diff --git a/src/etcd/__init__.py b/src/etcd/__init__.py
index 29000787..ce981d1b 100644
--- a/src/etcd/__init__.py
+++ b/src/etcd/__init__.py
@@ -46,8 +46,8 @@ def __init__(self, action=None, node=None, prevNode=None, **kwdargs):
 
     def parse_headers(self, response):
         headers = response.getheaders()
-        self.etcd_index = headers.get('x-etcd-index', 1)
-        self.raft_index = headers.get('x-raft-index', 1)
+        self.etcd_index = int(headers.get('x-etcd-index', 1))
+        self.raft_index = int(headers.get('x-raft-index', 1))
 
     def get_subtree(self, leaves_only=False):
         """