# Cat bacteria! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 8, 2006, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-bacteria/343477 "2006-02-08T00:21:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-bacteria/343477/1 "2006-02-08T00:21:14Z")
No, not cat-shaped or anything, unfortunately. That would have gotten a few more exclamation points. On a whim, I decided to swab the inside of my cat’s mouth and see which of the nasties found therein would grow in the microbiology lab. The fun part was swabbing his mouth. Anyone with a cat knows just how hard it is to get into a cat’s mouth when he’s decided he doesn’t want you to. Like giving him a pill - it’s practically impossible to do without getting fingers bitten off by a growling foaming mouth. So I used the devious technique of whacking him on the head with the swab until he decided he wanted to kill it. When he bit at it, I wiggled it around a little to get lots of cat spit, and I think he was sorry to see the swab go when I put it away. It was a worthy, though odd-tasting, adversary. So the media has been inoculated and I’m starting to test the bacteria that are growing. Nothing too out-of-the-ordinary yet; it’s mostly the same species of bacteria that humans have in their mouths. I’m almost disappointed. I was hoping to find some strange things, but I’m not done yet! I’ll come back with reports as I do more tests. After this experiment, I will definitely continue to _not_ kiss my cat. ---
**Author:** ![tsarina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@tsarina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tsarina)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-bacteria/343477/2 "2006-02-08T00:39:12Z")
What temperature are you incubating it at? Remembver that cats’ body temperatures are a degree or two higher than humans’ - that might make a difference with more fastidious organisms. Are you going to speciate them or just look at colony morphology on the plate? - a fellow microbiologist (who once swabbed all her orifices- yes, ALL of them - to see what she could get growing on TSA agar!) ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-bacteria/343477/3 "2006-02-08T00:54:47Z")
What a coincidence! I am also growing a cat mouth bacterial culture. Mine is growing in a puncture wound in my hand. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-bacteria/343477/4 "2006-02-08T01:02:09Z")
I’m going to do my best to get them down to the species level, time permitting. I’m doing my internship at the hospital and they give me “real” work to do, too, so this is just something I work on when I’m finished everything else. I’m incubating at 37C because that’s the incubators we have available. I started with BA, BA anaerobic, Chocolate, Mac, and CNA. I subcultured a few colonies today and did some preliminary tests. Looks like a possible _Staphylococcus aureus_, and _Pasteurella, Haemophilus_, and _Neisseria_ species. And a bunch of anaerobes. No coliforms, though, so he hadn’t been licking his butt. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-bacteria/343477/5 "2006-02-08T01:25:45Z")
Pretty cool experiment. I’ll be watching this thread. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-bacteria/343477/6 "2006-02-08T07:01:35Z")
You used the same swab to whack kitty on the head as you did to do the swab? That’s not sterile technique!!! You could have kitty fur bacteria growing all mixed in with the kitty mouth bacteria. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-bacteria/343477/7 "2006-02-08T08:51:53Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > You used the same swab to whack kitty on the head as you did to do the swab? That’s not sterile technique!!! You could have kitty fur bacteria growing all mixed in with the kitty mouth bacteria. “Hey! You got your kitty fur bacteria in my kitty mouth!” “Well, you got your kitty mouth bacteria on my kitty fur!” -Two great bacteria that go together… ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-bacteria/343477/8 "2006-02-08T13:43:50Z")
> [@Wile E](#): > > What a coincidence! I am also growing a cat mouth bacterial culture. Mine is growing in a puncture wound in my hand. I grew some in my arm several years ago. Picked Dennis up while he was arranging a cat fight. Not the most intelligent thing I’ve ever done. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-bacteria/343477/9 "2006-02-08T15:45:24Z")
Yeah, I grew some of that in my arm last year. Teach me to grab Yogis belly in my sleep. After my doctor lectured me for not coming in sooner, he told me there is an antibiotic specific for cat bites. Keep us updated! Enquiring minds want to know! ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-bacteria/343477/10 "2006-02-08T17:20:37Z")
> [@Snakescatlady](#): > > Yeah, I grew some of that in my arm last year. Teach me to grab Yogis belly in my sleep. After my doctor lectured me for not coming in sooner, he told me there is an antibiotic specific for cat bites. > > Keep us updated! Enquiring minds want to know! I dunno, maybe I’m immune. For years, first with Scarlett, now with Cuervo and Scarlett, my cats preferred cat toy has been my hand. We fight, we wrestle, they scratch, claw and bite. Often breaking skin with their teeth. My hands are almost always a mess, scratches, bite marks, etc. I’ve never gotten an infection of any kind though. After a tussle, I wash thoroughly and is there’s anything that looks like it needs it, some Neosporin is applied. Am I doing something wrong, or something right? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-bacteria/343477/11 "2006-02-08T17:45:56Z")
