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My kitten died suddenly. Could it pass a dangerous disease to me?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Female | 9 years and 7 months old

Hi Yesterdat i found a street kitten about 4 weeks old.it looked really weak so i took it home. At first he ate and drank some water. He didnt urin so i tried cleanning him with a wet cloth. It seems likehe was getting better and sat on my shoulder all day. Today it seemd the same,asking for cudeling. I left the house and after a few hours, came back.and it seemed weeker and tired, and died after an hour. Any chance he had something dangerous for people?

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Kevin Sanada, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on November 4th, 2017

Sorry to hear this! Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon situation with small kittens. They usually die suddenly like this due to a heritable defect, poor immunity, or a severe disease like panleukopenia. There are very few diseases that a kitten can pass onto people and considering that she died so quickly, I would not be concerned about any diseases that could be passed to people. Most of the diseases carried by cats that can be passed to people are not a problem for healthy people and would not be nearly as deadly. If you did get a disease like toxoplasmosis or bartenolosis there would be warning signs such as feeling malaise, or Flu-like. Again, it's extremely unlikely for this to happen to you, but if you did feel sick in the next two weeks, then it would be good to mention the kitten to your doctor. Either way, the diseases that you could get from cats can be treated and would not be deadly (besides rabies, which is extremely unlikely in this case). I really wouldn't worry though. I've seen many of these little kittens die suddenly in shelters and have never had a concern about a zoonotic disease (disease passed from animals to people). I hope that helps.

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1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Other Answers

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    Answered By Rodrigo Roca, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Hello, sorry to hear about Tuluz. In feral kittens scabies can be infectious to people. Make sure you clean your hands after cleaning her excretions as some intestinal parasites can also be infectious as with any other pet. To ensure there is nothing you should be worried about, you may always ask your local veterinarian for a place to have a necropsy on. Otherwise, as long as you were not bit, scratched or put your hands in your mouth after cleaning her excretions then you should be fine. Hope this helps an best of luck

    Vote icon

    0Pet Parents found this answer helpful

  • Image profile

    Answered By Kevin Sanada, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Sorry to hear this! Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon situation with small kittens. They usually die suddenly like this due to a heritable defect, poor immunity, or a severe disease like panleukopenia. There are very few diseases that a kitten can pass onto people and considering that she died so quickly, I would not be concerned about any diseases that could be passed to people. Most of the diseases carried by cats that can be passed to people are not a problem for healthy people and would not be nearly as deadly. If you did get a disease like toxoplasmosis or bartenolosis there would be warning signs such as feeling malaise, or Flu-like. Again, it's extremely unlikely for this to happen to you, but if you did feel sick in the next two weeks, then it would be good to mention the kitten to your doctor. Either way, the diseases that you could get from cats can be treated and would not be deadly (besides rabies, which is extremely unlikely in this case). I really wouldn't worry though. I've seen many of these little kittens die suddenly in shelters and have never had a concern about a zoonotic disease (disease passed from animals to people). I hope that helps.

    Vote icon

    0Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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