Man dies four years after being bitten by his cat

A man has died four years after being bitten by his cat after his pet's flesh-eating bacteria infected his blood and was eventually fatal.

As most people would think with a cat bite, Henrik thought nothing of it at the time - but it was when his finger started to swell up, he knew there was cause for concern.

After a number of consultations, he ended up at Denmark's Kolding hospital, where he was kept in for a month and underwent a staggering 15 operations.

But none of them did the trick, so Henrik had the bitten finger amputated as it could no longer function properly.

However, Henrik's health started to deteriorate because the cat had bitten right into a blood vessel.

As Henrik's wound closed almost immediately after he had been bitten, the deadly bacteria entered the bloodstream through the vein and then started to spread throughout the body.

His mother told local media: "He had very fluctuating health.

"He had a weakened immune system, pneumonia, gout and diabetes."

"The cat had bitten right into a blood vessel, and when a cat bites and pulls its tooth out, the hole closes and the bacteria spreads."

Henrik died in October this year, four years after the initial bite from the cat, and the family have now gone public to ensure others take cat bites more seriously.

His wife Desirée said: "We knew that he was doing badly.

"However, we had no idea that he was so seriously ill.

"Go to the doctor after a bite, don't think, 'oh, that's just a cat.'

"Don't take any chances."

In an interview with RTL, GP Dr. Christoph Specht spoke on the potential dangers of being bitten by a cat.

"Some don't do anything to the skin and it only becomes problematic when they get into the blood or into the joints or bones of the person.

"Nevertheless, a cat bite is like an infected syringe that gets into our tissue."