For the record I like most dogs and I'm indifferent to cats, pretty much the same way they seem to feel about me, I don't dislike them as a species.

Owning a pet can have benefits for emotional health and well being. But it isn't all a bed of roses. You still should take precautions, including keeping your furry friends free of parasites, and protect yourself in the clenches. Significant numbers of people have contracted serious infections and have died. Hopefully forewarned really is forearmed. Be prepared.

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/20/letting-sleeping-dogs-lie-in-your-bed-can-kill-you/

I'm more worried about getting struck by lighting.

I'll second that!

AOL... that's the company that keeps charging you for their services after you quit them, and even after you threaten to kill them if they don't stop siphoning money from your account, right?

That really makes me want to trust everything they say...

What might happen is usually totally different from what does happen.

"The CDC estimates that more than 20,000 people can contract cat scratch disease a year, but the federal disease agency could offer no information on the number of deaths."

If the CDC doesn't have any figures, there probably aren't too many to collect, or they don't think it's very important.

"A 9-year-old boy from Arizona got the plague because he slept with his flea-infested cat."

It's the fleas transmitting the disease, and you can easily have fleas in your house even though you have no pets.

"A 48-year-old man and his wife repeatedly contracted MRSA ..., which their physicians eventually attributed to their dog."

The most common source of MRSA is other people, like in elder care centers, hospitals, schools and prisons. The couple were probably transmitting it back and forth to each other.

"...a woman died of septic shock and renal failure after her cat, with whom she slept, licked open sores on her feet and toes."

So... what was causing the open sores on the woman's feet???

"... an outbreak of salmonella in 79 people between 2006 and 2008 that was caused by contaminated meat in dry cat and dog food."

That was caused by humans, unless dogs or cats were involved in the processing of the food at the factory, which doesn't seem likely, although they might have been part of the ingredients in the food.

Doctors keep blaming cats for ringworm, when studies have proven that is is transmitted mostly by other people/kids, and that they're giving it to the cats.

Doctors keep telling pregnant women to get rid of their cats because of the dangers of toxoplasmosis. Even if the cat has toxoplasmosis, it isn't infective except for a short time. Have the cat tested, dorks! If you don't want to do that, have DADDY scoop the litter box, and then insist he wash his hands afterwards.

This was probably written by some guy who routinely picks up hookers and has unprotected sex.

Sue

LOL!

I'm not the least concerned about Gidget. Besides, she prefers her crate.

Practice Safe Sleep - don't let just any 'ol animal on the bed. Canine, feline or otherwise. Especially if they charge hourly.

Sue, you always crack me up. Wisdom and a sense of humor. now that's being equipped to survive!

I think these case studies might have been written by my MIL. Can you say "paranoia"? It seems to me that coomon sense (i.e. washing your hands) is the answer in most of these cases. Pretty true the rest of the time too.

and treating flea-ridden pets, as well?

Absolutely! Common sense, I'd think, but it's not so common these days.

My cats get better health care than some people I know. are cleaner, and are fun to watch do dumb stuff. They are total indoor cats. I don't see how I can contract any diseases from them, more likey I could give them some as I leave the house and they seldom do.

If I could figure out a way to send them to work, but the lack of opposable thumbs pretty much rules that out.

Interesting to see how people perceive threats on a sliding scales.

There are regularly visitors who post questions about nuclear fallout, massive breakdown of the social order, pandemic warranting martial law, downed power lines, and, what seems to me to be irrational fear, fluoride. Most are entertained ( ... if this was real I would ...) and handled on a functional basis.

I used to work with a woman who suffered a spontaneous abortion, and bleeding that might have killed her if she hadn't gone to a hospital that had half the states supply of factor eight, after catching an infection from her cat/s. So I know it can happen.

Yes, she could have avoided the issue by using better infection control practices and/or getting her cats tested and treated. But really, how many people really do any/all of that?

It isn't a big deal, I posted it as something of a joke, but it is interesting that threats A,B,and C can all get you killed. All of them are low probability events. All are given their due except for issue C , whatever your issue C may be, that can't be addressed directly because issue C deals with a favored item, concept, or in this case, a the family pet.