Dog and cat bites are commonly seen at emergency rooms, but have been inadequately characterized. This study attempted to characterize the clinical features of 10 patients from whom P. multocida was cultured. During the past 10 years, 108 patients have been hospitalized for pet bites, at a rate of 3.4/10,000 hospitalizations. Five patients had a documented exposure to cats, 3 to dogs, and two had an unknown exposure. The mean age was 50.8 years (+/- 20.5) and 80% were men. An average delay of 5.7 days was noted from exposure to hospitalization, and additional 4.4 days until P. multocida was characterized. P. multocida was cultured from wounds in six patients, and three patients had bacteremia; another patient had septic arthritis. Six patients needed debridement and the average hospital stay was 11.7 days (3 times our hospital's average). Animal bites may take a complicated course. Our findings call for reassessment of the need for prophylaxis in animal bites.