Postoperative wound infection with Pasteurella multocida from a pet cat

We summarize an unusual postoperative wound infection that was caused by Pasteurella multocida from a house cat licking the incision in an obese gynecologic oncology patient. A 48-year-old morbidly obese woman had a wound abscess 6 weeks after hysterectomy and panniculectomy for a International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage IA grade 1 endometrial cancer. P multocida was cultured from the abscess and the patient was treated with drainage and intravenous antibiotics. Further history revealed that her house cat had licked the wound. P multocida wound infection is a potential complication for people with dog or cat contact postoperatively. Penicillin G is the antibiotic of choice for treatment. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 2003;188:1115-6.)