🚀 go-pugleaf

jas, Kudzu, Bob, and MRicci wrote extensively about danger from feral cats:
> 
> Be very careful, ...
> ... because wild
> cats can carry diseases, and being scratched and/or bitten wouldn't be
> good for you, needless to say!.
Uhmmm, cats generally like to hunt down, kill and eat small prey, and aren't
too very picky about whether that prey has diseases that might infect or harm
the humans that they aren't friendly toward.

> 
> ... (story about 'tamed' cat) One day it turned and bit her real hard on the
> arm.  She ended up in the
> hospital with a hugely swollen arm.  Also my Dad adopted a feral cat ...
> It bit him in the arm also and it got infected..
I *had* a cat that I adopted at about 5-6 weeks old, kept the little beast for
about 3 years.  During a move to a new house it got spooked, and ended up biting
my hand.  Well, the bite from this *tame* cat penetrated a tendon sheath, grew
infected, and caused excruciating pain.  This from a very docile cat.  My doctor
said cat bites were one of the worst animal bites from an infection standpoint.

> 
> Cat bites and scratches can indeed be serious.
Yup, see above.

> 
> ... love bites and scratches me in play all the
> time.  Draws blood regulary from sharp claws when he plays ...
> Luckily his bites and scratches have never [been infected] ...
> .
Duh, why don't you buy your cat a scratching post?  how about a toy?

> What's a bigger worry than infection is RABIES. Cats are very very
> suseptable to carrying AND transmitting it when they are not given the
> appropriate vaccine.
> .
Rabies is definitely a danger, and not just from feral cats or outdoor cats.
All cats love to 'hunt' animals, so every trip outdoors is a fresh chance
for exposure to rabies, et al.

> 
> "Kittens are cute, but they wouldn't be so cute if they were bigger
> than you. Then they could eat you."
> .
:-)

I have another cat now.  The previous cat sneaked outside and never returned.
(I had him for 1-2 years after the bite).

-- 
Chuck Cottrill -- "Sometimes you're the windshield...sometimes you're the bug"
TRU = Toys R Us / S@H = Lego Shop at Home
800-835-4386 (S@H USA) / 800-267-5346 ext 222 (S@H Canada)