Just a question

[dtolle]

Is there any "diseases" that are contagious from Cats to humans?? I've never heard of any, but someone told me that I should not have cats or kittens w/ my small children because my kids can get sick. I think this is just a myth, but I was just wondering if there is anything, or maybe I should be more specific and say is there anything that would be SERIOUS??? As much as I love my cat and her kittens, I would never want to put my kids in danger. Thanks.

 

[dawnt91]

I don't know of any diseases that people can catch from cats, except things like ringworm, which is actually a fungus. With children, you just have to be sure to wash any scratches or bites really well due to the risk of infection (actually, this applies to adults as well). If anyone else knows of diseases we can catch from our cats, please correct me!

 

[dtolle]

Thanks Dawn for putting my mind at ease! I really didn't think it was correct, because I figured if there was anything dangerous you'd hear about it a lot more often. My kids actually don't even pet the cat. Both of them will pat her head and then walk away, so the risk of scratches and bites are at a pretty much minimum in my house!!
Thanks again....Happy Friday to you!

 

[dodo]

There are mainly 4 zoonotic diseases, which can pass from cats to human; cat scratch disease, toxoplasmosis, rabies & ringworm ...People are usually afraid of getting toxoplasmosis from cat poop. Actually the chance of catching this disease from raw, uncooked/not well cooked meat is much higher than getting it from cat poop..People who have some sort of immune defficiency, such as HIV & children are the ones who should be careful. (Unlike adults, most children play with sand & they are less likely to wash their hands/nails as adults do). Healthy people will still be healthy even if they catch this parasite in any way; they won't even know about it unless they don't get tested !

 

[dawnt91]

Thank you Seda for setting me staight. I didn't even think of the rabies since it's fairly uncommon, except lately there seem to have been more and more cases here. I just worry more about infections since my kids handle the cats ALL the time and frequently get scratched (only when they deserve it!). I just wash the scratches really well and they've been fine so far. Amy and I did both catch ringworm from a cat we had last year, but even that was easy to treat.

 

[dodo]

I wanted to add this also:

The cat scratch disease is caused by scratching of the cats which have bacteria Bartonella. The bacterium may also pass by environmental sources; the cats aren't the only route, so the disease is also called Bartonella disease..Cat fleas are also the vectors of the bacterium to the cat or humans.

Since cats can be asymptomatic carriers, it's best to wash hands after scratches, bites or even after petting the animal since the bacteria is present in cat's saliva & it might be spread by cat licking its fur (especially while handling unknown cats)..

This disease affects lenf nodes of humans..Like most diseases, it's not a serious disease in healthy people, but immune suppressed people should be careful.