Woman Develops Infection, Spends Days in the Hospital After Cat Scratches Her While Getting Off the Couch (Exclusive)

Kara Marie was having problem falling asleep, truthful she moved to nan surviving room sofa to spot if a alteration of scenery mightiness help.

After dozing off, she woke up Friday greeting to nan sound of her feline scratching nan litter container astatine 5 a.m., a motion that it was clip to commencement her day. However, arsenic she moved to get disconnected nan couch, her cat, Sponge, decided to jump connected nan sofa astatine nan aforesaid time.

"As I put my manus connected nan sofa to rotation over, he jumped up, and his claw went straight successful between, for illustration my nail and for illustration nan fold of my skin," Marie, 35, tells PEOPLE exclusively. "I have, like, a weird gut small heart astir a batch of things. Unfortunately, I knew nan infinitesimal his nail deed my skin, I thought, 'Oh, this is going to beryllium a problem.' "

With a bad emotion successful her gut, Marie sewage up and washed her hands immediately. She noticed nan area she had been scratched didn't bleed. She wouldn't find retired until later that you actually want the tract to tie blood, truthful it pushes retired immoderate infection.

Still, she put antibiotic ointment connected nan mini coiled and covered it pinch a Band-Aid. She felt good each weekend, but it wasn't until Monday that she started experiencing symptom successful her finger. She contacted her doctor, who started her connected a information of antibiotics. On Tuesday, pus appeared connected her finger. By Wednesday, she "started to panic" arsenic her information worsened.

"I called my doctor, and they said, 'You request to soak it and massage it while it's successful nan basking water, nan infection is trapped successful location and needs to travel out,'" she recalls. "I squeezed it excessively hard. If you show maine I request to get nan infection out, I was trying to get nan infection out."

"I felt weird aft I had done that Wednesday night, for illustration my fingertip was purple. It was basking to nan touch, and I felt uncomfortable pinch it," she continues.

Soon after, Marie went to urgent attraction and, aft talking to nan doctor, realized that she needed to spell to nan emergency room. 

"I sewage to nan hospital, and they took maine consecutive backmost into nan ER. I went from registration to triage to nan emergency room," she recalls. "I person nary mentation for being successful nan hospital. They took maine back, and they instantly hung an IV container of antibiotics and paged nan manus room department."

When nan manus surgeon took a look astatine nan infection, he told her they would request to trim it unfastened and drain it, pinch nan anticipation of moreover removing nan nail, which Marie wanted to debar astatine each costs.

"They numbed up my finger, opened it up, cleaned it out, and past they bandaged it," she shares. "He said, 'Now we're admitting you because we're gonna support you connected antibiotics overnight.' "

When she objected, nan expert explained that infections connected your near manus tin beryllium vulnerable arsenic there's a nonstop way to your bosom and nan infection could spread. They warned her astir each nan things to look retired for if nan infection progressed and past left.

The pursuing day, a physician's adjunct came successful and discussed her being discharged, but Marie began emotion symptom successful her finger. She told nan PA that she didn't want to spell home, fearing things would get worse and she'd person to return.

They gave her different container of antibiotics and told her to enactment successful nan infirmary different day. They brought backmost nan manus surgeon and he yet decided they needed to region her nail. They past administered antibiotics and instructed her connected really to attraction for her digit complete nan adjacent fewer days and weeks. 

Despite being discharged, Marie woke up pinch a fever connected Saturday morning, noticing that her digit was still swollen. She went backmost to nan emergency room, and they did a wellness panel, checking her bosom to make judge she wasn't having a cardiac episode. Thankfully, everything came backmost clear, and she was capable to spell location erstwhile again.

When she saw her superior attraction expert a fewer days later, things were looking a small better, and she was told to proceed soaking her digit 3 times a day.

Still, doctors told Marie that it would return six months to 1 twelvemonth earlier her nail would afloat turn back. Amid nan scary situation, her feline Sponge could show that thing was wrong. She says he has been glued to her broadside ever since.

Marie posted a video astir nan incident on TikTok, which amassed 5.5 cardinal views. While group successful nan comments debated really she could person prevented nan infection, Marie reiterates that she has a cleanable home, and this was a freak accident. 

"My feline is very good loved and taken attraction of. We're very cleanable people. I'm for illustration a germaphobe, and there's thing incorrect pinch my location aliases my animals; it was a freak accident," she tells PEOPLE. "Anything could origin this. It happened to beryllium nan cat. I emotion my animals. Cats are safe, moreover if they travel retired of their litter box."

She says nan "most important thing" is to perceive to your body, and "if you consciousness thing is off, get it checked out."

"There's thing incorrect pinch advocating for yourself and going to a expert and saying, 'Hey, there's thing incorrect here.' I would alternatively play safe than sorry," she adds.