Stupid question- can humans transfer cat diseases?

[catcora]

Hello,

This question is really stupid but I’m just paranoid and overthinking- can humans pick up cat diseases (FIV, FelV, etc) from cats and carry it and spread it to other cats? There was a cat at my local small pet store that I petted and played with and I’m worried at any chance that it could have something that I could pick up and pass to my own cat at home

 

[Alldara]

Some cat illnesses can be carried home on our clothing or on items.

You can wash your hands and that should be fine.

 

[maggie101]

Hello,

This question is really stupid but I’m just paranoid and overthinking- can humans pick up cat diseases (FIV, FelV, etc) from cats and carry it and spread it to other cats? There was a cat at my local small pet store that I petted and played with and I’m worried at any chance that it could have something that I could pick up and pass to my own cat at home

Highly unlikely. It is transmitted to cats by a hard cat bite not humans even if bit though, like A Alldara mentioned,wash your hands. Who knows. Years from now they may say otherwise

 

[catcora]

Some cat illnesses can be carried home on our clothing or on items.

You can wash your hands and that should be fine.

Do you know which ones? Do you also have a source?

 

[catcora]

Some cat illnesses can be carried home on our clothing or on items.

You can wash your hands and that should be fine.

I also saw this from a site:

FeLV: “The virus does not live long outside of a cat host, so spreading FeLV via human clothing and hands is very unlikely. If an FeLV-positive cat is housed in a separate room from an FeLV-negative cat, it is unlikely that transmission will occur. To be on the safe side, food and water bowls should not be shared.”

FIV: “FIV is transmitted via saliva between cats that fight and bite their competition. Mothers can pass it onto their kittens. It cannot be transmitted when holding, petting, or cuddling a FIV-positive cat, and the virus cannot live on surfaces or clothing.” for FIV

 

[Alldara]

Do you know which ones? Do you also have a source?

Well, COVID for starters. Really anything in the COVID family of virus.

FVP Feline Infectious Enteritis (Parvovirus, Panleukopenia Virus) | International Cat Care

Literally anything Zoonotic. Also anything that has not yet moved from humans to cat or vice versa that has the possibility to mutate and do so (future Zoonotic diseases).

Ringworm, scabies, roundworm, hookworm, and mange as humans can catch.

Campylobacter could come home on your hands if you touched something not sanitized properly (or that's what public health told us when I cared for a sick family member. Said to glove to clean up)

Salmonella you can catch from infected dirt when gardening and pass along to your cats.

Zoonotic Disease: What Can I Catch from My Cat?

H1N1 (now less severe and vaccine is usually in yearly flu shot but yes it's still around) and other seasonal flus
https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/JCM.05415-11

 

[BeccaCat]

I think you’ll be fine. I used to work for a veterinarian, and I had cats at home. After work I just changed my shoes and made sure my hands were washed.

 

[catcora]

Well, COVID for starters. Really anything in the COVID family of virus.

FVP Feline Infectious Enteritis (Parvovirus, Panleukopenia Virus) | International Cat Care

Literally anything Zoonotic. Also anything that has not yet moved from humans to cat or vice versa that has the possibility to mutate and do so (future Zoonotic diseases).

Ringworm, scabies, roundworm, hookworm, and mange as humans can catch.

Campylobacter could come home on your hands if you touched something not sanitized properly (or that's what public health told us when I cared for a sick family member. Said to glove to clean up)

Salmonella you can catch from infected dirt when gardening and pass along to your cats.

Zoonotic Disease: What Can I Catch from My Cat?

H1N1 (now less severe and vaccine is usually in yearly flu shot but yes it's still around) and other seasonal flus
https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/JCM.05415-11

Thank you so much for the information!! My cat has all his vaccines updated- I looked through the article. I also meant in a way if humans could pick up something from cats and then spread it to another cat

 

[Alldara]

Thank you so much for the information!! My cat has all his vaccines updated- I looked through the article. I also meant in a way if humans could pick up something from cats and then spread it to another cat

Yes, I understood. That's the sources you requested.

Anything both humans and cats can catch, we could potentially pass along. Especially say with COVID where we have vaccines but our cats don't.

Some of the above things, can be contracted from dirt. So you could have some dirt on your shoes for example, infected by a cat you don't even see and then it's in your home, and your cat licks it off their feet.

And yeah there's always the potential that a virus or bacteria can survive on our hands for a couple hours and we bring it home to our cats. But handwashing should save that from happening.

Conclusion: yes but with handwashing and not wearing your outdoor shoes through your home, it's less likely.