Woman loses sight in one eye after cat lick
Cat scratch fever is to blame
When an Ohio woman woke up with a pink, swollen eye recently, she assumed she had come down with a case of conjunctivitis. But the infection soon worsened, and doctors broke the bad news: her cat was to blame.
Janese Walters had contracted an infection from her cat, either when it licked her eye, or when she rubbed her eye while her hands had cat germs on them. The infection is commonly called "cat scratch fever" (and gave rise to a Ted Nugent song of the same name).
The disease is caused by a bacteria normally found in cats, particularly their saliva, which is generally harmless. However, if introduced to the bloodstream (through a cut, particularly in children and people with compromised immune systems) it can become extremely serious.
Such was the case for Walters, who has since gone blind in the infected eye. However, props to Walters for keeping her cats. It wasn't their fault, after all!