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Summer Heat: Environmental and Demographic Trends in Cat Bites to the Upper Extremity
Henry R Marsh, MD
1, Abygail Andebrhan, BS
1, Aneesh Syal, B.A.
1; Scott N Loewenstein, MD
1,2(1)University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, (2)HealthPartners Regions Hospital, Saint Paul, MN
Introduction:
Cat bites to the upper extremity represent a frequent cause of upper extremity trauma, carrying a high risk of infection due to the deep puncture wounds that are inflicted. Although anecdotal increases in bite related encounters during summer months have been noted, the broader seasonal and demographic trends remain poorly characterized. In this study, we review emergency department visits for cat bites over a 10-year span to characterize the seasonal variation and patient demographics of upper-extremity cat bites.
Materials & Methods:
We conducted a retrospective observational cohort study of emergency department encounters for feline?related bites to the upper extremity from January 2014 through January 2024 at a single Midwest level one trauma center. Cases were identified by ICD-10 codes. For each encounter, we extracted date, patient age, and sex. Publicly available regional climate data provided mean monthly temperature values. Warm (May-September) versus cold (October-April) season bite rates were compared using Welch's two-sample t-test. A one-way ANOVA test evaluated variation across calendar months. Post hoc simple linear regression was then performed to quantify the association between average monthly temperature and total monthly bite counts.
Results:
A total of 7,615 upper extremity cat bite visits were identified. Mean monthly bites were significantly higher in warm months (74.6 ± 19.3) than cold months (55.5 ± 14.3; t = 5.91, p < 0.001). ANOVA demonstrated a significant effect of month on bite frequency (F = 4.76, p < 0.0001), with June and July exhibiting the highest and February the lowest counts. Linear regression revealed a positive relationship between temperature and bite incidence (RČ = 0.263, p < 0.01), indicating that temperature accounted for approximately 26% of the variability in monthly bite numbers.
Conclusions:
Upper extremity cat bites show a clear seasonal peak in early summer and correlate moderately with ambient temperature. Recognition of these patterns can guide emergency departments in staffing, resource allocation, and targeted public education on bite prevention during high-risk periods.
Figure 1: Monthly distribution of cat bites across a 10 year period. Horizontal bars indicate pairwise comparisons between months, (*) denotes p < 0.05 and (**) denotes p < 0.01. 
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