush lop is a Holland lop crossed with a Rex rabbit to make a flop eared bunny with fur as soft as mink or sable.

 

[RJDiogenes]

A cat bite is not "searing physical pain" any more than burning yourself on the stove or stubbing your toe a good one.

Having very likely broken my toe this past Monday, I'll have to disagree with that last part.

It hurts like hell, doesn't it? It's WAY, WAY worse than a cat bite. Which was my hastily worded point.

And I'm sure the Cat bite heals more quickly....

 

[Deckerd]

Have you ever run through a doorway and caught your little toe on the edge? I snapped mine right back doing that. It did smart a bit, I have to admit.

 

[SPOCKED]

my cat attacked the pastrami sandwich I was making for my lunch this morning. after I dropped a few bits on his plate, I turned back around to find him knawing on my open sandwich. he leapt off the counter with a big hunk of it when I lunged for him he's such a bitch!!

 

[Vendikarr]

I would be interested if anyone can work out what the person was actually trying to say when they used the term 'occult injuries', I can't think of anything.

Best I can think is they meant 'acute.'

 

[Scout101]

my cat attacked the pastrami sandwich I was making for my lunch this morning. after I dropped a few bits on his plate, I turned back around to find him knawing on my open sandwich. he leapt off the counter with a big hunk of it when I lunged for him he's such a bitch!!

Since your sandwich was viciously attacked, and dealt a life-threatening injury, did you decide to go with the head-bashing, or the windpipe crushing?

Or did you just make a big show out of making another sandwich, and eat it in front of him

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I think I'll drag Tron into bunny court and make him pay up!

Then the judge will say "END OF LINE."

 

[Deckerd]

Our cat does that. If you're eating something interesting she tries to sneak up and swipe a bit from your plate. Then she pretends she's deaf when you say 'no' to her.