Table 3.

Common Pathogens and Subsequent Treatment of Cat Bites

Pathogen	Recommended Treatment	Timing	Route of Administration	Dosage	Notes
Pasteurella multocida	Beta-lactam44 (eg, penicillin)	2 to 3 times a day with accompanying meal	Typically oral administration	25–50 mg for children; 250–300 mg for adults	Aggressive broad-spectrum antibiotics used only if infection is advanced
	Beta-lactamase inhibitors44 (eg, tazobactam)
	Aggressive broad-spectrum antibiotics
Staphylococci 61	Beta-lactam44 (eg, penicillin)	2 to 3 times a day with accompanying meal	Typically oral administration	25–50 mg for children; 250–300 mg for adults
	Beta-lactamase inhibitors44 (eg, tazobactam)
Francisella tularnesis 62	Streptomycin	2 daily doses; one dose every 12 h	Typically IM	30–40 mg/kg/d for children; 7.5–10 mg/kg/d for adults
Yersinia pestis 63	Streptomycin	2 daily doses; one dose every 12 h	IM	30 mg/kg/d for children; 2 g/d for adults
	Gentamicin
Sporothrix schenckii 64	Itraconazole	3 to 6 mo antibiotic treatment; 1 dose daily; 2 doses if patient is unresponsive	Oral administration	200 mg	Should not be administered to pregnant patients
Bartonella henselae 65	Azithromycin	1 d of a certain dosage and 4 d of a lesser dosage	Oral administration	10 mg/kg/d 1 followed by 5 mg/kg for four more days for children; 500 mg/d 1 followed by 250 mg for 4 d for adults	It should be noted that some infections do not require antibiotics, especially if it is a localized lymphadenopathy

IM, intramuscular.