Too petting your cat could kill you, according to us scientists

American researchers from the Center of Disease Control (CDC) recently conducted a study on the causes of "cat scratch", a disease that can be fatal in in some cases.

There is nothing wrong with petting your cat or to show your affection. However, many people have already been a victim of the disease "cat scratch". And according to scientists from the CDC, it may not only be caused by scratching the feline, but also by the simple caresses.

These researchers wondered what could explain that thousands of Americans are victims of this disease. If until then the scratches were known as the main cause, they discovered that there were other factors that may cause harm, the main symptoms are: swelling of the skin, headaches, remnants , etc. They may appear after prolonged exposure to cat hair, especially in case of contact with mucous membranes, including the eyes.

Specifically, these are not the hair or the claws of the cat at issue, but rather a bacterium (Bartonella henselae) that they can carry. The researchers say that this bacterium is not a big threat to the cat itself, but it can be dangerous to the health of men, and even prove fatal in extreme cases.


There is not however what too alarmed. Disease "cat scratch" do not catch automatically if touched, let alone by everyone. It most often develops when the immune defense shows porous, especially in children and the elderly. But this does not mean that others are immune. For this, the researchers recommend always washing hands after petting a cat.