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Cat Scratch Disease
CSD, or Cat Scratch Disease, is caused by a bacterium called Bartonella henselae, which is found in cat saliva and typically enters your body when a cat scratches you.
Often, a cat scratch will only leave you with some minor redness and swelling around the wound. However, CSD is more than just that. Symptoms can include headaches, fever, swollen lymph nodes, sore muscles and joints, fatigue, and reduced appetite. While healthy adults usually recover quickly, severely immunocompromised individuals may require treatment with antibiotics. To help prevent illness, always thoroughly rinse any cat scratches, even minor ones.
Cat bites
When a cat bites playfully, you may end up with just a small scratch, but if a cat means business and deeply punctures your skin, you should always seek medical attention. That’s because cats can carry several dangerous bacteria in their mouths,including Bartonella henselae, Pasteurella multocida, Staphylococcus and Streptococcus.
Any cat bite will leave you with localized pain, swelling, and redness, but did you know that about 50% of all cat bites become infected? This can lead to pus, abscesses, high fever, and in severe cases, infections of the bloodstream, bones, joints, tendon sheaths or heart valves, and even sepsis. The sooner you start treatment, the more likely the infection can be effectively cured with antibiotics. This, along with the risk of rabies, is why you should always thoroughly rinse and disinfect a cat bite and seek medical attention right away.
Rabies
While rabies is usually associated with wild animals such as foxes, raccoons, and bats, you can, in rare cases, catch it from a cat, too. The disease is most commonly transmitted through the bite of an infected animal, so be cautious if you’re bitten by a potentially unvaccinated cat, and be sure to have your cat vaccinated against the virus in case they are bitten by a wild animal. In many countries, rabies vaccinations for pet cats are mandatory. Adult cats typically require a booster every 1 to 3 years, depending on the vaccine used.
