Your love for your pet knows no bounds, and while it's good in theory, one Missouri man has learned that it's not without its downfalls.
The unidentified 68-year-old's condition is now documented in a medical journal because it is so unusual due to the fact that he actually caught his illness from his cat.
Most of the time we think that illnesses our pets suffer from are not transferable to us, but as you can see, that's not always the case.
The man started noticing bumps appearing on the right side of his neck two months before he actually went to the doctor's office.
He reported that he suffered swelling that lasted two months, but it wasn't until he developed a fever that he decided to seek medical attention.
The three large bulges on his neck and cheek required a lot of testing, but it was after he mentioned the fact that his outdoor car had died two days before his symptoms started that the doctors were able to narrow in on the issue.
His cat had been diagnosed with leukemia, so the man was required to medicate his cat daily with prednisone.
The blood tests revealed that the man was suffering from glandular tularemia, which is a rare diseased caused by a certain type of bacteria that can lead to a fatal pneumonia.
The lumps that had appeared were actually his own lymph nodes that had swollen significantly due to the bacteria.
The author of the medical study suspects that the cat actually died from the illness he passed on, and that the vet misdiagnosed him due to a lack of testing.
The cat likely got sick due to eating infected prey or drinking contaminated water, and was able to pass it to the man.
Symptoms usually appear between three to five days after they first encounter it, but it can take up to two weeks before it presents.
The swollen glands are one of the most common symptoms, followed by fever, chills, headaches, and exhaustion.
While all of these symptoms are similar to a flu, it's much more important that you get medical treatment because it can be quite a lengthy healing process. It takes between three to four weeks before you are free from the illness in most cases.
This patient made a full recovery, but it's still scary to see that there are certain illness that we are all susceptible to.
Source - New England Journal of Medicine / People / CDC