I have a 6 year old cat who I love dearly, but he sleeps in my bed with with me and on my pillow.
Besides interrupting my sleep all night, I adore him.
Do you think he is in anyway making me sick too?
Posted by Sammi (Member # 110) on :
I do not think you should re-home your cat. Pets are awesome companions and they have a positive effect on our health. My cats have helped me through some very challenging times.
Is your cat an indoor cat? If not, I would suggest making him one. Indoor cats live longer, and they will not bring in ticks or other pests from outside.
Posted by randibear (Member # 11290) on :
omg!!_ nono...pets are great companions.
please don't get rid of him.
my maine cat slept wrapped around my neck and my russian blue slept in the bend of my knees.
I adored them. remember they are our greatest loves.
Posted by Judie (Member # 38323) on :
Absolutely not. Your pets will keep you going to get through this.
Can you put him outside your room on the nights you absolutely need sleep?
Posted by SickSci (Member # 43849) on :
Hey cfm -
As a patient with high occupational exposure (vet), I've thought a lot about this question.
Ultimately, I agree with Sammi. There's no way to eliminate our risk of reinfection, and potentially no way to completely eradicate these infections; our goal should perhaps be more to reduce microbial load to a point manageable by our immune defenses.
However, reducing microbial load in our pets can help us and them, and cats are an important carrier species of bartonella.
Even if your cat is indoor, flea and tick preventative is a good idea to reduce possible vector transmission. (Even inhaled flea feces can transmit bartonella.)
People don't often consider this, but we share more microbial flora with animals sharing our environment than with family members living elsewhere. Testing our pets for zoonotic agents (or other env hazards) can increase our understanding of our exposures and aid in pet owner medical histories. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021997512004367
They're our best friends, and they also can be little health sentinels for us. Good luck!
Posted by randibear (Member # 11290) on :
my cats were totally indoors. they got heartguard, flea treatment, you name it. they sneezed and momma took them to the vet.
I had their teeth cleaned yearly and always checked for worms. I cleaned litter boxes twice a day and changed litter often.
my kids were healthy.
Posted by Catgirl (Member # 31149) on :
Keep your cat. Our cat sleeps with us every night and my husband is well from lyme.
Posted by tdtid (Member # 10276) on :
I too vote for keep your cat. As others have said, pets help with companionship and also help us feel better.
If you fear that the cat sleeping with you is making you not get a good nights sleep, hence making you sicker, I would see about closing off your bedroom at night and letting your cat sleep in another room.
But that way you will have plenty of snuggle time during the day to spend with your cat after you have slept better.
Posted by Catgirl (Member # 31149) on :
I'm getting better and we have several cats, plus hubby's lyme is gone. One cat even sleeps with us (lol)!
Posted by cfm11205 (Member # 45429) on :
Thank you! I am definitely going to keep him. Posted by surprise (Member # 34987) on :
Please have the cat checked out (Bartonella) also parasites.
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