Cat Facts

Can Fido give you the flu? Can you get parasites from Puff? Or even more disconcerting, can your parrot give you a rare South American eye disease or your iguana, a fatal intestinal disorder?

       A new medical report published in the Archives of Internal Medicine this fall cites some pretty scary statistics indicating that some diseases do cross species and, in fact, your own household pet can be a health hazard.

     Bad news for bird connoisseurs and lizard lovers as well as the 110 million dog and cat owners who snuggle and share couches with their fuzzy friends in their daily lives.

     "Doctors don't always know about these diseases - or they don't think of them," says Dr. Sally Haddock, 43, who runs Saint Marks Veterinary Hospital in Manhattan and always warns her clients about the dangers of catching diseases from pets.

     Three years ago her receptionist almost died from psittacosis, a rare bird disease. "She had a fever and it didn't go away, she was finally admitted to the hospital where they did cat scans, X-rays and a lung biopsy," Haddock recalls. "She was going down hill when I came back from a trip and called her and if she told them she worked around birds."

     She was immediately diagnosed with psittacosis, given the right medication and recovered.

     Haddock, who treats birds and reptiles in her practice, says unfortunately not all vets will tell you about this potential risk. "We routinely deworm all kittens and puppies and a lot of vets think these problems are taken care of after that," she says.

     But Dr. Peter Schantz, of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, a specialist in such diseases, thinks there may be another reason for the close-lipped veterinarians.

     "Vets are afraid they'll say something that will make the pet owners give up their pets, which is against their interests," Schantz says. "My argument is that pet owners expect to hear about these things and want to be informed."

     Some of the diseases that cross species, like common round worms, are what Schantz calls "symptomatically" silent.

     "Even your veterinarian cannot see them," he says. "But if humans accidentally ingest them - like children in a sand box - they can cause serious illness and even death."

     A registered nurse in Edwardsville, Illinois, Lorraine Shorson knows the dangers first hand. Her 8 year-old son, P.J., contracted round worms from his new puppy last year. Today he is completely and irreversibly blind in one eye.

     "It is unbelievable," Shorson says. "He was diagnosed with ocular toxocariasis. And we are lucky - I have learned some children have died from this." What is most upsetting for Shorson was that she had never even heard of it. "You can buy deworming medicine over the counter for $2.40 from any retail store - that and a bar of soap is all it would have taken to protect my son," she says.

     The parasitic diseases like psittacosis and toxocara cati or canis (one from cats and one from dogs) are only a fraction of the pet problem. Haddock says one of the most common diseases in her practice is ringworm, a type of skin fungus.

     "Usually kittens are the culprits - they'll have a crusty, hairless area," she says.

     But the fungus, like sarcoptic mange in dogs, a mite-caused infection which like ringworm causes itching, is mostly a nuisance - unlike rabies.

     "You can definitely die of rabies and it is a law in NYC to vaccinate for it," Haddock says. It used to be something associated only with dogs, but now Haddock says, "more and more cats are contracting it and we are mandated to vaccinate them now as well."

     If your pet is a reptile, there are a whole host of other problems to beware of, according to Dr. Tiffany Blocker, 28, a veterinarian who specializes in the cold-blooded creatures. Most reptiles, like iguanas, have salmonella, she says. "I tell people that have young kids, elderly people or who people who are immune-depressed in their families to be careful: Clean up after your pet and wash your hands after playing with it," she says.

     And for those who are pregnant, cleaning out the cat litter is a no-no.

     "Some of them can cross the placenta and infect the fetus, even causing deformity and death," says CDC's Schantz about pregnant women. One of the more important ones transmitted by cats that can cause death of the fetus is called toxoplasmosis.

     Cat owner and nursing student Lisa Rhoades, who lives in Staten Island, says she is aware of the dangers of the pet-passed on problems - her father is a veterinarian. She also says she is not alarmed.

     "I know that prevention is the best medicine: I limit my pet's exposure to strays by keeping them inside, I take them for regular check ups and I would never let a bite or an illness go untreated," Rhoades says.

     That is exactly what Schantz suggests. The best defense against catching your pootchie's parasites is a good offense. "The only way to really maximize protection is by seeing a veterinarian regularly," Schantz says.

     Of course some more devoted pet owners are more worried about giving their pets diseases than they are catching them. "You can both give and get giardia - an intestinal infection - to cats and dogs," Schantz says, but you can't get or give them most other things, including your cold or flu.

     According to Dr. Haddock, however, you better be careful if you sneeze on your pet ferret. They can catch upper respiratory infections. And they can give them back to you, too!

by Elizabeth Cohen