Accidental injuries, I’m relatively all right with. Wrong place, wrong time, nobody’s fault. Those not-so-accidental injuries? Those, I feel bad about.
My right side seems to have taken the brunt of the lessons in cat behavior. My first scratch and bite combo came from a cat named Chuck who wasn’t very happy when I put him down on the scale. The scratch went from knuckles to elbow, and it looks like the part on the back of my hand will be a lingering scar. This was most definitely an intentional wounding. But it was also a case of me not being sure exactly what set Chuck off. He was fine when I picked him up and fine when I carried him into the exam room. When I put him down on the scale, he turned to attack.
I’ve also had Calvin — a frail, sickly survivor of melamine poisoning — turn around and chomp me when I was trying to get him into his carrier. He may be down, but he’s definitely not out. I’m not sure if I accidentally touched a tender spot or if he just didn’t want to go into his carrier, but either explanation seems to make sense.
And there’s a cat I have to nickname “Stretch” because when he swiped at me, he had his claws splayed really widely. He left three marks on my arm — the first is about four fingers away from the third. That’s quite a stretch! This is another case of me not knowing why I got scratched. Mr. Stretch was sitting, watching me change his litter pan when he suddenly got all swipey.
I just earned a bite on the inside of my left wrist the other day when I tried to weigh a cat named Cleo. She was determined to explore the room and not quite so determined to get weighed. I got the message.
Left side injuries are less frequent, it seems. Not sure why, as I’m left handed! You’d think that would be the hand reaching into the condo to change food and water. But when I’m holding a cat, it’s usually the hand that’s on the back of the neck — so maybe that’s why it’s usually out of the way of teeth and nails.
Personally, I’ll take the accidental injuries any day. I don’t feel quite so bad at cat handling if it’s just a misunderstanding. When I got bitten the other day, I actually felt frustrated at myself — what am I doing wrong? If only the kitties could tell me.