Most nerve injuries in the hand happen the way people expect: something sharp slices through. A recent case report describes a cat scratch that appears to have done something far stranger. Instead of cutting a nerve, the claw seems to have pulled a bundle of nerve fibers out through the skin of an 80-year-old woman's hand.
The report, published Sept. 9, 2026, in the peer-reviewed journal Cureus, carries the playful title "Cat Anatomist." Its authors, Jeremy Jones and Greg Jacobs of the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine and Samuel Sternberg of Auburn University, write that exteriorization of a nerve fascicle after minor trauma is "exceedingly rare."
