i dropped my guard today when my neighbour brought her cat in for her yearly booster. she was acting very friendly with me and i was petting her during the exam and i didnt pick up on any bad vibes or warning signs from her. partly because of that, and partly because i was chatting with my neighbour, i wasn't paying as close enough attention to how i controlled the cat as i picked her up off the table to weigh her. i picked her up like i would casually pick up at pet at home, not how i would normally pick up a patient at the office. normally i would have picked her up slowly, keeping her head away from my body and controlling her front legs. instead, i picked her up with her head facing my chest and without holding her front paws at all! maybe she doesnt like getting picked up in general, or maybe she wasn't feeling comforable about having a weigh-in today (shes 15 lbs... ;), but anyway... owch, big mistake!! she swung her front paws at my chest and i reacted fast enough that she couldnt latch onto my chest/neck but she did claw me right on the ear! it bled like crazy and i'm typing this now while wearing a bandaid wrapped around my upper lobe. :(
the lesson of the day today was treat EVERY patient with caution. they could appear nice and friendly, and you may even know them outside of work, but when we are working with a patient in the clinic, they are going to be on the defensive. it really could have been a lot worse, she could have scratched my face or latched onto my chest. we have to be on top of the situation and practice safe handling skills to avoid injury to ourselves, or to other handlers. if there is anything worse than accidentally allowing a patient to hurt you, it is accidentally allowing a patient to hurt a co-worker. (ex-losing control of a cat during a blood draw and allowing her to strike the person drawing the blood. ughh what a terrible feeling!!) i can think of a quite a few situations where team work was essential to controlling a patient and keeping both of us and the animal from injury!
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Been there done that....I have had the same experience except the cat was spooked by a dog and her dagger claw went in my upper arm and back out again...i had the hugest bruise as well as a puncture wound...I now live by the saying the friendlier the cat is in the cage the more cautious I am because they tend to be the worst for sedation...you are already cautious if a cat is growling or if it has angry ears :)
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