Friday, May 23, 2014

The Truth About Cat Scratch Disease(CSD), A.K.A Cat Scratch Fever

Ouch! Your cat has just scratched you, you think "eh, its nothing, its happened a lot now" you go to wash it and maybe put a  band-Aid on it, weeks later you start to notice that it burns and is swelling, you go to your family doctor who had just informed you that you have Cat Scratch fever. Eeek! Should you get rid of your cat? Or worse declaw it? Absolutely NOT!
You should know that Cat Scratch fever is also brought on by fleas, and cat bites. And its not necessarily the fact that the cat scratches you and it becomes infected, its actually because a bacteria found in cat claws that can cause it, in fact 40% of cats are infected with this bacteria, commonly known as Bartonella henselae. Kittens are far more likely to carry this bacteria than older cats, outdoor cats are also at a higher risk for giving you the disease. What most people are unaware of is the fact that CSD (Cat Scratch Disease, or Cat Scratch fever) can also be brought on by cat bites and fleas. To help lower your risk of catching this disease is to 1: not play hard with your cat; i.e biting and scratching the hands type of play (my cats are not allowed to play this game with me or other people). 2: if your cat does scratch you by accident or on purpose, wash the area with soap and hot water. 3: teach your kids that its not okay to play rough with your cat and if the cat becomes distressed then stop what you're doing and come back later to play--same goes for you



Note: not all cat scratches led to CSD, I've been scratched by cats like 800,000 times and I've never caught CSD. Thankfully. 









Hugs,
Ragdoll Mommy~

7 comments:

  1. Thsi is great advice and we thought you could only get it from scratches, so we learned something too. The mom's cousin caught this from a scratch and was sick for a long time, so it's not something to take lightly. Thanks for stopping by! It's a pleasure to meet you!

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  2. Thank you for your information. I wasn't aware of CSD as I've never experienced it.

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  3. Great advice and information, Ragdoll Mommy. One of our angel kitties (Sammy) had Bartonella when we first got him. Luckily, the treatments worked, and he was cured.

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  4. Good info on this and still wincing at even the thought of declawing an animal. All nails are regularly trimmed here in case of accidental injuries, not necessarily fever related, just from a human and home damage perspective! My two like being carried up at my shoulder and show their love my holding on tight which if their nails are long is agony so rather than tell them off a wee manicure does the trick and they can still express their love for their favourite human.

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  5. Great advice! Thanks for sharing it! :-) Have a PURRFECT weekend! xoxo Roxy & Tigerlino <3

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  6. Wow, I didn't know you could get CSF from bites too. Thanks for info! Great blog!

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