posted
I inherited a cat from my son... it now appears she may be the reason my other two sons and the girlfriend all have Bartonella. The cat tested 'highly positive' at the National Veterinary Laboratory. She has no real symptoms that we noticed.
[By the way, Galaxy Diagnostic Lab test animals and people for Bartonella.]
I will have to get all the animals in the house tested, as well as as my husband and myself. Then there is my third son, his wife and new baby. This cat belonged to them until they moved out. I sure hope that everyone isn't positive. This is out of control!! Posts: 758 | From now TX | Registered: Mar 2001
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Pinelady
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 18524
posted
Hopefully it is not one of the strains known to be
very infective to humans. Prayers for the best..
-------------------- Suspected Lyme 07 Test neg One band migrating in IgG region unable to identify.Igenex Jan.09IFA titer 1:40 IND IgM neg pos 31 +++ 34 IND 39 IND 41 IND 83-93 + DX:Neuroborreliosis Posts: 5850 | From Kentucky | Registered: Dec 2008
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lymielauren28
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 13742
posted
I hate cats for this very reason - they carry too many diseases that can be passed on to humans and in my personal opinion they are snotty, worthess animals. I say definitely get rid of the cat. Even if you love her, she's not worth the risk to your family.
-------------------- "The only way out is through" Posts: 1434 | From mississippi | Registered: Nov 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Oh. Some cats are very loving and have deep bonds with humans. My father's cat was a true gift to him his last years.
There are plenty of ways to keep the loving cat and stay safe. Train it not to lick your face - or train all members of the household to cover their face with their elbows when the cat tries to get too close.
The cat(s) will need to be treated, anyway, but if they are a loving member of the household, their presence can be healing.
If not so loving or attached, then maybe a good home could be found by someone who could nurse back to health. Animals who are sick deserve treatment and love, too.
Sure, it's best not to have a situation of an infected animal in the house (and they may feel that way about infected people, eh?) . . . but there are many loving ways to address the situation - even if a pet needs to go to a new home. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Hoosiers51
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15759
posted
I love cats, but it's sad. The majority of cats (like 70-90% depending on the area) born in the wild are positive for bartonella henselae.
My parents "found" their cat, and though the vet treated her for some gut parasite (never got the name of it), I just assume the cat has Bart.
I still play with her, carefully, but my parents offered to give her to me, but I won't take her. I don't really want to be cleaning her water dish, etc etc. Fortunately, she goes potty outside.
I plan on getting a cat later in life when I am over all of this, and probably once my children (that I don't even have yet) grow up. I just don't like the idea of being around cats while pregnant.
However, many Americans are around cats from the womb to early childhood and beyond, so I don't think it's something to necessarily worry about. I just plan to avoid the whole situation, knowing what I know. Why risk it?
I think if a cat gives you great joy, it is probably worth the risk, but like I said, knowing what I know, I am not willing to take on the risk.
My guess is that if your immune system is strong, you might be okay, but who knows. Unfortunately my body's not normal right now, so I just don't want the exposure.
Posts: 4590 | From Midwest | Registered: Jun 2008
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posted
just took the whole animal gang to be tested. Am going to start bart henselae + cat on oral doxy.... will be making lots of phone calls to determine cure rate so I know whether the animals can be saved Posts: 758 | From now TX | Registered: Mar 2001
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sparkle7
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 10397
To muddy the waters even further, many of the Bartonella studies are based on serological tests. Serological tests detect antibodies against the organism, confirming that the cat has been exposed to Bartonella.
The presence of antibodies does not necessarily mean that the cat has an active Bartonella infection. In fact, it is possible for a cat to be exposed to Bartonella, develop antibodies against it, and then eliminate the infection from its body.
Because the antibodies remain in the bloodstream, these cats will test positive on a serological test, despite having defeated the infection. I ran a serologic test on Bob. He tested positive for Bartonella.
----
I have to disagree with lymielauren28. I love my cat. There are many sources of disease in this world. People get disease from other people, tainted produce, meat or fish with parasites, fungus, bugs, mold... We can't kill or eliminate everything. We just have to be careful.
It's best not to let cats outside. They can come in contact with infected fleas or bitten by animals who are sick. Fleas are a big part of the problem with bartonella.
I hope you can work out your issues mjbucuk!
Posts: 7772 | From Northeast, again... | Registered: Oct 2006
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Sammi
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 110
posted
I agree with Keebler and sparkle.
I have had cats my entire life and have never had any problems with them having or transmitting diseases. Pets love people whether they are sick or not, and I also believe their presence is healing.
mjbucuk I hope everyone in your household, including your cat, is on the mend soon.
Posts: 4681 | Registered: Oct 2000
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merrygirl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
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posted
MAke sure you treat for fleas MONTHLY. Bart in cats can be treated with zith for 4 weeks.
Posts: 3905 | From USA | Registered: May 2007
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onbam
Unregistered
posted
Has the cat been tested for Lyme? Has it ever had a tick? It seems to me litter or bugs from the cat could transmit more than just bart.
