Is it possible to catch a cold from humans?

[nic374]

Our cat who is turning 12 yrs old has caught sometype of cold, he has been sneezing with a runny nose, for the last 4 days, well the other nite is eye was really sealed shut, and looked infected the next morning it looked like it has cleared up and he seems more active and comes to watch T.V. with us, but now there is a yellow stuff that has came out of the same eye, he is still eating and drinking, should I take him to a vet for eye drops or does anyone have a idea what i can get him to help is eye, and cold? And do u think the cat caught the same cold that my daughter and I have had, because the cat started to get sick when we did???

[nancyjac]

Yes C. psittaci is more common in kittens and if not treated can result in corneal rupture.

C. psittaci in humans can result from exposure to infected pet birds, notably parrots, but even then it is pretty rare.

[AnnieBrooke]

Chlamydia psittaci, serovar A can be transmitted from birds to humans; I always assumed it (C. psittaci) was also zoonotic between cats and humans, but am glad to hear you say it is not.  A friend of mine has a lot of cats, and they all seem to have chlamydia as a rite of passage when they are kittens.  Good to hear they can't pass it to the humans they come into contact with.

[nancyjac]

No, that isn't true.  Chlamydia trachomatis is a sexually transmitted bacterium in humans.  Chlamydia psittaci is a respiratory bacterium common to cats.  Neither one can be transmitted between cats and humans.  

I would recommend a vet visit to confirm and to get antibiotics.  

[AnnieBrooke]

There are viruses that people and cats can both get, for one example, chlamydia, and it manifests as a respiratory/eye infection in the cat (but I can't remember if it manifests that way in a person or not).  You might check with the vet and see if the cat should be treated.