Bite proof gloves?

[dowhat]

Cross posting this from r/catgrooming because it’s TECHNICALLY about cats, but I feel like you guys could help here

I’m looking for bite proof gloves, preferably fingerless ones because I need to be able to grip tightly. Got bitten by a cat I was assisting with the groom of and now I’m in the hospital getting antibiotic treatment for an infection. Anyone know any good bite resistant gloves? Or have any recommendations at all?

I’m not upset - obviously the cat was doing what cats do and I just happened to be the closest target to its rage. This is my first real injury on the job so this was bound to happen eventually. But if there’s any way I can keep this from happening again, I’d like to know about it lol.

I feel like I should also add that the cat was indeed scruffed and did have a muzzle on, but he squirmed loose and pulled it off - unfortunately for me lol.

 

[livelifeliving33]

@dowhat Shops I've worked at have kept essentially falconer gloves on hand for cats. I doubt you'll be able to find fingerless gloves that do what you need them to do, it'd kind of defeat the purpose to have fingers exposed.

Cat bites are incredibly dangerous and that's why most groomers won't deal with them if given the chance. It's just one of the risks that comes with the job.

 

[dowhat]

@livelifeliving33 Oh I know it’s definitely one of the risks that comes with the job. Like I said, I’m not upset about it or anything and this was bound to happen eventually - but I’d just like to find a way to minimize the damage

I thought about falconer gloves but my hands are already so small, I feel like they’d make it so hard to grip the cats… I found some fingerless ones on Amazon with mixed reviews, I guess I was just hoping someone could give me some more specific recommendations lol

 

[cornelius77]

@dowhat Yikes, hope you’re feeling better soon. Cat bites freak me out Maybe you could try motorcycle gloves… like the Kevlar lined ones or maybe cut resistant work gloves from a hardware store. No idea how well they’d work but those are the first things aside from like welding gloves that come to mind lol

 

[dowhat]

@cornelius77 Thank you!! I’m getting my last round of antibiotics tonight and aside from some swelling and soreness, I’m feeling pretty good!

I don’t blame you there about the bites though, they’re quite nasty lol

Oh I didn’t think about motorcycle gloves!! I’ll give those a look! I was looking at some cut proof ones but they seemed to get mixed reviews on if they could take a bite or not
Maybe I’ll look into some welding gloves too lol

 

[rushu]

@dowhat Look for puncture proof building gloves, the type a builder would wear. You can get fingerless ones but you might find it easier to just cut the finger tips off

 

[rushu]

Cut-proof sleeves might be a good idea too!

 

[esodam]

@dowhat Can't you put a bubble helmet on or a cat muzzle? I don't groom cats anymore, but they are so unpredictable I tried to be proactive.

 

[tonwhite]

@dowhat Bite buster the best!

 

[dowhat]

@tonwhite I was looking at those on Chewy but then I saw the lady who said her Maine Coon bit through them and got worried
Maybe I’ll give them a shot anyway though! Thank you!

 

[tonwhite]

@dowhat I use them and groom cats never had an issue!

 

[doerstv]

@dowhat I would start turning away pets that can't be safely groomed. If you're having to scruff and muzzle a cat for the entire groom, that's not humane for the cat or safe for you.

 

[dowhat]

@doerstv This is very sound advice, but it’s not really applicable to my situation unfortunately.

It’s not my salon and I’m not the cat groomer, I’m the assistant. I don’t get to make the calls of what animals are and are not accepted into the salon.

We also did not scruff and muzzle the cat through the entire groom, we scruffed and muzzled him around the end when he started trying to bite and become aggressive. I only mentioned that he was scruffed and muzzled to show we were taking the situation seriously and were trying to take precautions.

Again, thank you for the advice, I appreciate it - just isn’t really suited to my situation unfortunately.

 

[doerstv]

@dowhat Sorry to hear that.

 

[simon_peter]

@dowhat I use tall welder gloves. I kept the fingers on them but know a few groomers that cut the fingers off so the fingers were covered to the first knuckle. It protected the fingers but allowed to still have a solid grip.

 

[josiahsin92]

@dowhat I’m not 100% sure these will stand up to what you need them for, but we use Gorilla brand gloves to protect our hands and fingers when dremelling and as a safety measure when dogs like to bite the blow dryer. We don’t groom cats though so I haven’t tested them for that. They are pretty dexterous though so I like them for that.

 

[islamforchristians]

@dowhat Police frisk gloves.