treating cat scratches?

[Biblios]

a few years ago, a friend of mine tried to break up a fight between two of her cats and one of them attacked her, scratching up her legs pretty badly. It got infected and she ended up having to go to the hospital. Bearing that in mind, I'm wondering how to respond to the scratching Odin gave me this morning.

So he likes to have his chest scratched. But sometimes he gets upset and goes from relaxing-happy-purring to tail-twitching, warning nips, etc, and I stop immediately. This morning he skipped the warning nips and tail twitching and just sunk tooth and claw into my arm. I only have one deep wound, where one of his claws went in near my wrist. When he tried to detach and get away, he couldn't get his claw out and tugged and twisted a few times before I slipped it out for him. Everything else is fine. Aside from disinfecting it, is there anything else I should be doing to avoid infection? What do I need to watch out for, if it is going to get infected?

Also, should I be worried about Odin? It is not unusual for him to say, "ok, enough," when I'm petting him, but he usually broadcasts that clearly enough that I'm able to stop petting him, and everything's ok. Today it was just like--bam. He was happy and purring, and then he was attacking. Perhaps he has a bite or sore area on his chest, or is just in a bad mood...

[Julia423]

The only thing I can tell you is what I'd do if I had the scratch... I'd keep it clean and dry, watch for redness (and red streaks), and be aware if the area begins to feel hot to the touch... I'd also give my doctor's office a call and get the doc's opinion...

[nanamouse]

Peroxide and neosporin, keep a bandaid on for the first 24 hours, changing it and cleaning the scratch often. Generally if it's from an indoor cat it won't be a bad infection unless it had just climbed out of the litterbox.
Some cats are ticklish I believe, and just like a child they will nag to be tickled but it gets to be too much for them. Only problem is when the cat gets over excited and grabs you he has claws. I only give tummy rubs for a few seconds, stopping before they get to that point.

[Biblios]

Thanks, guys. I've been keeping it dry, disinfected, and clean; no redness or pain/heat so far. I think Odin's fine too; I think it must have been exactly that he was just ready for no more petting and skipped the warning signs.

The trouble with him is he's the first cat I've had that does cute little play-bites and swipes with his paw when he's getting fed up, so it took me awhile to figure out he wasn't playing around but actually expressing displeasure. I think sometimes he doesn't even know when he's annoyed or not--lying there with his fur bristling and his tail-tip twitching, and then he turns on his side purring with his eyes half-closed. Weirdo... :-)