What is a Feral Cat? What defines a stray?
Stray or Feral?A stray cat is looking for a new home. This cat wants and craves human interaction. Often, the cat may be malnourished and scraggly-looking. This is because the cat can't live without human care. It never learned how to fend for itself. People who turn out a housecat after many years are actually being very cruel to the animal. These poor things have been pampered, loved and petted all their lives. They have no idea how to hunt or protect themselves.
The Ethics of Hunting Feral Cats.CON: Cats make a mess. They breed all over the place, dig in the trash cans and scatter rotting food. They are unhealthy. The caterwall all night long and carry disease. There are too many of them. They chase songbirds away. Trap and spay or neuter the cats. Put out cat repellents to keep them out of your garden and away from the trash, bird feeders, etc. PRO: Cats in the wild are needed. Maybe not in the increasing numbers we find today, but they are needed. They hunt rodents and insects, keeping those pesky populations in check. The Plague was carried in a flea on a rat! A cat sleeping in a doorway is welcoming, even if the cat is wild. You can put out dry food and water, provide shelter against the storms and cold. Please trap and spay or neuter the cats so that they don't breed or fight.
People can get sick!Special health concerns for people include cat scratch fever. This is caused by a scratch or bite from an infected cat. Since feral cats are more likely to bite or scratch, and haven't been vaccinated, people handling them are at increased risk for this disease. Fleas or ticks on cats are thought to play a role in cat-to-cat transmission. It was identified in 1931 as a distinct disease.
Since this bacteria lives on in the lymph nodes, there are further complications long after the initial bite or scratch heals. Stress can trigger an episode of illness. The spleen can be damaged over a period of time. Cat scratch fever compromises your immune system. In extreme cases, you can even develop encephalitis and neuroretinitis! This means your brain can swell and you can lose your hearing or sight. Often, people have problems with their lympahtic system, and can have sores on their bodies along the lymphatic pathways during periods of high stress. Children often contract this disease because they are more likely to be bitten by a cat. When I was first diagnosed with cat scratch fever, I thought my doctor was pulling my leg -- he wasn't. He was dead earnest. All he told me was that it would live in my lymph nodes and that stress could bring on an episode of illness. I learned the rest by research. It's pretty scary, when you think about it. However, I've lived with this for over 25 years, and have pretty good health overall. They tell me that it's only supposed to live in the human body for a short time, but to tell the truth - Every Time I Get Stressed, My Lymph Nodes Swell and I get Sores Over Them! This disease is caused by a yeast like bacterial microbe that lives in your body. It thrives in the warm, moist environment of our bodies. It is seldom life threatening, but can be unpleasant at times.br clear="all">
|
Cat Scratch Disease, also known as cat scratch fever, is a bacterial infection that you can get from being scratched or bitten by a cat, or in a few instances a dog. The bacteria that causes the disease is found in the fleas that inhabit cats which is passed on to the cat through the flea bites. The bacteria suspected is called rochalimaea henselae bacillus and is found in lymph node tissue.
