Sleeping with your pet can make you sick

Source: WWBT NBC12

Posted: Jan 24, 2011 9:03 PM CST
Updated: Jan 24, 2011 10:12 PM CST

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) – Letting your dog or even your cat sleep next to you in bed might seem like a good idea, but it could make you sick. They're known as man's best friend, but for some people dogs are more like a family member. New research, though, shows that your four legged friend might be carrying more than just fleas.

"Parasites - many pets already have anyhow and as a rule of thumb, generally, they are species specific," said veterinarian Doctor Jeffrey Taylor. "But there are a few instances where they can transmit to other species like humans."

Doctor Taylor at the Fan Vet Clinic warns pet owners about getting too comfy with their pet. A Center for Disease Control study shows that dogs can carry ringworm, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Lyme disease, tapeworm and even the Bubonic plague. Despite that, some people can't imagine kicking their dog out of bed.



Read more: http://www.nbc12.com/Global/story.asp?S=13900444

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I recall bubonic plague was caused by the LACK of cats in England and the fleas came from RATS?! :wtf:

Recommended.

But once the standard poodle picks his spot, he sleeps like a log. I suspect I do more tossing and turning than he does.

And no, I'm not in the least worried about his germs.

One's plenty for me. :evilgrin:

I wonder what I could have been thinking. But yeah, I do. And no, not legally. But we do live in the same house, handle the household duties, including child care together and yes, we do that too. But "that" and sleeping, since I've become older are things to be done in different places and times. Sleeping is sleeping and humping my leg is something you can summarily get kicked out of my room for. Even the dog, who, just for the record, has never in his life humped my leg. He's about the only one who gets to sleep in my room with any regularity. The other two snore and kick.

You must be a really good person. I can't stop chuckling at your answer. :rofl: My husband's brother lives with us, and it's a crazy household here, too, sometimes.

I'm well, actually, pretty average. I'm polyamorous and I know that's different from the mainstream but it doesn't make us better, just busier. LOL.

As the other poster said, I have enough of a challenge with one, but I'm glad it's working for you!

We kicked the cats out of our room about six months ago; we sleep better. We love them, but two twenty-pound Maine Coons do not make for restful sleep. The ninety-pound chocolate Lab sleeps in his crate.

And meow. So he can not be kicked out if there is any hope for sleep.

Actually, I'm quite happy with my life. I just want them both to get girlfriends. Isn't that what middle aged men are supposed to do? See the great thing with that, is they are happy, I get to meet neat new people (my guys are pretty discerning) and as I get further into this awful thing called perimenopause (it ain't one but it ain't the other either), I find my interest in people humping my leg is doing a very fast swan dive. And because we're poly, finding a new girlfriend doesn't automatically mean the wife gets dumped.

But, yeah, it's a harder life than I was led to believe by the brochures. Damn brochures!

at least nine months...

What are the most disturbing words you can hear while making love? "Honey, I'm home!"

Be afraid, be very afraid.

we had a severe problem with warts, then one night I rolled on my pet toad ( killing it) and the warts went away...

Sorry, just... sorry.

:)

Literally. Thanks for the laugh.

At first, I was completely on board. Interspecies sexual relationships aren't mutually agreed to and the power dynamics and then I realized, they were not using the euphemistic "sleeping". I felt like Emily Littella. Oh, never mind.

:eyes:

What absolute bullshit. Absolute.

Yes, it is. And that is why we are mocking it. It's so rare that a fairly non-political fluff piece fails so utterly and yet gets noticed at DU. This is like, Fail Whale. We're playing with this one like a midnight troll. It's easy and fun. Not very substantial, of course, but we all need our breaks from time to time.

Unfortunately, this same nonsense circulated about a year ago and the press kept propagating it... Some veterinarian speaks to the issue from a purely academic "what if" POV and a reporter takes it at faith....Given how poorly our population is "schooled" in science, there is a sizable and very gullible public ready to swallow this hook, line and sinker.

I remember a few years ago when this happened and all kinds of media picked up as though it was some new and emerging breaking news. Knowing that I have worked my entire career researching, treating or otherwise addressing infectious disease, I can't tell you how many people (often elderly) would ask if it was safe for them to be near their dog. I even had calls from frantic retirement home residents who were being told by worried management that they had to get rid of their dog. So, that's why I don't immediately find it humorous.

Stupidly mockable. I mock and then my dog and I will retire to bed for the day (we are nocturnal).

I had dogs with me (under supervision)from the cradle... My sister, my cousins, my aunts and uncles--all big dog people and anecdotally, no asthma in my immediate nor extended family. I mention this because there is some developing research that suggests the presence of dogs and exposure to potential allergens early in life may well have some protective effect.

