Your cat could give you beaver fever its more common than people realize

We’re not kitten you with this one.If you live in one of the 43 million homes that care for at least one feline, these new findings might give you “paws.”As many as one in 15 cats carry a nasty parasite causing as infection nicknamed beaver fever — and one in five of those strains can infect humans.When humans catch it, beaver fever can cause painful gas, cramping, nausea and watery or greasy floating diarrhea up to five times daily.Here’s what new research suggests about which cats are more likely to have it, and which regions in the U.S.

have the highest rates of beaver fever in cats.Medically known as giardiasis, this intestinal infection is caused by Giardia, a microscopic parasite that gets passed through poop.There are many different kinds of Giardia, each with a different species they specialize in infecting, including cattle, pigs, dogs, cats, coyotes and beavers.Yet only a minority of Giardia types can pass from animals to humans.Often, people get infected by swallowing tainted water or food that contains the parasites.

After the parasite was found in beaver-dammed streams and lakes, Giardia got its beaver fever nickname.Don’t just blame animals though.Giardia passes easily from human to human through improperly washed hands that have been contaminated with poop during activities like changing diapers or sex.About half the people who get Giardia never exhibit symptoms.

To find out if you have it, doctors will need to run a special stool test.It can clear on its own, but doctors may prescribe anti-parasitic medications.It’s also important to note that getting Giardia from your pet is unlikely, and other animals — like birds and chinchillas — are more likely to spread Giardia to people, the CDC says.Researchers had the unenviable task of sorting through nearly 158,000 cat poo samples from 49 states, Washington D.C.

and even five Canadian provinces.Male cats were about 20% more likely to have Giardia compared to female cats and were also...