Dog
and cat pet tips - on Pets.ca
Cat illness, dog is sick, behavior
problems....Once a week Pets.ca will publish a pet tip.
Tip - 21 - Cat scratch
disease
Cat scratch disease
(CSD) affects humans, not cats.
Cat scratch disease is also known as Cat Scratch Fever and benign lymphoreticulosis.
Cat scratch disease is a rare disease that occurs when you are scratched
(or in rare cases bitten) by a cat (but usually a kitten) that has a specific
bacteria on its paws or teeth. The bacteria originates in the cat's saliva.
At the site of the scratch
you develop a sore or a lesion and the sore may only develop
3-30 days after you have been bitten/scratched. The sore may
continue to get larger, take a long time to heal and the lymph
glands will get infected usually in the glands closest to where
you were scratched (most commonly under the armpit). You may
get a fever that lasts for a few days after having being scratched
or bitten. As a preventative measure always clean the area where
the scratch or bite took place with a disinfectant.
In healthy people,
cat scratch disease is normally not serious and it will usually
clear up on its own without treatment. If you have really painful
lymph nodes that won't heal after a couple of weeks or a fever
that is taking too long to break, antibiotics can help. Cat scratch
disease is extremely dangerous to people with compromised immune
systems.
If you get cat scratch
disease from a particular cat, it does not mean that the cat
is sick or will be sick, it only means that the cat is a carrier
of the disease. It is usually only able to transmit the disease
for a few weeks. The cat does not need to be treated.
See the
other pet tips here:
© Pets.ca 2003
www.pets.ca