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posted
We got this cat from a rescue. she has not had any fleas or ticks to our knowledge, and does not go outside.
I will have to look at the testing labs to see which does PCR...
Posts: 758 | From now TX | Registered: Mar 2001
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lymielauren28
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 13742
posted
Well, I tell you what - I've been in remission for a year, moved in with my roomate who has a cat and guess who got reinfected? Yep, me. So now I feel like the last 4-5 years of my treatment were in vain and I'm basically starting over from scratch.
Not sure if I was reinfected after getting scratched or from ticks that the cat brought in the house. Either way, the source of my reinfection and latest misery are from the cat one way or the other.
The cat is gone now - I got rid of her after getting sick again.
I don't doubt that cats are great company and that they can be healing as far as the company they provide - but so can lot's of other animals that don't carry bartonella.
Maybe cats are fine to have by people who have normal, strong immune systems but most of us don't fall into that category - if we did we woudn't be here.
-------------------- "The only way out is through" Posts: 1434 | From mississippi | Registered: Nov 2007
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posted
Cats are ok if cared for properly since birth inside the home. But if its just a stray cat roaming around..I won't adopt it. I'll call the spca to come get it..if its not gone within a week i'll shoot it
Posts: 4 | From delaware | Registered: Apr 2010
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lymielauren28
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 13742
posted
And yes, it is true that disease can be found everywhere in most anything, but you have to look at things statistically. For example, I love steak. But if I know that 60 to 80% of all steaks carry some weird disease that could potentially ruin my life, I'm not gonna eat steak anymore.
-------------------- "The only way out is through" Posts: 1434 | From mississippi | Registered: Nov 2007
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1Bitten2XShy
Unregistered
posted
Well Justbrowsin...thank god people do not feel that way about you...
I do not know about DE, but where I live that is against the law and you can and they do give jail time for shooting an animal that is not harming yourself, family or livestock.
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posted
I do not believe in God but if I did I'd thank him later tonight K?
People hunt animals all the time for sport/food. But because society chose which ones are "pets" and which ones are "food"..i'm wrong for shooting a "pet" that is probably disease ridden and wont stay out of my trash. Right. I'm not going to capture it either and risk being scratched.
Posts: 4 | From delaware | Registered: Apr 2010
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posted
Exactly how does cat/dog spread Lyme/co-infections to humans?
Posts: 501 | From Hudson Ticky Valley, NY | Registered: Aug 2009
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sparkle7
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 10397
posted
If a cat has bart infected flea feces in it's claws (usually from scratching itself) & they scratch a person - the person can get infected with bart (that's why it's also known as cat scratch fever). Bart can also be spread by infected fleas.
I have never heard of dogs or cats spreading Lyme to humans. The testing in this area is very poor - so, we can't really tell what we are infected with, exactly or where it comes from. We can only make educated guesses.
As far as hunting for sport or eating meat - I guess it's to each his/her own...
I happen to like cats & animals in general. I don't feel a great need to go around killing things just for the sake of it. Many things we do in life have dangers. Some people who bought Toyotas had an excelleration problem & died as a result. There have been other problems with cars in the past. Some people get in a car & drive drunk & kill or maim people that way.
My mother got non-Hodgkins lymphoma from black hair dye. Life is full of dangers, things that can make us ill, accidents, not being protected by gov't agencies that are supposed to be screening health issues, etc. I wouldn't blame cats for our suffering.
Some people just don't like cats or animals in general. I guess that's their prerogative. Meat can contain many bad things such as e-coli, Mad Cow disease prions, parasites, drugs & hormones. There isn't alot of really "safe" food in general. Most food items these days are tainted by something that can make us ill or even kill us. Life goes on...
There are dozens of examples I can give here to illustrate the dangers in life. If you don't like cats - no one says you have to live with them.
In Europe, they killed many cats during the Inquisition because they thought they were witches. Shortly after that the plague swept through Europe. Maybe there's a connection since the plague was spread by rats. Seems that the cats were killing the rats & keeping the rat population in check. When they killed off the cats - the rats were able to multiply & this increased the rate of plague.
So, cats do have their positive qualities which may be beneficial to humans. This is why the Egyptians loved & highly regarded cats. The cats killed the mice that would feed on the stored grains, as well.
It may very well be that we humans are spreading these diseases to the animals...
Posts: 7772 | From Northeast, again... | Registered: Oct 2006
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Pinelady
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
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posted
There are many groups that are invaluable to send samples to states for testing.
But if we do not promote the need for funding these much needed studies they simply are not done.
We have hunters/trappers/farmers from every state that could and do send samples in for specific testing. Mainly Rabies/BSE right now...
We have a big opportunity we may be missing in some states by not pushing for more testing in these areas that could be addressed if your state can come up with the funds....
-------------------- Suspected Lyme 07 Test neg One band migrating in IgG region unable to identify.Igenex Jan.09IFA titer 1:40 IND IgM neg pos 31 +++ 34 IND 39 IND 41 IND 83-93 + DX:Neuroborreliosis Posts: 5850 | From Kentucky | Registered: Dec 2008
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