As sports fans we’ve all heard the expression that losing players are left “licking their wounds” after tough defeats. 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.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “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.