As a public service to our readers, it's probably okay for you to lick your own wounds (though that's gross), but please never allow your cat to lick your open sores. Using your feline as your primary wound care specialist can lead to a terrible condition called cat scratch disease.
As anyone knows, it's important to keep a wound clean so in that way licking has its advantages. Furthermore, cat saliva contains compounds that can aid the healing process. A few compounds contained in cat saliva such as opiorphin, peroxidase, lactoferrin, and thrombospondin act as a pain reliever and antibacterial.
Cat saliva contains several proteins and enzymes that function as natural antibacterial agents, including lactoferrin and nitrate. These compounds are found in the saliva of many animals and provide bacterial and fungal protection.
Histatins speed wound healing by promoting the spread and migration of new skin cells. Dr. Nigel Benjamin of the London School of medicine has shown that when saliva contacts skin it creates nitric oxide. Nitric oxide inhibits bacterial growth and protects wounds from infection.
Wound licking is an instinctive response in humans and many other animals to cover an injury with saliva. Dogs, cats, small rodents, horses, and primates all lick wounds. Saliva contains tissue factor which promotes the blood clotting mechanism.
Cats carry bacteria in their mouths, which can lead to local or systemic infection if a cat licks an open wound. Immunocompromised people are most at risk. Acquiring a disease from your cat is very rare, but to be safe, don't let your cat lick your face or any cuts on your skin.
The bacteria in cat saliva are toxic to birds, so even if a cat does not immediately kill a bird, its bite often leads to infection and death. Cats are natural and effective predators and will hunt for practice and “fun”—even when not hungry.
Oral wounds heal faster and with less scar formation than skin wounds. One of the key factors involved is saliva, which promotes wound healing in several ways. Saliva creates a humid environment, thus improving the survival and functioning of inflammatory cells that are crucial for wound healing.
A recent study by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, shed new light on how cats' scratchy tongues enable them to keep themselves so clean: they're covered with hundreds of sharp, tiny hooks called filiform papillae.
To show affection
Licking is not only a grooming mechanism but also a way cats show that they love you. Your cat is creating a social bond by licking you, other cats, or pets. This sign of affection may stem from kittenhood when your cat's mother licked them to groom them and show care and affection.
Your cat wants to groom you.
This role is called 'allo-grooming,' and it's common among groups of cats, as well as when mother cats groom their young. It is considered a natural bonding feline behavior, so your cat may be signaling that you're officially part of the family.
Treating Cat Scratches
Wounds to the hands and feet can be more prone to infection, Levy warns, and scratches to the face or other areas of the body can cause cosmetic damage in the form of scarring. A scratch to the eye needs immediate care.
Capnocytophaga canimorsus and Pasteurella multocida are two bacterial infections that can cause severe disease in these two high-risk groups. In addition, pets frequently lick their anus and can possibly transmit fecal pathogens to you when they lick your mouth.
Infestation depends on the type of worm, but most often, cats get worms by coming into contact with fleas, eggs or infected particles in feces. Fleas are carriers for tapeworm eggs. If a flea jumps onto your cat, they could accidentally ingest the flea by grooming or scratching.
Although human saliva contains some compounds that aid in healing, the mouth is also home to a host of bacteria that are perfectly safe in the oral cavity, but may be dangerous if introduced into a deep wound through saliva. The principal risk of licking wounds is infection, especially in immunocompromised patients.
Human saliva contains a wide variety of bacteria that are usually harmless in the mouth but can cause significant infection if introduced deep within an open wound.
The discovery that a moist environment actively supports the healing response when compared with a dry environment highlights the importance of water and good hydration levels for optimal healing. The benefits of 'wet' or 'hyper-hydrated' wound healing appear similar to those offered by moist over a dry environment.
Cat scratch disease is an infection caused by a bacterium in cat saliva. The disease causes redness and swelling at the site of a cat scratch or bite and flu-like symptoms. If you are scratched or bitten by a cat or kitten, it's important to promptly wash the area with soap and water right away.
Cat scratch disease (CSD) is a bacterial infection spread by cats. The disease spreads when an infected cat licks a person's open wound, or bites or scratches a person hard enough to break the surface of the skin.
Although cats are great companions, cat owners should be aware that sometimes cats can carry harmful germs that can cause a variety of illnesses in people, ranging from minor skin infections to serious illnesses.
Headbutting is a way for cats to mark you with pheromones and bond with you. However, sometimes headbutting can be a way for cats to seek attention. As a general rule, cats like to be scratched under the chin and on the head, so a cat may just be presenting their head to you for some attention and good scratches.
Cat scratch disease is caused by a bacterium carried in the cat saliva. The bacteria are passed from an infected cat to a human after the cat licks an open wound or bites or scratches human skin hard enough to break the surface of the skin.
Although cats are very clean animals, sometimes they have germs, especially in their poop and in their mouths, that can make you sick. Don't touch your cat's bum (most of them don't like that!), and always wash your hands after playing with a cat. Don't let a cat lick your face or any sores.
For one thing, while cats do have feeling in their claws, they almost certainly don't have good enough feeling to really tell if they just broke the skin or not (just like if you were to scratch someone with your nails, you can't really tell for sure), and so I don't think they'd notice if they did not observe the ...