Cats
Can Cats Get Strep Throat? What Sore-Throat Signs Usually Mean
Cats can develop throat inflammation and bacterial infections, but classic human strep throat is uncommon. Learn the likely causes, warning signs, and when testing is needed.
By Dr. Isabella Miao
Cats can develop pharyngitis, which means inflammation of the throat, but classic human “strep throat” is uncommon in cats. A cat that coughs, gags, drools, or struggles to swallow may have a viral respiratory infection, mouth disease, a foreign object, or another problem that needs a veterinary exam.
What does a sore throat look like in a cat?
Cats cannot tell us that swallowing hurts. Possible signs include repeated swallowing, gagging, drooling, reduced appetite, eating more slowly, dropping food, neck stretching, a changed meow, coughing, fever, or hiding. Sneezing and eye or nose discharge make an upper respiratory infection more likely.
These signs overlap with dental pain, mouth ulcers, inflammation behind the mouth, laryngeal disease, and objects caught in the throat. A diagnosis cannot be made from one symptom.
Is Streptococcus the usual cause?
No. Bacteria in the Streptococcus group can infect animals, but the group A strep that commonly causes human strep throat is not a routine feline diagnosis. Viral upper respiratory infections are much more common in cats. Secondary bacterial infection can occur, but antibiotics are useful only when bacteria are likely or confirmed.
Can a person give strep throat to a cat?
Cross-species transmission appears to be unusual. It should not be treated as the first explanation when a cat becomes sick after a person in the home has strep throat. Use sensible hygiene: wash hands, avoid sharing food or utensils, and do not allow face licking while someone is ill.
If people in the household keep getting confirmed strep infections, discuss it with the human doctor. If the cat also has symptoms, tell the veterinarian about the household illness. Testing decisions should be made by the medical and veterinary professionals rather than by giving the cat leftover antibiotics.
How will a veterinarian find the cause?
The veterinarian may examine the teeth, gums, tongue, back of the mouth, lymph nodes, and airway. Sedation may be needed for a safe, complete throat exam. Depending on the findings, testing can include blood work, imaging, viral testing, or a swab or culture.
Do not attempt to pull an object from deep in the throat. String can be anchored under the tongue or farther down the digestive tract, and pulling it can cause serious injury.
How is pharyngitis treated?
Treatment is based on the cause. A dehydrated cat may need fluids. Pain relief, soft food, or assisted nutrition may be needed when swallowing is uncomfortable. Antibiotics are not automatic and should never be given from another pet's or person's prescription.
Keep the cat indoors, provide fresh water, and offer warmed wet food if the veterinarian says eating is safe. Separate food bowls and reduce close contact with other cats when a contagious respiratory infection is suspected.
When is it urgent?
Seek urgent veterinary care for open-mouth breathing, noisy or difficult breathing, blue or gray gums, collapse, choking, or inability to swallow water. Cats that do not eat can become seriously ill, so contact a veterinarian promptly if appetite is markedly reduced, especially for more than a day.
Bottom line
A cat can have a sore and inflamed throat, but that does not automatically mean human-style strep throat. The symptoms have several possible causes, and a mouth and throat examination is the safest way to choose treatment.
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