Domestic Cats

• Domestic cats are highly susceptible to plague. These animals also are known to have been sources of Y. pestis infection for humans.
• Transmission from cats to humans:
• Bites or scratches.
• Direct contact with infectious exudates.
• Inhalation of infectious respiratory droplets.
• Cats that are allowed to roam freely also can become infested with Y. pestis-infected rodent fleas and transport these fleas into home environments.
• Cat-associated human cases were first verified in the U.S. in 1977. Since that time, 25 human cases have been associated with exposure to Y. pestis - infected cats. Of these, 7 occurred in veterinarians or their assistants, and 5 presented as primary pneumonic plague, which is a particularly dangerous form of the disease that can be transmitted from human to human through coughing and respiratory droplet spread.