A woman woke up with a black eye and swollen face after being scratched by her pet cat.
Heidi Plamping, from Canada, had been trying to calm down her cat, Storm, who had been freaked by a large dog.
As three-year-old Storm clambered on to her head for refuge, her claws caught Ms Plamping's skin, drawing blood.
When the 42-year-old's eyes and hands started to swell three days later, she thought dust mites were to blame.
But her face worsened over the next few days, to the point where it was covered in a rash. She was given pills by her doctor and sent home.
However, they did not work and she needed to go to the hospital every day for four days to receive a drip of antibiotics to fight her swelling.
Doctors warned her cat scratches can be very serious - cats carry and can transfer bacteria, which, in very rare cases, can lead to life-threatening complications such as sepsis.
Heidi Plamping, 42, of Cochrane, Alberta, Canada, had been trying to calm down her cat, Storm, who scratched her face and arm as she clambered onto her head for safety
Ms Plamping's face swelled and became covered in a rash that worsened over the course of a few days. Pictured, on May 8, six days after being scratched
Ms Plamping had to go to hospital every day to receive a drip of antibiotics. Pictured on May 10
As three-year-old Storm clambered onto Ms Plamping's her head for refuge, her claws caught Ms Plamping's skin ten times. Pictured, cuts to her face
Cat-scratch disease (CSD) is a bacterial infection spread by cats.
The disease spreads when an infected cat licks a person’s open wound, or bites or scratches a person hard enough to break the surface of the skin.
About three to 14 days after the skin is broken, a mild infection can occur at the site of the scratch or bite.
The infected area may appear swollen and red with round, raised lesions and can have pus. The infection can feel warm or painful. A person with CSD may also have a fever, headache, poor appetite, and exhaustion.
Later, the person’s lymph nodes closest to the original scratch or bite can become swollen, tender, or painful.
CSD is caused by a bacterium called Bartonella henselae. About 40% of cats carry B. henselae at some time in their lives, and it is more common in kittens.
Although rare, CSD can cause people to have serious complications. CSD can affect the brain, eyes, heart, or other internal organs.
These rare complications, which may require intensive treatment, are more likely to occur in children younger than five years and people with weakened immune systems.
Ms Plamping, a digital marketing consultant who lives in Cochrane, Alberta, had travelled to British Columbia at the start of May with Storm to stay and work with friends for the summer.
When they arrived on May 2, Ms Plamping let Storm out on her lead as she had done countless times before when they've visited the unidentified friend.
However, since their last visit, Ms Plamping's friend had got two Great Danes who were very friendly and excited to meet Storm.
The large dogs scared her and she started to get tangled in her lead as she panicked to get away.
Ms Plamping said: 'Their dogs are very friendly, but my cat hasn't met a dog before so when one of them showed up she freaked out.'
Ms Plamping rushed to Storm's rescue and started to untangle her beloved cat as she climbed up her face to the safety of her head.
Ms Plamping said: 'Eventually I picked her up so I could bring her inside. She was so scared she climbed my face to my head while I screamed murder and put her inside.'
As a result, Ms Plamping had seven scratches on her face and three more on her hand and arm.
When she woke up the next day with a black eye, Ms Plamping thought nothing more of her injuries.
But by May 5, Ms Plamping had a swollen hand and eyes. Due to having sensitive skin, she thought that she could possibly be having a reaction to any dust that could have been present in her new surroundings.
Storm, pictured, was freaked by a Great Dane dog at Ms Plamping's friend's house
When Ms Plamping woke up the day after the scratches with a black eye (pictured), but didn't think much of her injuries