Even oncologists have recognized that dogs (and even cats with a few more precautions) can be safely integrated into an immunosuppressed cancer patient's recovery with some practical steps, while a few decades ago, they believed quite differently.


Agree the piece is ridiculously written. I saw the subject matter and simply :banghead:

This one, we can all pile on together, like a puppy pile. So I join these discussions. When that other thing comes up, I don't even click because I know it will be stupid and I will be one of the few voices and usually, the pile on then happens - on me.

One of them built a space suit and ship, I can barely fit into the airlock. Smells like hairballs.

:applause:

jumping on the side and sleeping next to her. This has been a habit for many years. The psychological benefits of her two "best friends" next to her during the day and night, it far outweighs any remote chance of cross-contamination from pet germs.

These dogs will not stop licking you in the face. And if given the chance, they will keep a sore on the leg clean, too. Makes great dishwashers, too.

has just caught up with her, I've just got thru it last week, our neighbor has just gotten it.

The pets don't get the flu from us, thank god.

got was a krick in my back from laying in one shape all night. sleeping with dachsies is awesome. all that snoring.

They're furry hot water bottles who like to get right up next to you until you're sweating.. when you move away, they move right back in.

My wife and I have three doxies and a king sized bed. We often end up sleeping on the edges with a wide open space between us. LOL

carry parasites are rarely if ever the ones that sleep in bed with their owners. I know mine are not. My dogs set the vet more often than we do! I've had dogs in my bed for over 40 years, and we've never caught anythingfrom them. My biggest concern is that my dogs could catch something from US!

:tv:

I wonder if warnings about parasites applies to cats that stay inside.

http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/pcfleas.htm

The human flea prefers the blood of humans and pigs. Cat and dog fleas prefer cats and dogs, though children can become infested when pets sleep or rest on the same bed. Cat and dog fleas also will infest certain types of wild carnivores, including opossums and raccoons, but not squirrels, rats or mice. While these two species do not carry human diseases, they can carry tapeworms (Dipylidium caninum) that infect dogs.

plague was transferred by fleas.

domestic cats can contract plague and owners should take care and treat cat for fleas in areas where there is plague.

I think one has to assume they get it via fleas.



http://books.google.ca/books?id=I62ZO_-4cjwC&pg=PA323&lpg=PA323&dq=cats+susceptible+to+plague&source=bl&ots=bHny33dSIK&sig=mi_dpT67Dp1LZYICTsNXjtcGBw0&hl=en#v=onepage&q=cats%20susceptible%20to%20plague&f=false

are poorly written puff pieces.

http://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/diseases/plague.htm

It is endemic in certain areas in the Southwestern US. If plague is in your area, be careful if your cat hunts rodents or is otherwise an outdoor cat. Otherwise, I wouldn't get too excited about this.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/plague/index.htm - map of areas here

"In the United States, the last urban plague epidemic occurred in Los Angeles in 1924-25. Since then, human plague in the United States has occurred as mostly scattered cases in rural areas (an average of 10 to 15 persons each year)..."

That being said: IF it is not promptly treated with antibiotics, it can still kill you.

(I am a microbiology technologist.)

by both cats and dogs to their owners. The good news is that it's treatable if caught early enough. Ditto Rocky Mountan Spotted Fever and Lyme disease, the last transmitted by fleas that hitchhike indoors on the pet.

The best idea for cats is to keep them indoors, especially here in coyote country. It's easier on the songbird population, too.

Dog owners need to be vigilant about external parasites and make sure Fluffy is kept in a fenced yard without access to the local varmints that carry nasty things like bubonic plague.

Transmission doesn't rely 100% on sleeping arrangements. The diseases can be transmitted by playing with the pet and petting the pet, too.

This article is misleading.

(The only reason I'd avoid sleeping with Fido is because Fido thinks things like dead birds and fresh poo piles are perfume. No thanks)

inside cats tho. how did i make it?

And the worst I've gotten is a herniated disk and arthritis. Can't blame that on the dogs.

Well maybe this one.

He started sleeping under the covers when he became an inside cat. I've always taken him to the vet for checkups, shots, and whatnot, and I seem to be doing okay so far.

The only thing wrong with this puff piece is that someone took the five minutes to write it. It is basically without verifiable facts and has plenty of baseless fearmongering. In other words, a mockable article. And we are doing our part.

Guess I'm doomed then.

Doooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooomed... :hide:

This dynamo warms my bed before I retire, she earned the spot.

Is your dog's name bunny?

