How To Treat Cat Scratch Disease

Cat scratch disease is a malady spread by cats, but that affects only humans; it's also called cat scratch fever. Cat scratch disease symptoms are most often 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, elevating the chance of human exposure overall to feline diseases.

Cat scratch disease is produced by bacteria called Bartonella henselea that commonly lives in the mouths of cats. They spread it to their claws via routine grooming. Interestingly, cat scratch disease is not relayed 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 symptoms. Because antibodies are only formed 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 fall ill, or that the disease was mistaken for the flu.

Cat scratch disease presents flu-like symptoms. The most noticeable 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 intense 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 delicate 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 penalty for the victim can be disability or even death.

If the disease in humans is treated immediately with antibiotics, the outcome is generally good, but it's very hard to diagnose because cat scratch disease symptoms it's so similar to flu and because it is not a usual disease. Cat scratch disease is often overlooked in its earliest stages, and only revealed 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 feline diseases even crop up with no evident cause.

Another oddity of cat scratch disease is that rarely are adult cats involved in the transmission. Generally, a kitten scratch forwards the disease. This does not mean you should not worry about it with an older cat, but only that you should worry more from kittens. It is infectious for only about two or three weeks in a kitten, after which it goes dormant. It can persist, however.

Kittens can be diagnosed as cat scratch disease carriers through a simple blood test, and positive kittens can be remedied successfully with antibiotics. Because this disease can come back, however, this is not a silver bullet for stopping cat scratch disease. De-clawing kittens at an early age is the best way to prevent infection. You should be aware of the effects to the cat before de-clawing 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 choices to de-clawing your cat, such as claw covers or trimming back their claws, but you will have to be watchful 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 cat-scratch symptoms, and very serious illness from the disease is rare. If you've had cat scratch disease once, you are almost positively immune to it afterward.

Cat scratch disease can not be confused with other feline diseases, such as the 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 symptoms can be hazardous to a pregnant woman as well, but in an entirely different way.