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Dr. Chrysoula I. Liakou MD, PhD
- Treated online: Partly. A doctor can assess typical cat scratch disease by video and treat it; blood tests and large or lasting glands need in-person care.
- What causes it: the bacterium Bartonella henselae, passed on by a scratch or bite from a cat, especially a kitten with fleas.
- How it starts: a small bump at the scratch 3 to 10 days later, then swollen glands near it 1 to 3 weeks later.
- How long it lasts: it usually settles on its own, but the swollen glands can take 2 to 4 months to go down.
- Emergency: call 112 for a seizure, sudden confusion, or a severe headache with a stiff neck.
Do not book a video appointment if you have a seizure, sudden confusion, or a severe headache with a stiff neck: call 112 or go to an emergency department. Sudden blurred or lost vision in one eye needs urgent in-person eye care. If your immune system is weakened and you have a high temperature after a cat scratch, get medical help in person promptly.
Can an online doctor treat cat scratch disease?
Partly. Cat scratch disease is usually diagnosed from the story, a cat scratch or bite followed by swollen glands nearby, and a doctor can assess it by video, explain what to expect, and prescribe antibiotics when they would help. Blood tests, a gland that is very large, painful or filled with pus, eye symptoms, and illness in someone with a weakened immune system need in-person care.
How an online consultation helps with cat scratch disease
- A diagnosis from your story: A cat or kitten scratch, a bump at the site, then swollen glands nearby: the pattern usually gives the answer.
- Antibiotics when they help: Many people recover without them, so the doctor weighs your symptoms and your health.
- Other causes considered: Swollen glands have many causes, and the doctor tells you which ones need tests.
- A plan for the glands: How long the swelling should last, and which changes mean an in-person check.
What the doctor checks in an online cat scratch disease consultation
The doctor checks for the rare complications first, then the scratch and the glands. The doctor asks about:
- Warning signs: changes in eyesight, a red eye, a severe headache, confusion, or a high temperature for several days.
- The cat: a kitten or an adult cat, fleas, and any scratches, bites or licks on broken skin.
- The scratch: a bump, blister or scab at the site, and whether it is healing.
- The glands: where they are, how large and how painful, and whether the skin over them is red or warm.
- How you feel: tiredness, headache, a high temperature or a poor appetite.
- Your health: a weakened immune system, pregnancy, long-term conditions and the medicines you take.
Before the call, measure the largest swollen gland with a ruler if you can, and note when you were scratched and when the swelling started.
What are the symptoms of cat scratch disease?
The first sign is often a small bump at the scratch or bite. Swollen glands near the scratch follow a week or more later, and they are the main symptom:
Swipe sideways to compare →
| When | What happens | What you notice |
|---|---|---|
| 3 to 10 days after the scratch | A spot at the scratch | A red bump or small blister, usually painless and not itchy, which may scab |
| 1 to 3 weeks after the scratch | Glands swell near the scratch | Tender lumps in the armpit, neck or groin, sometimes with red, warm skin over them |
| At the same time | Feeling unwell | Tiredness, headache, a poor appetite, and sometimes a high temperature |
| 2 to 4 months later | The glands settle | The swelling goes down, usually without treatment |
Rarely, a swollen gland fills with pus and can leak. Less common symptoms include a sore throat and weight loss.
How do you catch cat scratch disease?
Cats pick up the bacteria from fleas, and pass it on to people through scratches contaminated with flea droppings. Kittens are a particularly common source. You can also catch it from:
- a cat bite
- a cat licking broken skin, or your eyes, nose or mouth
- contact with cat fleas
Cat scratch disease affects children under 15 more often than adults, but people of any age can get it.
How many cats carry it?
Studies have found the bacteria in the blood of up to 1 in 3 healthy cats, particularly kittens, and stray cats are more likely to carry it than pets. Most infected cats never become ill, so a cat that looks healthy can still pass it on. Cats are infected mainly through flea bites, which is why flea control matters, and why an indoor cat kept away from strays is less likely to carry it.
Other risks from a cat scratch: infection, tetanus and rabies
Cat scratch disease is only one of the things a scratch or bite can lead to. Clean any scratch or bite straight away with soap and warm water, then check for these:
- Wound infection: a scratch or bite that becomes hot, swollen or painful, or leaks fluid, needs a doctor, who may prescribe antibiotics. For cat bites, see animal bites.
- Tetanus: get medical advice if you have not had a tetanus vaccine in the last 10 years.
- Rabies: cats can carry rabies in countries where it is present in animals. A scratch or bite from a cat abroad, or from a stray, needs a doctor to check the risk; see rabies.
Swollen glands that appear 1 to 3 weeks after the scratch point to cat scratch disease. Redness, heat, swelling and fluid at the scratch itself point to a wound infection.
