# Can I get a cold from my cat? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 19, 2000, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-a-cold-from-my-cat/37508 "2000-10-19T05:49:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![percypercy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@percypercy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percypercy)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2000, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-a-cold-from-my-cat/37508/1 "2000-10-19T05:49:37Z")
Well, my first thread and what a good one this is. Ya see, a few days ago, my cat had a cold and seemed to be taking great pleasure in sneezing on me. So now I’ve got a cold, and I was trying to decide if she could have given it to me. I know that some diseases like cow pox can be passed from animal to human so I was wondering if she could be to blame. So what do y’all think? -Lillie ---
**Author:** ![Cyndar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cyndar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyndar)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2000, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-a-cold-from-my-cat/37508/2 "2000-10-19T05:51:50Z")
While some diseases are zoonotic, URIs are not. ---
**Author:** ![Poirot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@Poirot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poirot)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2000, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-a-cold-from-my-cat/37508/3 "2000-10-19T07:03:41Z")
Sure you can get infections from your cat. Some via the air directly, and some from the feces to the air. Also, some from gardening where the cat has relieved itself. Many of these ailments have the same symptoms and treatment as human to human diseases, so there’s no reason I can see to differentiate them. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2000, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-a-cold-from-my-cat/37508/4 "2000-10-19T11:19:50Z")
[Can we catch colds from dogs?](http://earthsky.com/1998/es980301.html) says no. Colds are viral diseases (there are over 100 different viruses that can cause them). It is relatively rare for any viral disease to cross the species barrier, though it can happen in some cases. Recently there was an interesting _Nova_ episode about the spread of Mad Cow disease and its relatives among cows, sheep, and people. But that is (probably) caused by prions, not viruses as we normally think of them. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2000, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-a-cold-from-my-cat/37508/5 "2000-10-19T11:29:28Z")
I misread the OP. The page I linked to deals with dogs, not cats, but I think the idea is the same. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2000, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-a-cold-from-my-cat/37508/6 "2000-10-19T15:03:13Z")
Um, no. The feline cold virus is different from the human one. ---
**Author:** ![Live\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/2bfe46/32.png) [@Live\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Live_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2000, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-a-cold-from-my-cat/37508/7 "2000-10-19T16:32:00Z")
Not to scare anyone, but I’ve always heard that the cat cold virus (or something with similar symptoms) can occasionally be deadly. To the cat, not to you. If the symptoms go on for a bit, I might recommend calling a vet. Here’s a site that might have some relevance: [http://www.animalvetcenter.com/cat.htm](http://www.animalvetcenter.com/cat.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Opengrave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/919ad9/32.png) [@Opengrave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Opengrave)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2000, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-a-cold-from-my-cat/37508/8 "2000-10-20T21:42:41Z")
Some things CAN - my cat got conjunctivitis (SP?) and a few days later I developed the same thing - I asked my vet about it and he said this was one of the few things he knew about that humans can get from cats but that it was not the first time he had seen this specific thing happen. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2000, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-a-cold-from-my-cat/37508/9 "2000-10-20T21:50:55Z")
When we got Misty, she had a cold, and we had antibiotics for her. Then she got over it, and Fluffy, God rest her soul, caught it. And she almost died. But we took her to the vets and they had to clear out her throat and she lived for another 8 months. GOD do I miss that CAT!