How Did This Midwestern Cat Infect A Vet Tech?

A curious case of a sick feline is raising some eyebrows.

If you've ever taken your pet to the vet you know two things: it's expensive and also it's scary if your pet has some concerning symptom that you don't know how to handle.

But now, according to experts, they're ready to raise awareness among cat owners of an illness kitties can carry that can infect humans too, and it's already happened in the Midwest.

What It Is

Experts tell NBC News the condition is called Sporothrix schenckii (also Sporothrix brasiliensis) It causes a Sporotrichosis infection.

Most recently, it happened in Kansas, when an indoor/outdoor cat came into a vet's office with a wound on her paw that didn't heal after antibiotics. A vet tech caught the disease from her through a scratch. A few months later, another cat from the same house got sick.

CDC says there are different kinds of Sporotrichosis infections, but in this case, it's a skin condition. There will be a bump that develops on the skin where the fungus entered the body. It's not contagious but it is very slow to heal and is also known as "rose gardener's disease".

Ian Hennessee, an epidemic intelligence service officer at the CDC, said that cats carry a particularly high fungal load, so their wounds have a higher risk of spreading it to other cats, dogs, and even people.

So are experts saying you need to lose your mind and get rid of your cats? No. But they do want you to just be aware of the condition, in case you see the lesions on your cat and a bump on your skin too.