Swollen glands after a cat scratch: when to worry
In most people, cat scratch disease settles on its own. See a doctor about:
- a scratch or bite that is not healing, or redness around it that keeps growing for more than 2 days
- a high temperature lasting several days
- painful, swollen glands lasting more than 2 or 3 weeks
- bone or joint pain, tummy pain or extreme tiredness lasting more than 2 or 3 weeks
Swollen glands have many other causes. A gland that keeps growing, feels hard, or does not settle may need blood tests or a sample taken in person to rule out other conditions.
Rare complications
Rarely, the infection affects the eye, the liver, the spleen, the brain, the bones or the heart valves. This happens mainly in people with a weakened immune system, who always need antibiotics.
Which cat scratch disease treatment might the doctor recommend?
Treatment depends on how unwell you are and on your immune system. This is the framework the doctors use:
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| What you have | Likely first step | Suitable for online care? | When in-person care is needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| A healing scratch, no other symptoms | Washing and watching | Yes | Not needed |
| A bump at the scratch, mildly swollen tender glands | Pain relief, warm compresses and watching | Yes | Not usually needed |
| Large, painful glands, or symptoms lasting weeks | Antibiotics may be offered | Yes | For tests if the diagnosis is unclear |
| A gland that is red, soft and filled with pus | Assessment for draining | Yes, to assess | For draining |
| A weakened immune system with a high temperature | Antibiotics and tests | Partly | In-person assessment |
| Blurred vision, a severe headache or confusion | Urgent assessment | No | Urgent care, or call 112 |
Swollen glands after a cat scratch? A doctor can tell you in one consultation what is likely and what to do.
See available times →Treatment options for cat scratch disease
What you can do yourself
- Wash scratches and bites with soap and water straight away.
- Take paracetamol or ibuprofen for pain and a high temperature.
- Hold a warm compress on sore glands.
- Rest, and watch the glands: measure them every week or so.
Prescription treatment
A prescription is never issued without a consultation. Most people recover without antibiotics. The doctor may prescribe an antibiotic, often azithromycin, when glands are large or painful or symptoms last for weeks; in one small study, a short course made the glands shrink faster, although overall recovery was similar. People with a weakened immune system always need antibiotics. A very large or painful gland may need draining by a doctor in person. If the doctor prescribes, use the prescription at a pharmacy near you.
What does not help
Squeezing or cutting into a swollen gland yourself. Antibiotics for a scratch that is healing without any other symptoms.
How to prevent cat scratch disease
You do not need to give up your cat. These steps lower the risk:
- Wash your hands, and any scratches or bites, with soap and water after handling cats.
- Play gently, so the cat does not scratch or bite.
- Do not let cats lick your eyes, mouth or any wounds.
- Use flea control on your cats, as your vet recommends.
- Avoid stray and feral cats.
- If your immune system is weakened, consider adopting a cat that is at least 1 year old rather than a kitten.
Special situations
A weakened immune system
Cat scratch disease can be more serious, and antibiotics are always needed. See a doctor promptly after a cat scratch if you feel unwell.
Pregnancy
Tell the doctor if you are pregnant, because it changes which antibiotics are suitable.
Vets, groomers and shelter workers
Frequent scratches raise the risk. Wash scratches straight away, and mention your work if glands swell.
Children
Mobi Doctor consultations are for adults aged 18 and over. A child who is unwell needs a paediatrician or a local doctor in person, and emergency signs in a child mean 112.
When cat scratch disease is treated online, and when you need in-person care
Treated online: typical cat scratch disease, advice on how long it lasts, pain relief, antibiotics when they would help, and follow-up of the glands.
In-person care: blood tests when the diagnosis is unclear, a gland that is very large, hard, growing or filled with pus, eye or nerve symptoms, and illness in someone with a weakened immune system.
When to get in-person care
Call 112 or go to an emergency department now for:
- a seizure
- sudden confusion, or being very drowsy
- a severe headache with a stiff neck
- red, hot, spreading skin around a scratch with a high temperature and feeling very unwell
Get medical advice the same day for:
- blurred vision or sudden loss of vision in one eye
- a red eye with a swollen gland in front of the ear
- a swollen gland that is red, very painful or leaking
- a high temperature after a cat scratch if your immune system is weakened
How Mobi Doctor works
- Book a time that suits you: daily 7am–11pm CEST. You can see a doctor over video, usually within 15 minutes. No subscription, and the exact price is shown before you pay.
- Speak to a licensed doctor about the scratch and the glands: show them on camera in good light, and say when you were scratched, by which cat, and when the swelling started.
- Leave with a plan: what to do, what to take and for how long, and which signs mean you should be seen in person. If the doctor prescribes, use the prescription at a pharmacy near you.
