We’vealldoneit,oratleastknowsomeonewhohas.Animalloverswhokisstheirpets—mouthtomouth.“Kisses”frommans’bestfriendorafelinecompanionmayseemlovingandirresistible,butisitsafe?
Therearemanymythssurroundingpetsmooches.Somebelieveadog’smouthiscleanerthanahumanmouth,othersthinktheirdogorcat’smouthisadisinfectantandhasnogermsatall—which,consideringhowpetscleanthemselves,canprobablybeconsidereduntruerightofftheback.
WeaskedDr.PaulMaza,co-directorofthehealthcenterattheCollegeofVeterinaryMedicineatCornellUniversity,howcloseistooclosewhenitcomestoyourpet?
“Manyofthedifferenttypesofbacteriaindogsandcatsarethesametypeofbacteriaasinhumans.Atanygivenpointintimetheyareprobablynotanydirtierthanours,”Mazasaid.
Infact,Mazasaidifownerspracticeoralhygieneontheirpets,likewithbrushingtheirteeth,apet’smouthcanactuallybeevencleanerthanahumanmouth.
“Becausemostofthebacteriaandvirusesinadog’smoutharethesameasinaperson’smouth,itissafetokissadog,justlikeaperson.Youcanprobablycatchmorefromkissingahumanthanadogorcat,”hesaid.
AccordingtotheHumaneSociety,thereareapproximately77.5millionowneddogsintheUnitedStatesand93.6millionownedcats.
Althoughveryunlikely,therearerareinstancesinwhichzoonoticdiseases,ordiseasesthataretransmittedbetweenanimalsandhumans,canoccur.
Mazasaiddiseasetransmissionisveryrareincatsandevenmorerareindogs.
“Catsmayhavebartonella,orcatscratchfever,thatcancausediseaseinpeople.Taxolpasmosis,orcertainparasitesthathaveeggsinfecalmatter—thetransmissionofparasitescancausediseaseinpeople.Butagain,itdoesn’thappenveryoften,itisunlikely,”hesaid.
Butwehadtoask—whataboutfecalmatterinapet’smouth?Thatistheirwayoftakingashower,afterall.
Mazasaidthatalthoughthegroomingtechniqueofpetscancausefecalbacteriainthemouth,itisoftenswallowedandoutofthemouthquickly.
“Fecalmattercouldbeconsideredcomparabletoanyothernormalbacteria,”hesaid.
Formanypeople,kissingadogorcatmaybelessofasafetyissueandmoreofamysophobiaissue,orfearofgerms.
“Adoglickingababyontheheadorhandisprobablysafe,butsomeliketoavoidgermsatallcosts.Otherssaytherearegermseverywhereanditistoohardtoavoidthemallthetime,”hesaid.
ThosewhoshouldthinkaboutavoidingakissfromFidoincludeanyonewithacompromisedimmunesystemlikethosewithHIVorotherdiseases,aswellastheelderly.
Therearedebatesthatakissfromadogorcatmaybebeneficialfortheimmunesystemofyoungchildren.
“Babiesthatareillshouldn’tbearoundtoomanygerms,butotherssayitisgoodforchildren—itstimulatestheimmunesystemandestablishesearlyimmunity,”Mazasaid.
Asfaraspreventinganypossibleillnessfromkissingapet,Mazarecommends“commonsensehygiene.”
“Manypeoplewilluseglovestocleanlitterboxesandpickupdogpoop,andyoucanevenwashhandsafterpetting.Ifyouwanttopreventbacteriaofthemouth,youcanbrushpetsmouthsanduserinsesjustlikepeopledo,”hesaid.“Don’tallowpetsonkitchencountersandifitcan’tbeavoidedthenwipethemofbeforepreparingfood.”
Overall,Mazasaidthementalhealthbenefitsofkissingyourpetfaroutweightherisksofgettingsick.
“Ikissmydogallthetime,“hesaid.