> [@Mr Bus Guy](#): > > Am I doing something wrong, or something right? Does it feel like he hit you with a hammer? Did his canines meet in your flesh? We’re talking one pissed off cat here, not like Bubba drawing blood when grooming me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-bacteria/343477/12 "2006-02-08T17:57:21Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Does it feel like he hit you with a hammer? Did his canines meet in your flesh? We’re talking one pissed off cat here, not like Bubba drawing blood when grooming me. 🙂 About a year ago, Scarlett got me in the webbing between my fingers, went right through. I still sport a nasty scar, but it never infected. Hmm, sounds like I’m lucky. ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-bacteria/343477/13 "2006-02-08T18:11:09Z")
> [@Mr Bus Guy](#): > > I dunno, maybe I’m immune. For years, first with Scarlett, now with Cuervo and Scarlett, my cats preferred cat toy has been my hand. We fight, we wrestle, they scratch, claw and bite. Often breaking skin with their teeth. My hands are almost always a mess, scratches, bite marks, etc. I’ve never gotten an infection of any kind though. After a tussle, I wash thoroughly and is there’s anything that looks like it needs it, some Neosporin is applied. > > Am I doing something wrong, or something right? This was the only time I’ve had an infection develop in the 25+ years I’ve owned/worked with cats, (including feral ones) and I’ve been bitten/scratched more than a few times. I’m still not really sure what happened, because Yogi is one of the sweetest of my cats. I can only guess that I grabbed his belly in my sleep, because I woke up to find that I was bitten, growled at him and went back to sleep. When I got up later, two fairly deep puncture wounds in my lower arm were already starting to puff up and turn red. If I had washed them out when it happened instead of going back to sleep, I probably wouldn’t have had the problem. ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-bacteria/343477/14 "2006-02-08T18:43:29Z")
Yeah, internally applied cat bacteria. Been there a lot. One of our cats was a feral kitten who has only gradually become tolerant of being touched (actually quite _demanding_ of being stroked sometimes) over the past 15 years. It’s still very much on her terms, still, but when she was younger she could switch from sucky furball to insane weasel at a moment’s notice (now you actually get several warnings). Polysporin was all we normally needed, but there _was_ the time she bit through Mrs B’s thumbnail :eek: . It’s interesting how different cats are. Touch Chipie’s belly and he goes into slut mode, flat on his back with his legs spread for better access to his belly for stroking purposes. Touch Nixie on her belly and you wonder where that bear trap came from. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@Common\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Man)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-bacteria/343477/15 "2006-02-08T19:17:16Z")
My daughter just got over “cat scratch fever”. That is exactly what the doctor called it. It wasn’t real serious, but I don’t know if that’s the norm or had bad it would have gotten had it not been treated. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-bacteria/343477/16 "2006-02-08T22:17:24Z")
> [@Common Man](#): > > My daughter just got over “cat scratch fever”. That is exactly what the doctor called it. It wasn’t real serious, but I don’t know if that’s the norm or had bad it would have gotten had it not been treated. If you’re interested to know, “cat scratch fever” is caused by a bacterium called _Bartonella henselae_. Doesn’t look like my cat has any of that one, though. ---
**Author:** ![tsarina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@tsarina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tsarina)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-bacteria/343477/17 "2006-02-09T03:47:51Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > I subcultured a few colonies today and did some preliminary tests. Looks like a possible _Staphylococcus aureus_, and _Pasteurella, Haemophilus_, and _Neisseria_ species. And a bunch of anaerobes. No coliforms, though, so he hadn’t been licking his butt. > > 🙂 Heh… there’s a lot more down there than coliforms, lemme tell ya. 😉 Keep me posted on what Neisseria sp. you get; I’m wondering if it’s N. canis since that’s found in dogs’ mouths (it’ll be yellow and opaque on a chocolate plate). ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-bacteria/343477/18 "2006-02-16T00:29:51Z")
We have a full report in. I was able to isolate and identify: _Neisseria meningitidis Staphylococcus aureus Streptococcus viridans Pasteurella multocida_ There were some anaerobes, too, but I just didn’t have time to work on them. I was sort of hoping for something more exotic, but I guess I should be happy that my cat isn’t teeming with all sorts of _evil_ bacteria. ---
**Author:** ![percypercy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@percypercy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percypercy)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-bacteria/343477/19 "2006-02-16T01:12:02Z")
A former professor of mine once caught strep throat from his cats(or so his story goes). Apparently he and his family kept getting reinfected over and over until one day he noticed the cats drinking from the faucet, licking it in the process. Being a microbiologist, he couldn’t let it go so he brought the cats to the vet and demanded they be checked for strep. They were positive so the whole household now had to go on antibiotics, but everyone was cured. -Lil ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-bacteria/343477/20 "2006-02-16T01:24:27Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I grew some in my arm several years ago. > Picked Dennis up while he was arranging a cat fight. Dennis was probably your cat and not your next door neighbor, right? Back to the OP…are you able to test and see if the staph is Methicillan resistant? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-bacteria/343477.md?page=2)