No sign-up needed
Not sure it’s cat scratch disease? Tick every symptom you have to see each condition page that mentions it. It finds the right page, not a diagnosis: a doctor gives you that on a video call.
Tap the body — an area or a point — to browse symptoms anywhere
Similar symptoms, different condition? Animal bites can start the same way. Compare them, or look up any other symptom in the full symptom checker.
Frequently asked questions about cat scratch disease
What is cat scratch disease?
An infection with the bacterium Bartonella henselae, caught from a cat scratch or bite, especially from a kitten with fleas. It causes a bump at the scratch and swollen glands nearby, and is also called cat scratch fever.
How long after a scratch do symptoms start?
A red bump or small blister appears at the scratch 3 to 10 days later. The glands nearby swell 1 to 3 weeks after the scratch, usually in the armpit, neck or groin.
What causes cat scratch disease?
Cat scratch disease is caused by Bartonella henselae, a bacterium that lives in the blood of cats, especially kittens and strays, and is spread between cats by fleas; it gets into a person through a scratch or bite that carries flea dirt from the claws, or when a cat licks broken skin. The cat is almost never ill. Flea control, which stops cats catching the bacteria in the first place, is the main reason indoor cats rarely carry cat scratch disease.
How long does cat scratch disease last?
Cat scratch disease usually gets better on its own. The swollen glands can take 2 to 4 months to go down. See a doctor if painful, swollen glands last more than 2 or 3 weeks.
Is cat scratch disease serious?
Usually not. Most people with a healthy immune system recover fully from cat scratch disease without treatment. Rarely, it affects the eyes, liver, brain, bones or heart, mainly in people with a weakened immune system.
Is it cat scratch disease or something else?
Cat scratch disease is a painless bump at a scratch followed a week or more later by one or more swollen, tender glands on that side, in someone who has handled a cat. A skin infection from the scratch itself appears within 1 to 2 days with spreading redness and pus; glandular fever swells glands on both sides of the neck with a sore throat; toxoplasmosis causes painless glands without a scratch; and glands that keep enlarging for weeks need tests.
Do you need antibiotics for cat scratch fever?
Not always. Many people recover from cat scratch fever without them. A doctor may offer antibiotics for large or painful glands or symptoms that last, and people with a weakened immune system always need them.
What can I do at home for cat scratch disease?
Wash any cat scratch or bite with soap and water straight away, keep the spot clean and covered, take paracetamol or ibuprofen for aching glands, apply a warm compress to a tender gland, rest while you have a fever, and avoid squeezing or draining the gland yourself. Cat scratch disease usually settles over weeks; a gland that keeps growing, becomes red and soft, or a fever lasting more than a few days needs a consultation.
Can you get cat scratch fever from an indoor cat?
Yes, cat scratch fever from an indoor cat is possible, because cats pick up the bacteria mainly from fleas, and an infected cat usually looks healthy. Indoor cats kept away from strays and treated for fleas are less likely to carry it.
Do all cats carry cat scratch disease?
No. Studies have found the cat scratch disease bacteria in up to 1 in 3 healthy cats, most often kittens and strays. Most infected cats never become ill.
Can you get tetanus or rabies from a cat scratch?
Tetanus is possible after any scratch or bite, so get advice if you have not had a tetanus vaccine in the last 10 years. Rabies is a risk after a scratch or bite from a cat in a country where rabies is present in animals, and needs a doctor to assess it promptly.
Can you get cat scratch disease without a scratch?
Yes. Cat scratch disease can follow a cat bite, a cat licking broken skin or your eyes, nose or mouth, or contact with cat fleas can also pass it on.
How can I prevent cat scratch disease?
Wash your hands and any scratches after handling cats, play gently, do not let cats lick wounds or your face, use flea control on your cats, and avoid stray cats.
When should I see a doctor after a cat scratch?
If the scratch does not heal, redness keeps growing for more than 2 days, you have a high temperature for several days, or glands are swollen and painful for more than 2 or 3 weeks. Eye symptoms or confusion need urgent care.
Can an online doctor treat cat scratch disease?
Partly. A doctor can assess typical cat scratch disease by video, advise on what to expect, and prescribe antibiotics when they would help. Blood tests and large or pus-filled glands need in-person care.
- Clinical overview of cat scratch disease, CDC, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2026.
- Cat-scratch disease, MedlinePlus, US National Library of Medicine, reviewed August 2025.
- Cat-scratch disease (cat-scratch fever), American Academy of Family Physicians, familydoctor.org, 2023.
- Cat scratch disease, National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), Slovenia, accessed 15 October 2026.
- About cat scratch disease, CDC, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reviewed 11 September 2026.
- Animal and human bites, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 27 October 2025.
This page is for information only and is not a substitute for a medical consultation. Guideline links are provided for transparency; treatment decisions are made with your doctor.
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