Cat Scratch Disease

Cat scratch disease, or cat scratch fever, is a disease that is spread by cats but it affects only humans. It is often diagnosed in the colder months of the year, namely winter and fall. Scientists do not understand the reasoning behind this. Perhaps it is because that your cat is inside for most of the time. This raises the chance of being exposed to humans. It is caused by the bacteria called Bartonella henselea. This is primarily found in the mouth of the cat. It is spread to their claws through their rountine grooming. Cat Scratch disease is only spread through cat scratches and not by bites.

Most people in the United States have been exposed to this fever. About 5% of the population contains antibodies in their blood but they do not have any history of the illness. Antibodies are usually made when the body responds to the invasion of a disease. There people were directly exposed to the Bartonella. It could be possible that these people did not really become ill, or that the disease was thought to have been the flu. Cat scratch fever does have flu-like symptoms. The most common symptoms are fever, lethargy, and chills which only last for a few days.

There is a much more severe form of cat scrach fever which does cause a high fever, weakness, anorexia and lymph nodes that become badly swollen especially in the armpits the the groin area. This more serious form of cat scratch fever is found in younger children, the elderly and those with a compromised immune system.

Because cat scratch fever is so hard to diagnose because it is so much like the flu, then it is not always easy to treat. When antibiotics are used the outcome is good. This disease if often overlooked at first and is only diagnosed when the lymph nodes become involved.

Another important point to note about cat scratch fever, is that usually adult cats are not involved in the transmission of the disease. It is generally found that a kitten scratch passes cat scratch fever. In a kitten, it is only contagious for about two to three weeks and then it goes dormant. A simple blood test can tell if a kitten is a carrier of cat scratch disease. If it is, then it can be treated with antibiotics. However, this will not prevent the disease from returning. If you want to prevent the disease for good, it is best to have your kitten declawed at an early age. There are some alternative to having your kitten declawed. You can try keeping your kitten’s claws trimmed back or try using claw covers.

Less than 10% of family member who are scratch by a cat carrying this disease will end up catching cat scratch fever. Very serious illness is a rare thing to develop from this disease. This should not be confused with toxoplasmosis which is another catr-borne disease. It can be deadly to a pregnant woman’s unborn baby. Therefore, when a woman gets prgnant, she is NOT to change the cat’s litter box.