The cat scratch disease is also known as cat scratch fever. This disease strikes people who are infected by the bacteria Bartonella henselae. In almost all cases, cat scratch disease occurs when the person bitten or scratched by her cat. The cat itself does not catch the disease cat scratch. It's just a carrier. Now before you panic and send your cat to the pound, the National Center for Infectious Diseases (CDC) estimates that 40% of all cats are carriers of the disease at some point in their lives. Considering how cat owners there are many in the world, clearly, this is no disease highly infectious and dangerous.
But how to know if they were infected with cat scratch disease? The first thing I see is the place for your cat or a little scratched. Is the wound infected? (Note: If you can not find the wound, then you do not have the cat scratch disease.) So you want to see her lymph nodes. Are the nodes around the head, neck and upper limbs swollen? Do you also have fever, headache, fatigue and lack of appetite? These are the typical symptoms of cat scratch fever.
What can you do? The first step is always prevention. If you own a cat, or playing with cats, definitely is bitten or scratched. What you should do every time you get scratched is simply clean the wound with soap and running water. Then clean with an antiseptic like hydrogen peroxide and applying an antibiotic ointment (neosporin works pretty well). Only the application of these basic hygiene practices can prevent most cases of the infection from cat bites or scratches, not just the cat scratch disease.
What if you are infected – the wound is swollen and red, swollen lymph nodes and fever? Then go to your doctor. He will probably give an antibiotic, and perhaps escape from wound if necessary. You should also send their cats to the vet. Let make sure they are still carrying the bacteria. Otherwise, you can infect other time, or infect others.
In the long term, we need to train your cats not to bite or scratch too hard. Your cats need to learn to show affection without drawing blood from you. And you need to learn not to provoke or over-excite your cats.
Whenever you are not causing the cat scratch, kitten may spray with water every time he bites or scratches you. This means you have to carry a spray bottle with you at home. Spray Kitty constantly when bites, and learn to stop biting you. Remember to spray when it bites – not after 30 seconds or 1 minute later, or 5 minutes later. Just knowing that your answer is immediate. Too many people spray only after the cat scratched or bit, then complain that the technique does not work.
If your cat tends to bite or scratch During playtime, then you need a different approach. Play with your cat normally. When it bites or scratches, stop playing and ignore him. Too many people just keep playing – unfortunately, this teaches kitten to bite or scratch is good.
As you can see the cat scratch disease not a big problem. While basic hygiene practices, train your cat not to bite or scratch a lot, everything should be fine.
Are you still worried about cat scratch disease? Click here to learn more ways to stop cat scratching.
Pet Care : How to Treat a Cat Bite
