How many of you have cats and how many have been tested for cat scratch disease?

It may sound a strange question! I’m just curious because my symptoms have worsened since I had rescued a kitten and being a dog-person you have no idea how many times I’ve been scratched and bitten by the little furry thing!
Do you think a poll would be better?

 

I've had cats pretty much all of my life and I've never had cat-scratch disease. And Lord knows I've been scratched many many times over the years.

 

I do not have a cat, I have however 'had' cats for the majority of my life.

Cats scratch, it's one of the things they do, even when perfectly content it's common to have claws inserted anywhere they find handy.

I have never been tested for 'cat scratch disease'.

I'm fairly sure if I suggested such a thing to my GP I would likely be committed/sectioned.

It's not a real thing according to the NHS, at least as far as I know.

Of course this doesn't mean it isn't, but it does mean that it's risky to bring up with an NHS doctor when I already have ME on my medical record.

ETA - the only NHS page I can find on it references a newspaper article, essentially rubbishing it, and says that CSD is primarily something that happens to those with very weakened immune systems, children, the old, in southern US states. with very few incidences and very rare fatalities.

In short if you're an NHS patient it doesn't exist.

 

I've been tested a couple of times by the NHS. It's Toxoplasmosis that they look for.

My illness started at around the time I was given a cat from a woman who was too sick to look after her. Never found out what was wrong as she disappeared.

 

Never had cats but spent summers on relative's farm with cats. I've been tested and it showed I was negative. However, the testing for it is not all that reliable.

 

the women disappeared ?

 

You can get toxoplasmosis through unhygienic practices like letting your cat walk on kitchen surfaces where you prepare food. I stayed at someone’s house when younger. Our host was making breakfast and I caught the cat walking on the kitchen surface and licking butter off the toast ...I declined breakfast due to a “hangover’. Cats pass it on through their poo and poo covered paws. obviously letting them walk all over the furniture ain’t good either. And they say they are clean pets ..urgh.

 

Toxoplasmosis and Cat Scratch Fever are two different things.

 

They aren't easy to iron after tumble drying either. Cats.

That sort of thing never really bothered me, you get used to it, although the constant hoovering was a apin, but not more so than the constant washing food bowls, and feeding.

What used to really bug me was the quantum tunneling.

Open a tin, that had been carefully cleaned immediately before, and inside, fur.

I mean, how?

If you have a pet, or a child, a partner, or even a plant, abandon the idea of things being clean, it aint gonna happen.

Cleans bad anyway, causes allergies, allegedly.

 

That is the first time I have heard of someone getting a hangover from watching cat.

 

Keep an eye on Bartonella. Vets are the canaries in the mines, and guess what is felling them increasingly these days.

ETA: I have tested positive for Bartonella a few times, I have no cats, nor have I for 40 years.

 

Once you are infected and get rid of the parasite you are immune for life apparently ...it’s just the damage to brain you may get if your immune system is compromised.

Agree with the child and partner ...they are also a pain ..so messy ..and the child brings home all sorts of things from the others of its kind. I’ve had 3 successive colds this year already. I try not to flinch when he comes near me with a snotty nose

I think fur/hair has a covert property (similar to dust)...it probably drops in commando style when the biscuit tins lid is off and you have your back turned making the tea?

 

Thanks guys. Yes, I was referring to Bartonella infection. Over here the test is not covered by my health insurance and it’s very expensive.
I was thinking of chronic exposure and the immune response as a possible source of constant fatigue, not the acute infection, which is frequently mild.
By the way, I would never get rid of him because of that or the mess he does at my flat. I love animals more than humans, actually.

 

Well technically we humans are also animals ? Some of us are more furry than others.

Most of the animals I have in the house tend to have their fur removed before coming in...allergies. That reminds me must get the steak out of the freezer.

 

Yes, we are animals. That’s what I’m always trying to tell people about ‘No animals allowed’ signs.
Most of them don’t understand when I ask how can I come inside...

I prefer them alive, they are wonderful creatures and far more interesting than most humans. My cat has taught me a lot about CFS and PEM... cats have sudden explosive activity just to collapse soon afterwards and they rest/sleep most of the time. And the stretching, oh how I would like to do be able to do that!

 

CDC website has good info on the risks of feces, mainly when cleaning the cat box, new kitten, etc. https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/gen_info/faqs.html

 

Cat disease that causes skin-blisters in humans discovered in Britain for first time

Cat disease that causes skin-blisters in humans discovered in Britain for first time (msn.com)

 

My brother got scratched by a cat and developed cat scratch disease. He ended up in hospital on intravenous antibiotics for a few days. I am not aware there were any long-term after effects of it - but then to the best of my knowledge he doesn't have ME. (We aren't close.)

 

Bartonella henselae does belong on the list of 'diseases that can have chronic impacts'

Musculoskeletal Manifestations of Cat Scratch Disease

Abstract

"Background.Musculoskeletal manifestations (MMs) are considered to be rare in cat scratch disease (CSD) and are not well characterized. We aimed to study MMs of CSD.

Methods.A surveillance study performed over 11 years identified patients with CSD on the basis of compatible clinical presentation and confirmatory serological test or PCR results for Bartonella henselae. Patients with CSD who had MMs (i.e., myalgia, arthritis, arthralgia, tendinitis, osteomyelitis, and neuralgia) were compared with patients with CSD who did not have MMs (control subjects).

Results.Of 913 patients with CSD, 96 (10.5%) had MMs. Myalgia (in 53 patients [5.8%]) was often severe, with a median duration of 4 weeks (range, 1–26 weeks). Arthropathy (arthralgia and/or arthritis; in 50 patients [5.5%]) occurred mainly in the medium and large joints and was classified as moderate or severe in 26 patients, with a median duration of 5.5 weeks (range, 1–240 weeks). In 7 patients, symptoms persisted for ⩾1 year; 5 developed chronic disease. Tendinitis, neuralgia, and osteomyelitis occurred in 7, 4, and 2 patients, respectively. Patients with MMs were significantly older than patients in the control group (median age, 31.5 years vs. 15.0 years; P < .001). In multivariate analysis, age >20 years was associated with having any MM (relative risk [RR], 4.96; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.79–8.8), myalgia (RR, 4.69; 95% CI, 2.22–9.88), and arthropathy (RR, 11.0; 95% CI, 4.3–28.2). Arthropathy was also associated with female sex (RR, 1.89; 95% CI, 1.01–3.52) and erythema nodosum (RR, 4.07; 95% CI, 1.38–12.02).

Conclusions.MMs of CSD are more common than previously thought and affect one-tenth of patients with CSD. MMs occur mostly in patients aged >20 years and may be severe and prolonged. Osteomyelitis, the most well known MM of CSD is, in fact, the rarest."