Sharing A Bed With A Cat? You Could Become Majorly Sick

Jul 27, 2018 by apost team

In the United Kingdom, a new study has experts worried about cats. One pet insurance company, Animal Friends, conducted a survey of 2,000 people. It turns out that about half of pet owners share their beds with a pet.

Unfortunately, your cat could be making you sick. If you share your bed with a cat, you could end up becoming seriously ill.

In the survey, about 20 percent of people even let their cats eat off of their plates. Unfortunately, most pets have worse hygiene than their owners. Whether you share a bed or a plate, it could end up making you sick.

To keep yourself from becoming ill, you should make sure that you wash your cat's food and water dishes each day. Your cat's bedding should be washed every two weeks. While your cat might not like it, he or she should also get a bath every month. Unfortunately, only 30 percent of people wash their pet's bed on a regular basis. Clean bedding is the best way to prevent fleas, but very few pet owners actually practice pet hygiene often.

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Even when you are not worried about flea problems, there are other dangers caused by sleeping with your cat. Cats can spread illnesses like fungal infections, salmonella or parasites. They can even spread the bird flu. Campylobacter and salmonella are bacteria that are commonly spread by feline friends. If your cat gives you the bacteria, it can cause flu-like symptoms. In some cases, these illnesses can even become fatal.

Bacteria are not the only thing that your cat brings to the bedroom. Kitty litter, dirt and drool are brought along wherever your cat goes. The best thing that you can do to protect yourself is keep your cat clean and out of your bed. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, you should even wash your hands after touching your cat, the cat's litter box or cat drool. You should be extra careful before or during mealtimes.

While your cat's diseases will probably not kill you, your feline friend could make you sick. Some pet owners let their cats lick their lips or face. When this happens, the pasteurella bacteria can spread from the cat's lips to your mouth. Once you are infected with the bacteria, it could lead to horrible skin infections.

The good news is that you do not have to worry too much. If your cat is healthy, his or her risk of spreading illness is fairly low. To make sure your cat does not make you sick, make sure to clean your pet, food dishes and bedding regularly.

Do you love sleeping with your cat? Let us know if this post changed your mind and make sure your friends know about the dangers lurking in their pet.