How to Stay Healthy Around Cats

Healthy cats and their families

Visit your veterinarian for routine care to keep your cat healthy and to prevent infectious diseases.

Cats that appear clean and healthy can still carry germs that can make people sick.

For more on keeping your cat itself healthy, including vaccines and food safety, see Keeping Your Cat Healthy.

Wash your hands

• Wash your hands with soap and running water:

• After handling cats, their food and water dishes, or their supplies
• After contact with cat saliva or poop
• After cleaning a litter box
• After gardening, especially if outdoor cats live in the area
• Before you eat or drink

• Adults should supervise handwashing for children under 5 years of age.

• Use hand sanitizer if soap and water aren't readily available.

• Wear gloves while gardening, particularly if you know outdoor cats live in the area.

Safely clean up after your cat

Cats can carry many germs in their poop. To stay healthy, take precautions when cleaning a cat's litter box.

• Clean up after Kitty as soon as possible after your cat has finished its business.

• Scoop the poop out every day. The Toxoplasma germ in cat poop takes a day or more to become infectious, so daily scooping matters. If you use clumping litter, a full litter change once a week is usually enough.

• Always wash your hands after cleaning the litter box, even if you use a scoop to remove the poop.

♦ People with weakened immune systems and pregnant women should not clean litter boxes if possible, since they're more at risk for complications from germs spread by cats. If no one else can do it, wear disposable gloves and wash your hands afterward.

• Keep your cat's litter box away from other animals, children and food preparation areas.

Prevent cat scratches and bites

Cat bites and scratches can spread germs, even if the wound doesn't seem deep or serious.

♦ A disease can happen from a cat scratch even if the scratch just breaks the surface of the skin. There's no good record of how many people are bitten or scratched by cats each year, because incidents often aren't reported.

Studies have found anywhere from 20% to 80% of reported cat bites and scratches become infected.

♦ The best-known disease is cat scratch disease. It's caused by bacteria many cats carry, especially kittens. About 12,000 people are diagnosed with it each year in the U.S. Most cases are mild, causing swollen lymph nodes and fever, but it can be serious for people with weakened immune systems.

• Keeping your cat on flea prevention helps, since fleas spread the bacteria between cats.

How to prevent cat bites and scratches

• Be cautious with unfamiliar animals. Approach cats with care, even if they seem friendly.

• Avoid rough play with cats and kittens. Rough play makes cats defensive toward people. Gentle play when they're young means fewer scratches and bites as they grow up. Studies have shown cats generally bite when provoked.

• Trim your cat's nails regularly. If you need help, ask your veterinarian.

• Parents should tell children to let them know if they're ever bitten or scratched by any animal, including cats.

What to do if you're bitten or scratched by a cat

If you're bitten or scratched by a cat, you should:

• Wash wounds with warm soapy water immediately.

• Seek medical attention if:

• You don't know if the cat has been vaccinated against rabies.
• The cat appears sick.
• The wound is serious.
• The wound becomes red, painful, warm or swollen.
• It has been more than 5 years since your last tetanus shot.

• Report the bite to animal control or your local health department if the bite is unprovoked and:

• The cat is a stray, or
• You're unsure if the cat has been vaccinated against rabies.

♦ Because of the risk of rabies, a cat that bites someone is usually confined and watched for 10 days. If the cat stays healthy during that time, it couldn't have spread rabies through the bite. If it gets sick or dies, take it to a vet and contact your local health department right away.

Source: NIH, CDC