I mean, the jokes practically write themselves.

:shrug:

and it was two years of hell.

Then, she rolled around in some poison ivy and curled herself up on my arm, next to my face, while I was sleeping. Much fun then, including the COPD.

She is now an indoor cat.

she still sleeps with you.

I can't keep her out. She opens doors, picks locks, tunnels through walls, or lets out a Banshee howl if something somehow blocks her way to the bedroom.

(Just like all my other cats.)

The Perils of Pet Intimacy

Nikki Moustaki knew something was wrong when she got strep throat for the sixth time in a year. Her doctor wanted to take out her tonsils. But Moustaki, an otherwise healthy 30-something, was determined to uncover the source of the infection.

"I saw a bunch of specialists, and one suggested my dog might be a carrier," said Moustaki, a New York City-based dog expert and trainer. "I had never thought of that. When you think of contagious diseases in dogs you think of rabies and ringworm, you don't think of strep."

After four walks a day on the streets of Hell's Kitchen, Moustaki's dogs -- a schnauzer called Pepper and Ozzie, a schnoodle -- would curl up beside her in bed.

Following her doctor's surprising suggestion, Moustaki started cleaning Pepper and Ozzie's paws with baby wipes after each walk. And she's been strep-free ever since.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/pet-intimacy-boostd-infection-risk/story?id=12616995

I wonder where Noah slept?

I have had dogs and/or cats sleeping on my bed with me for my entire life...

What they bring to my bed in terms of affection and lowered blood pressure more than make up for the unlikely ringworm.

I had progressively worsening pain in my right shoulder and shoulder blade, to the point where my right arm was incredibly painful and I couldn't lift anything with my right hand without screaming in pain. The culprit was my 11-pound Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Abby, who isn't happy unless she is jammedupagainstmeonmyrightside. She caused me to move less and put more pressure on the shoulder blade and shoulder socket.

She and our shelter dog Jack now spend their nights unhappily, but quietly, in their crates. Except when Daddy is out of town and we have an occasional "sleepover" on the big bed :)

loves to sleep really close too. I wonder if that is a Cavalier trait.
So far, the only side effect from her sleeping next to me is an excess of white dog hair all over the bed.

if it were really a problem, a) it wouldn't happen; and, b) it would affect the ability of humans to propagate. It hasn't.

Much ado about nothing, in my opinion.

This piece is a waste of pixels.

until I read yours! My thoughts exactly.

I don't believe in Heaven, but if I did, I'd believe in that "Rainbow Bridge" as well. And all my dogs and cats would be waiting at its base for me to join them in the crossing, and they'd tell me, "There's a king-size over there with our name on it."

Even if I told the pets to leave the bed they'd look at me and laugh their fuzzy little asses off.

Rolling on the bed, laughing my little fuzzy ass off. I figure if we can have a many lettered acronym, so can they!

My Standard Poodle is hardly little and he will obey if I tell him to get off the bed, but being as he is a wonderful, non intrusive bed partner and butt warmer, I am disinclined to remove him.

my husband and I share our bed with our three dogs. More correctly, the dogs share their queen size bed with us. We have a Vizsla (65 pounds), a Shiba Inu mix (15 pounds), and a Teacup Chihuahua (4 pounds). Add that to 270 pounds of people, and there's not a whole lot of room.

I've constantly requested that we crate the dogs, but my husband is a softie and thinks it's more trouble than it's worth.

I've been under the weather for a few weeks and there is nothing more soothing than the purr of my newest kitty, Izzy, as he snuggles up against me. IMHO, one loving pet equals a million Paxil.

I've had a cat sleeping in my bed for years. She sleeps on my lap while I work on the computer or watch TV. There is no stopping her.

I guess they caught the creeping dumbass from their sheep.

:eyes:

Stupid article is stupid.

That is one gorgeous kitty!!

Is it a boxer? She knows dogs. ;)

a similar digestive system though. Fart Dawg can clear a room for sure...

Raining outside, a cup of cocoa and a good book and a warm bed filled with purring cats. Mmmm, it's not raining but I think i'm going back to bed right now....

Sleeping with my cats prevents me from sleeping with stragers. Much healthier!

from underneath the covers. And good luck with that one - have you ever seen whippet teeth? Those canines are huge and believe me, they know how to use them.

My cat is 12 and my dog is nine months.

Sleeping with my pets saved me New Year's morning when an intruder tried to force his way through my bedroom window. The three cats who where in bed with me all jumped up at once and woke me up. The guy ran away when I flipped on the light. Good kitties!

and seeing that they do not sleep on me, but near me, I do not have an issue nor have I ever.