Can I Get Any Diseases From Cats?
Human-Cat Disease Transmission (Zoonoses)
Some diseases can be transmitted from cats to people (zoonoses). Most
cannot. For example, you absolutely cannot contract AIDS from a cat with FIV
or FeLV, although the diseases are related (all are retroviruses). This
misconception led to the tragic deaths of hundreds of cats as panicked owners
got rid of them.
Anyone with an impaired immune system is at risk of exposure to germs and
other things from cats that healthy people would not contract; this is
regardless of the health of the cat.
You are more likely to contract diseases from other people than your pets.
Transmission of disease generally requires close contact between susceptible
people and animals or their oral, nasal, ocular or digestive excretions. Use
common sense and practice good hygiene to reduce your risks.
From the Cornell Book of Cats:
Viral diseases transmitted by cats are rabies and cowpox, usually through
biting or direct contact.
Ringworm is a fungus infection affecting the hair, skin, and nails. Humans
contract it either by direct contact with the cat or by the spores shed from
an infected animal.
Cat bites can cause a variety of diseases and infections, including
pasteurella and tetanus.
Campylobacter enteritis, a disease of the small intestine, can be caused by
contact with contaminated cat feces.
Cat scratch fever is an infection caused by a bacterial agent transmitted
to the human via a cat scratch.
Conjunctivitis in humans can be caused by contact with the nasal and ocular
discharges of cats infected with feline chlamydiosis.
Humans can become infected by Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
when a cat brings home ticks. If the cat becomes infected with plague, it can
also infect humans directly.
Salmonella organisms, which are shed in discharges from the mouth, eyes,
and in the feces, can cause intestinal disease in humans.
Toxoplasmosis is transmitted by contact with the feces of an infected cat.
Although it is well-known that cats can transmit toxoplasmosis, many do not
know that humans are more commonly infected by eating incompletely cooked
meat.
Other parasites which can be acquired by humans are hookworms, roundworms,
and tapeworms: usually by direct or indirect contact with contaminated feces,
or ingestion of contaminated fleas.
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