Although cats are cute, being bitten by their tiny fangs can be very dangerous. A new Mayo Clinic study shows that one-third of cat bite patients require hospitalization, with bites to the wrist and other hand joints being the most dangerous. Of the 193 cat bite patients admitted to the Mayo Clinic from 2009 to 2011, 57 required hospitalization for about three days, and others required hand surgery. The reason for this is that cats have sharp teeth, resulting in deep bite wounds that can “seed” the joints and tendon sheaths of the human hand with bacteria from the cat’s mouth. The human immune system has very limited resistance to the bacteria that colonize the joints and tendon sheaths, and some of the bacteria carried by cats are highly resistant to antibiotics. Doctor’s advice: people should pay attention to cat bites, if the wrist and other joints are bitten or the skin of the wound is red and swollen, the patient should immediately go to the hospital for treatment.