Children and Pets: CATS
Meet our royal Taj, a Maine Coon cat who rules the roost.
Approximately 70% of US households own pets. Most children grow up with pets as companions — and they benefit from these animal relationships in so many ways. They learn about responsibility, love and loss. Pets decrease feelings of loneliness, and can increase socialization with others. Pets are great — but they are not 100% risk free. This is Part I of the Children and Pet Blogs. Today, I am going to specifically talk about cats, with a brief overview of some diseases they can cause.
Cats are amazing, fuzzy, cuddly spitfires that are great critter companions. Approximately 36% of U.S. households own cats. Kittens are especially cute and often lugged around by doting children. But these purring felines can be a reservoir of plagues (literally and figuratively).
Cat bites are nasty. 50% of cat bites cause infections. Because cats have long, sharp teeth, their bites can penetrate deep into the body and cause abscesses, joint and bone infections. If your child gets bitten by a cat, please call their doctor. Antibiotics are often prescribed (and rightly so) to prevent infections. Infections with Pasteurella, MRSA, etc are best to be avoided.
Cats can carry rabies. Make sure your own cats (if allowed outside) are up to date on their rabies vaccine. If your child is bitten by someone else’s cat — check to see if that cat has been vaccinated. If your child is bitten by a cat of unknown ownership — call your child’s doctor to further discuss potential need for rabies prophylaxis.
Cat Scratch Disease (CSD) — this is a rarer disease caused by a specific organism: Bartonella henselae. CSD often presents as a large bump/lump near the bite or scratch site, but can infiltrate throughout the central nervous system, the spleen, liver and eyes and cause great harm. Kittens are much more likely to transmit CSD. If your child has unexplained, persistent fevers or a singular enlarged lymph node, CSD might be the cause.
Cats carry many organisms that cause gastrointestinal harm (ie, diarrhea). Cats can transmit Salmonella and E. Coli (among other bacteria) that lead to infectious diarrhea. If your cat has diarrhea — get them examined by the vet and appropriately treated. Be extra careful with personal handwashing and separate the critter from your children until treated.
Cats can carry parasites. It goes without saying that one should not allow children to consume cat feces, but remember that dirt and dust can also transmit parasites shed by cats. Diseases such as toxoplasmosis are rare — but can cause great harm to a human fetus. Expectant mother’s shouldn’t change litter boxes. Many protozoa (like Giardia) and parasites (WORMS) can also be shed in cat excrement.
Cats can give you Lyme. Here in Maine, most people are familiar with the unholy trio of tick-borne illnesses: Lyme, Ehrlichiosis and Babesiosis are all tick borne diseases. We are all too familiar with the consequences of these diseases ranging from rashes to fevers, heart and central nervous system damage and long term sequelae. Make sure to treat any outdoor cats with medications to avoid fleas and ticks!
Cats can give you the plague. True story — cats carry the fleas that transmit plague. This is yet another reason to make sure your feline is treated to avoid fleas.
Ringworm — It is true that cats can cause ringworm in humans! Approximately 10 - 15% of human ringworm is caused by fungi that also live on cats. If your cat has a skin infection, consult your vet.
So why have cats if they can cause so much harm? Even I am having a hard time wrapping my head logically around why humans keep cats. But they are such wonderful pets!!! Emotionally and viscerally (pun intended), the benefits outweigh the risks.
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