{"id":1467,"date":"2019-07-27T09:15:10","date_gmt":"2019-07-27T09:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/budgetvetcare.improvepetcare.com\/?p=1467"},"modified":"2025-02-27T06:35:54","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T06:35:54","slug":"cat-scratch-fever-in-cats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/budgetvetcare.improvepetcare.com\/cat-scratch-fever-in-cats\/","title":{"rendered":"Cat Scratch Fever In Cats"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Cat scratch fever, also known as cat scratch disease (CSD), is caused by bacteria named Bartonella\u00a0henselae. The disease is transmitted to the cat through flea feces that is present on the cat\u2019s skin. Thus, when the cat grooms himself, he ingests the bacteria and becomes infected. Although it doesn\u2019t cause any severe complications to cats other than fever, muscle pain or swollen glands, its owner is at a huge risk of getting infected with cat scratch fever. The disease can be transmitted to humans through just a scratch, lick or a bite.<\/p>\n<h5><strong>What is Bartonella? <\/strong><\/h5>\n<p>Bartonella organisms are very sneaky in nature. They are not easily caught as they gradually reproduce by hiding in the circulating blood cells and blood vessels in fewer numbers. Fleas, spiders, ticks, and lice are known to transmit the disease to other animals and eventually humans.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1469 \" src=\"http:\/\/budgetvetcare.improvepetcare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/F3.large_-1024x586.jpg\" alt=\"Bartonella\" width=\"529\" height=\"303\" srcset=\"http:\/\/budgetvetcare.improvepetcare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/F3.large_-1024x586.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/budgetvetcare.improvepetcare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/F3.large_-300x172.jpg 300w, http:\/\/budgetvetcare.improvepetcare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/F3.large_-768x439.jpg 768w, http:\/\/budgetvetcare.improvepetcare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/F3.large_.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 529px) 100vw, 529px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The signs and symptoms are not major and many people mistake the signs for some common flu or disease. Although most cats don\u2019t show any clinical signs of cat scratch fever, below are some common symptoms of the disease &#8211;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em>Swollen glands<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Fever<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Lethargic<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Loss of appetite <\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Vomiting\/diarrhea<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Nasal and eye discharge<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Sneezing<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Inflammation in the mouth and gums<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The cats that roam outside or haven\u2019t been administered flea preventives are at the most risk of getting cat scratch fever. However, indoor cats aren\u2019t immune to it; fleas can easily enter your house through humans, other dogs or the bags you carry with you. Fleas not only suck your pet\u2019s blood but they also transmit dangerous diseases. To protect yourself and your cat, know the signs and symptoms of the disease.<\/p>\n<h5><strong>Diagnosis of Cat Scratch Fever<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p>To get an exact diagnosis, your vet will need to run a few tests. He will require a complete medical history of your cat and if he has been infested with fleas or ticks in the past few months.<\/p>\n<p>The vet might run a Western Blot test in your cat which assesses the antibodies in the system against the bacteria. The test needs to be sent to a laboratory and the results usually arrive within a few days.<\/p>\n<p>Another possible diagnostic test is ELISA testing. ELISA stands for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and it\u2019s similar to Western Blot but takes lesser time to get the results.<\/p>\n<p>Through these tests, your vet will be easily able to diagnose the disease and suggest the right treatment to your cat.<\/p>\n<h5><strong>Treating Cat Scratch Fever <\/strong><\/h5>\n<p>The treatments are not very complex. Usually, the treatment consists of a few doses of antibiotics and some rest. Bartonella is gram-negative bacteria. Hence, it\u2019s difficult to treat it with antibiotics that have low power. To cure this disease, intense antibiotics are administered to the cat for about three weeks to remove the disease from its roots.<\/p>\n<p>If the cat has very mild symptoms, many pet parents just wait and watch. There are cats who can fight the disease by developing sufficient antibodies to protect themselves. Hence, sometimes treatments aren\u2019t necessary when the issue isn\u2019t that severe.<\/p>\n<h5><strong>How to Prevent Cat Scratch Fever? <\/strong><\/h5>\n<p>If your cat was treated for cat scratch fever, ensure that he doesn\u2019t come in contact with any parasites, otherwise, he has a chance of getting contaminated again. Moreover, administering flea and tick preventives will protect your cat from catching this disease.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><a style=\"color: #008000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.budgetvetcare.com\/flea-and-tick-control\/frontline-plus-for-cats\/p1232.aspx?utm_source=inblog&amp;utm_medium=seo&amp;utm_campaign=cat-scratch-fever\">Frontline Plus<\/a><\/span><\/strong> is the most effective <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.budgetvetcare.com\/cat-flea-and-tick-control\/c104.aspx?utm_source=inblog&amp;utm_medium=seo&amp;utm_campaign=cat-scratch-fever\"><strong>flea and tick treatment for cats<\/strong><\/a><\/span>. It protects your kitty from those annoying parasites for a full month. Hence, this treatment will not only be beneficial against parasites but it\u2019ll also protect your pet from the diseases caused by them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cat scratch fever, also known as cat scratch disease (CSD), is caused by bacteria named Bartonella\u00a0henselae. The disease is transmitted<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1468,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[95,8,11,10],"tags":[528,537,529,536,546,531,539,544,545,530,538,543,532,534,542,541,535,533,540],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v18.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Cat Scratch Fever In Cats: Diagnosis &amp; Prevention | BudgetVetCare<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Cat Scratch Fever is transmitted to cats from flea feces.This doesn&#039;t cause any severe complications to cats, but its owner is at a huge risk\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cat Scratch Fever In Cats: 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