SolveYourProblem.com Article Series: Cat Care
Cat Care Tips
What
Is Cat Scratch Disease?
Cat scratch disease is a disease spread by cats,
but that affects only humans; it's also called cat scratch fever.
It is most commonly diagnosed in the colder winter and
fall months of the year for reasons scientists don't
understand; it's possible that cats are more likely to
be indoors at this time, raising the chance of human
exposure overall.
Cat scratch disease is caused by bacteria called Bartonella
henselea that generally lives in the mouths of cats. They spread
it to their claws through routine grooming. Interestingly,
cat scratch disease is not spread through cat bites, only through
cat scratches.
Most Americans have been exposed to cat scratch disease, and
5% of the US population has antibodies in their blood but no
history of clinical illness. Because antibodies are only made
in response to the invasion of a disease, it is clear that
they were exposed to Bartonella directly. It is possible that
they did not subsequently become ill, or that the disease was
mistaken for the flu.
Cat scratch disease does present with flu-like
symptoms. The
most common symptoms include fever, chills, and lethargy, but
they last for only a few days, much shorter than most flu’s.
There is a more
severe form of cat scratch disease that causes
high fever, anorexia, weakness, and badly swollen lymph nodes,
particularly in the armpits and groin area. Sometimes the lymph
swelling gets so bad that the swelling spontaneously ruptures;
at other times, doctors choose to surgically drain them to
prevent the rupture and relieve the pain.
Typically, the most serious form of the disease is seen in
younger children and the elderly and people with
compromised immune systems, such as those who have HIV, are receiving chemotherapy,
or who have been the recipient of an organ donation. When the
serious form of the disease presents itself, the consequences
for the victim can be disability or even death.
If the disease in humans is treated immediately with antibiotics,
the outcome is usually good, but it's very hard to diagnose
because it's so similar to flu and because it is not a common
disease. Cat scratch disease is often overlooked in its earliest
stages, and only caught when the lymph nodes are involved.
Almost every verified case of cat scratch disease follows a
cat scratch wound; a few occur after a bite, and a few even
crop up with no obvious cause.
Another oddity of cat scratch disease is that only rarely
are adult cats involved in the transmission. Generally, a kitten
scratch passes the disease. This does not mean you should not
worry about it with an older cat, but only that you should
worry more about the kittens. It is contagious for only about
two or three weeks in a kitten, after which it goes dormant.
It can recur, however.
Kittens can be diagnosed as cat scratch disease carriers through
a simple blood test, and positive kittens can be treated successfully
with antibiotics. Because this disease can come back, however,
this is not a silver bullet for preventing cat scratch disease.
Declawing kittens at an early age is the best way to prevent
infection. You should be aware of the ramifications to the
cat before declawing it, however. Not only can it be dangerous
for the cat to go outside, it can also be psychologically traumatic
and cause unexpected complications like arthritis.
There are a few alternatives to declawing your cat, such as
claw covers or trimming back their claws, but you will have
to be vigilant if you are in a home with an immunocompromised
person.
Fewer than ten percent of family members scratched by a cat
carrying cat scratch disease will develop the disease, and
very serious illness from the disease is rare. If you've had
cat scratch disease once, you are almost certainly immune to
it afterward.
Cat scratch disease should not be confused with another cat-borne
disease, toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasmosis is deadly to a pregnant
woman's fetus, but presents in different ways and is more likely
to be inhaled when a woman changes her cat's litter box. Cat
scratch disease can be dangerous to a pregnant woman as well,
but in an entirely different way.
#
# # # #
SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
>
Home Page > Cat
Care Articles: Main Page |
