You can get Tuberculosis from your cats and dogs

Rat infestations aruond the house can put your cats at a risk. Human carriers are also a culprit as Bovine TB is zoonosis which means as I have stated early in the discussions can be transmitted from animal to human or vice-versa (reverse zoonosis). bTB which is often transmitted by drinking unpastuerized milk can also be transmitted via air droplets like that of human Tuberculosis. Make sure your kittens don't roam outside the house where contacts with possible carriers like rats and birds are not unikely. Make sure that they housing and food is clean. And if they are sick and you find nodules in your pets it is best to bring them to the vet for treatment of any disease. But don't worry too much. TB in cats and dogs are rare and even rarer in countries hardly hit by Tuberculosis.

Human tuberculosis transmitted by infected animal is rare but a possiblity especially in immunocompromised individuals. This is what my post is about. Bovine Tuberculosis which is prevalent in animals is nothing new. And it does not only affect cattle and other livestocks but cats and dogs, too whether domesticated or wild. But just like the human strain, the bacteria is more potent during the initial treatment of the disease. This is what made transmission to human negligible because treatment is seldom recommended due to the greater risk of infecting other animals and pet's owner. Another interesting fact is that in places where Tuberculosis cases are rare like in your country and other developed ones bovine TB in domesticated cats and dogs has a low incidence. But you can not deny the fact that it exist. While there are specific strains that affect animals, all of it unfortunately affect humans. And bovine TB in cats and dogs is a zoonosis in short it can spread from animal to human causing a condition similar to human TB. And even the website (fabcats.org) you have provided mentioned the potential zoonotic risk especially to susceptible individuals in the household where there is a suspected feline tuberculosis. If you will read my post once again you will realized that I don't mean to cause panic to pet owners in general but only advice those who are immunosuppressed to be cautious in the same way as many government agency did. And I don't single out cats although I have unknowingly ommitted the other animals in one paragraph but have mentioned dogs and others animals in my introductory paragraph. My sources, however, are the official State of Michigan web site under the Emerging Diseases Issues-Diseases that may affect humans and animals category(http://.www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases/0,1607,7-186-25804_25812---,00.html), official web site of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of the United Kingdom under the Animal Health and Welfare category (www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/tb/abouttb/otherspecies.htm#cd) and www.LAPUBLICHEALTH.ORG of the County of Los Angeles. I wish I can already make copy-and-paste here in myLot. Citing references is not that easy because I still have to switch windows just to get the link.

I wanted this discussion to be an eye opener for people with pets. They should be made to realized that not properly taking care of their pets is not only detrimental to their pets' health but to them as well. Wounds, nodules and changes in your pets attitude are enough reasons to bring them to the veterinary doctor for proper diagnosis and treatment.

I understood what you were trying to say and I thought that you presented very informatively....do not let others upset you, my friend.