Can a cat catch diseases from rats it catches?

I am thinking about getting a cat, and I'm talking about normal household rats, not city rats. They do NOT have rabies.





Sources always appreciated. (:Can a cat catch diseases from rats it catches?
Yup. Rats/mice carry a lot of organisms that can potentially cause disease in cats. Your cat may even transmit it to you if you are not carefull.





Viral: Lymphocytic choriomeningitis, hanta virus





Bacterial: Streptobacillus moniliformis or Spirillum minus, Yersinia, and leptospirosis. Leptospirosis would probably be the biggest threat to your cat and to you.





Parasites: fleas, protozoans and worms. Although these are a bit choosy when picking a host, these can still be transmitted to cats or to you. Your cat could act as transient host to fleas that may carry Yersinia (Bubonic plague - although seen as a historical disease, it is still responsible for around one to three thousand deaths a year world wide).





I do believe in getting a cat to help control household rat populations, but do observe proper hygiene.





But the best way to get rid of rats/mice in your household would be to rat-proof your house. This would mean blocking all possible entry points to your house, getting rid of all possible breeding/hiding spaces, etc.Can a cat catch diseases from rats it catches?
You have to remember that rabies is not just a city thing we have it in rural areas too. And yes there is all kinds of things they could catch plus if someone else puts poison out for the rats and then your cat eats them your cat could get exposed.





Also animal bites are nasty, even if the cat just got in a fight with a rat and got bitten you could have a long recovery/vet bills ahead of you.





I would not recommend getting a cat just to eradicate a rodent problem. There is no guarantee that the cat you get will even be interested in catching anything.
yes. it can catch rabbies
YES!! so make sure your cat is FULLY VACCINATED, toxioplasmosis is one that they can catch, but isnt common, is dangerous if you are pregnant...


fleas and worms are also spread from killing mice/rats so make sure your kitty is properly dewormed and combed for fleas
If the rats don't have rabies then they can't get any disease.
My cat got worms and the vet said it was from her catching mice and birds.
Cats can get worms if they eat rats, I'm not sure about other diseases though.
doc_cliff has the right answer
It really depends on what diesease is because the cat can be amune to some
the cat wont catch diseases from a rat because its not city rats, city rats go in sewers so they would catch them in the city,all my cats catch rats all the time im not in the city either.