Subject: Yes, but.
Author:
Posted on: 2010-05-13 20:29:00 UTC

I don't think you can say being scratched is the same thing as being bitten, no matter what animal is doing it. Having lived with cats most of my life, I can attest that I've mostly been scratched by accident, generally by way of an escape attempt, and that cats definitely prefer biting over scratching when they mean business. The front claws are there mostly to hold on, not attack. They will use their back claws in an attempt to disembowel prey/enemies, but that's only if they get a grip with teeth and front claws first, and fur (and clothing) serves as a pretty good defense against that move.

As for cats fighting each other, it's basically the same. They bat at each other, but that's only until they can get close enough to bite--unless the other cat runs away first, which is really what everybody wants. All the hissing and spitting and flailing a cat does in a fight is a show of force, an attempt to end the fight before it gets serious enough for biting. The bite is the more serious weapon.

HOWEVER, if we are dealing with an infectious agent, a cat's claws would be far more likely than a wolf's to transmit it. Nothing to do with claws being a cat's main weapon, which they're not, but cats get all kinds of nastiness trapped under their claws--there's a little groove running along the underside, much like the space under our nails. Dirt gets trapped under there, and so does cat saliva when they clean themselves. Also, cat claws are naturally sharper than canine claws, so they're more likely to draw blood when used, exposing the victim to the infectious agent. That's why there's such a thing as cat-scratch fever, but no dog-scratch fever.

But that's if it is a viral agent, of course. On the Disc, it may be some combination of viral and magical, like a viral curse or something. *shrug* As for the power of story, most of the ones I've heard of specify a bite being the vector, if they specify anything at all.

... That's a lot of text. I think I'm done now. ^_^;

~Neshomeh

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