Notes from “Cat Camp”: Part One
Between July 24th and 26th, all three of The Cat Doctor’s veterinarians went to the Cornell Feline Health Center’s Annual Feline Symposium, aka “Cat Camp.” We try to make this excellent conference an annual event for at least some, if not all, of us. There are always great lectures by the top specialists in feline care, plus there are feline-oriented veterinarians to meet from all over the US and Canada.
This year was one of the best meetings so far! Over the next few weeks, I’d like to try to pass along some very interesting and important information that came up over the course of the weekend.
The first speaker of the weekend was Dr. Mike Lappin, an internal medicine and infectious disease specialist from Colorado State University. He does an amazing amount of research on a wide variety of infectious diseases in cats, and one of his areas of focus is zoonotic diseases. Zoonotic diseases are infections that can infect both animals and humans. These diseases are always a concern, but are of increased concern in people with suppressed immune systems. With the rise of HIV and AIDs in the past thirty years, and the increasing number of people who are successfully treated for cancer but are on drugs that suppress their immune systems, these diseases are receiving more attention. Also, seniors, pregnant women, and children are considered to be immunosuppressed, and the senior population is on the rise all around the world.
The most important information we discussed is that even people with severely suppressed immune systems can have pets! Even though many misinformed physicians still recommend that AIDs patients and pregnant women give up their pets, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends keeping your pets with appropriate precautions.
As long as pets are mature, indoors, and healthy, they present a very small risk of infection to people. Indoor pets are less likely to pick up blood-borne infections from biting insects and are also less likely to contract gastrointestinal bacteria and parasites that could be passed on to people. Mature pets are less likely to inadvertantly or playfully scratch or bite. As long as your cat is not showing signs of illness and is not having vomiting or diarrhea, the risk of infection is small. Washing your hands after petting your cat or scooping the litterbox is always a good idea and can make your risk even smaller.
It’s always important to bring your cat to the vet if he or she is sick, but especially important if your immune system is not strong. We can test for and treat any contagious infections to minimize your risk, and recommend any parasite preventatives that might be necessary to reduce any risks in the future. Indoor pets may still require flea preventatives and regular testing or deworming for intestinal parasites, despite their indoor lifestyle. One tip we learned in Cat Camp is that intestinal worm eggs can be carried on the feet of houseflies and come indoors that way. Yuck!
If you want more info on zoonotic diseases here is a great source: http://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/