How are dogs and cats causing thousands of injuries each year?

[lisab]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36599635/ns/health-pet_health/"

Dogs and cats are a lurking household danger, according to a new report showing the pets cause all kinds of injuries related to falls. The pet trips — estimated at more than 80,000 a year — occurred while people were chasing after them, stepping over them, breaking up a Fido fight, and other scenarios.

I suppose this won't be a surprise to anyone who has lived with a dog or cat. But what is a bit surprising:

Even though cats are known to follow at your heels, or right beneath your feet, dogs were involved in nearly 7.5 times as many injuries as cats.

And all along we thought it was our cats who were out to kill us - turns out all along, it was the dog!

As cats are mostly homebodies, it's no surprise most falls involving the bossy felines (nearly 86 percent) occurred in or around the house. Nearly 12 percent of these injuries happened while people were chasing cats.

Who the heck chases cats?!?

 

[cronxeh]

Yeah I wrecked the house chasing my cat. Overturned furniture, broken dishes, plants falling on the ground. Few minutes into the chase you wonder to yourself, 'why am I chasing her again?' Good times

 

[Evo]

I don't ever recall chasing a cat. I won't even mention all of the dog related injuries that sent me to the ER.

 

[Jack21222]

It's more fun to make the cat trip while chasing things... like a laser pointer beam.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I nearly died a couple days ago. I was chasing my cat, tripped and came an inch from hitting my temple on my entertainment center corner.

 

[Evo]

I nearly died a couple days ago. I was chasing my cat, tripped and came an inch from hitting my temple on my entertainment center corner.

Good grief!

Why were you chasing your cat?

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Good grief!

Why were you chasing your cat?

We play hide and seek, and you chase me and then I chase you. Loads of fun!

 

[hypatia]

I play with my cat that way too, I haven't tripped yet.:uhh:

 

[Evo]

We play hide and seek, and you chase me and then I chase you. Loads of fun!

Ahaha. If I had tried that with my cat, he would have walked off in disgust. You could dangle a cat toy in front of him and he'd just give you a blank stare. He was into nocturnal "love fests" though.

 

[mgb_phys]

Who the heck chases cats?!?

From the documentary evidence, large black women that only exists from the waist down - it's especially dangerous if you have fold down ironing boards, heavy metal flat irons, and 6ft tall stacks of crockery in every sink.

 

[turbo]

I try to stay planted in my chair when playing with Duke in the house. Whether he's bringing me his ball to throw (we have an elaborate 5-10 minute ritual to go through before I can wrest it from the "jaws of death!") or playing with the green laser pointer, he is always full-on-100%. If you are in the way, well, that's your problem. He is 50+ # of solid muscle and bone and he hits like a line-backer.

 

[xunxine]

Those injured noted various circumstances for their injuries, including: "tripped while crossing the street with their dog," "fainted while training her dog," and "walking dog and fell up steps," among other circumstances.

"Fainted while training her dog"? That's her health problem, why blame the dog?
And how does one fell UP steps??

 

[BobG]

And how does one fell UP steps??

There was a big dog on the other side of the leash she was attached to.

 

[Evo]

I've fallen up stairs before. You trip and lunge forward as you are going up.

 

[Integral]

A couple of years ago I came home to find the uprights from the landing of our stairs scattered around on the floor below. My daughter was sitting in the living room, when I asked her what happened, she very casually said, "Oh, yeah, Mom fell down the stairs".

ME -> What!

Seems that our wobbly loose uprights where just tight enough to stop her, but not so tight as to cause injury. They came out, she stayed up. With nothing more then a few bruises and significant injury to her dignity. The cause was our over active Papillon/border collie getting underfoot as she came down the stairs. Fortunately, neither her not the dog were injured.

 

[Astronuc]

Who the heck chases cats?!?

I've chased a cat when he or she had something in his or her mouth that they weren't supposed to swallow, e.g., ribbon. Or when it's time to clip the nails, and he (usually he) escapes my arms by digging claws into my abdomen or chest and propels himself out of my grip. Well - now we wrap him in a towel.

Over the years, I've learned to sneak up on them.

