Many, many years ago, while litigating a foodborne illness outbreak case, we received an unfavorable ruling from our judge on a procedural motion. When I called my client to share the news, I confidently proclaimed, “not to worry, we’ll definitely get another kick at the cat.” Somewhat shocked, my client asked me quite pointedly, “Shawn, why in the world would you kick a cat?” What I meant to say is, “Don’t worry, we’ll get another chance to kick the … ‘can.’”

So, not to kick a cat while it’s already down, I nevertheless started thinking recently about the numbers of Salmonella cases in the U.S. each year which may actually be caused by human exposure to their cats. With over 1 million estimated Salmonella infections each year, regulators spend a lot of time and resources pointing at the poultry industry. But, while why we know that consumers in most cases tend to properly handle and thoroughly cook their chicken, what they don’t tend to do is routinely kick, or even cook, their cats.

The current Salmonella outbreak being reported by CDC involving backyard poultry may be somewhat enlightening. In the ongoing outbreak, 195 case patients have been identified in 38 states. Fifty of the victims (over 25%) have been hospitalized. Other outbreaks have been linked to pet bearded dragons, small turtles, chicks, and other pets.

While the estimates vary slightly, the general consensus is that there may be as many as 100 million U.S. households that own cats. In 2017, the Cornell University Feline Health Center acknowledged that humans can “contract [Salmonella] from infected cats, which can carry Salmonella bacteria and pass them in their stool.” In turn, a recent study examining the prevalence of Salmonella in dogs and cats in the U.S. between 2012 and 2014 found that as many as 3 in 543 cats were carrying Salmonella. While this may seem like a low number, if one presumes that there are as many as 100 million U.S. households that own cats, approximately 500,000 households could have infected cats carrying and shedding Salmonella in the environment (interestingly, as a side note, the prevalence of Salmonella in dogs was reported to be 2.5%). In turn, I wonder how much of this contamination may contribute to the total estimated number of infections in the U.S. annually.

Indeed, when you think about the behavior of cats in the household generally, they routinely visit their litter boxes, and then travel throughout the household environment with contaminated paws, potentially spreading contamination on floors, tables, furniture, kitchen counters, and even their owners. So, perhaps, to fully nip the Salmonella problem in the butt … I’m sorry, I mean “bud,” perhaps we should also begin looking more closely at cats.

Ultimately, when it comes to a Salmonella illness, remember, it might have been caused by the last chicken breast someone ate or, perhaps, it might be the cat’s pajamas they just changed (if their cat wears pajamas). Or, even, simply … the cat’s meow.*

*No animals were harmed in the writing of this article.

Is it the cat’s pajamas or the cat’s meow?

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