But they've learned to do the same.

Sometimes I'll turn around and find the dog or cat right behind me, and I've tripped a few times over the cat or dog. So I've learned to look down when turning and before stepping.

 

[Frame Dragger]

To be fair, the average dog is far more capable of inflicting injury than the average cat. There is also the consideration that cats tend to scratch first, vs. dogs which tend to bite first. A scratch may be unpleasant, and lead to infection... but does not put one at undue risk of rabies. A BITE on the other hand... no pun.

There is also the question of how and when cats encounter people, vs. dogs. Cats are very capable at escape, whereas dogs are easier to corner... cornered animals do not react well.

All in all... bigger, brawnier, and generally more toothy and jaw-intensive... of course dogs are more involved.

Cats, on the other hand, wait until we're asleep and then go do wetwork for foreign governments.

 

[physics girl phd]

We have to chase Mr. Big out of our bedroom before we close the door and go to sleep. otherwise he pounces on us in the middle of the night. Oh... and we have to either chase Cha-Cha into the room or call her in with treats (which always works better). It's her respite from him also.

I assume little E will eventually be chasing them about... once she can chase.

 

[Astronuc]

We have to chase Mr. Big out of our bedroom before we close the door and go to sleep. otherwise he pounces on us in the middle of the night. Oh... and we have to either chase Cha-Cha into the room or call her in with treats (which always works better). It's her respite from him also.

I assume little E will eventually be chasing them about... once she can chase.

Is Cha-Cha a Siamese by any chance? My mom had a beautiful seal point Siamese who she named Cha-Cha. Then we had another seal point named Ling-Ling.

 

[BobG]

You almost never hear of pet pigs causing home injuries. Not only are pigs a lot safer, they're pretty heroic, too. They help to protect our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

 

[rootX]

You almost never hear of pet pigs causing home injuries. Not only are pigs a lot safer, they're pretty heroic, too. They help to protect our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

PETA would go crazy if it ever find this out :rofl:

 

[Frame Dragger]

PETA would go crazy if it ever find this out :rofl:

I believe they already are, sadly.

 

[rootX]

I believe they already are, sadly.

http://www.peta.org/feat/newkirk/will.html

 

[Frame Dragger]

http://www.peta.org/feat/newkirk/will.html

Yeah... she's the one who spiked the Kool-Aid with "Crazy"... I remember when I used to really support PETA... :(

 

[BobG]

Yeah... she's the one who spiked the Kool-Aid with "Crazy"... I remember when I used to really support PETA... :(

Even Rush Limbaugh supports PETA. He donates $100,000 a year to PETA.

 

[Frame Dragger]

Even Rush Limbaugh supports PETA. He donates $100,000 a year to PETA.

:uhh: Ok... that's completely irrelevant, but yeah... by the way, sometimes really nasty ****s with seriously anti-social traits LOVE animals to the same degree they show disregard for others.

To be fair, it might just be damage from using too many opioids, or (and here I'm just hoping) neurosyphilis. All kidding aside, There are other organizations that make use of their money and haven't been run into the ground by a woman who is absolutely out of her mind. WSPA for example, local no-kill shelters, The Audubon Society... I could go on. Frankly, I'm not sure what to make of your post, other than the notion that a true moron behind a microphone donates to PETA.

 

[physics girl phd]

Is Cha-Cha a Siamese by any chance?

Cha-Cha is the kitty featured in my avatar (brown and white tabby). She really started out being called "FC" for "Free Cat" (since shewas a stray) but eventually one of my friends started calling her Cha-Cha, which stuck... just like our "Big Man Mister Steve" or "BMMS" is now mostly just referred to as"Mr. Big."

Mr. Big is the one more likely to trip us (and jump on counters, high chairs, wheelchairs, etc.), but he just positively purred this afternoon as little E pulled on his whiskers. (I think his friendliness is in part because he gets so lonely being locked out of our bedrooms at night.)

 

[physics girl phd]

Even Rush Limbaugh supports PETA. He donates $100,000 a year to PETA.

I was just thinking this might be because he's rather a pig.