The question of how many people are killed by domestic cats each year is surprisingly complex, moving beyond simple physical attacks to involve infectious disease and public health data. This examination distinguishes between direct physical harm, which is virtually non-existent, and indirect risks, which are measurable but extremely rare.
The Direct Answer: Fatalities Caused by Domestic Cats
Fatalities directly resulting from a physical attack by a domestic house cat are statistically zero in developed nations. Cats are not physically equipped or behaviorally inclined to cause lethal harm to an adult human.
The few reports of direct cat-related human death involve highly unusual circumstances, such as an accidental smothering of an infant, a scenario medical experts often attribute to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) rather than a malicious act. While cat bites and scratches are common, leading to an estimated 400,000 bites annually in the United States, the risk is typically infection, not trauma-related death.
Indirect Fatalities and Zoonotic Disease Transmission
The true, albeit minimal, fatal risk from cats comes from their role as carriers for zoonotic diseases. The parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which causes Toxoplasmosis, is the primary concern because cats are the only definitive host where the parasite can complete its life cycle. Infected cats shed millions of microscopic oocysts in their feces.
While the majority of human infections are asymptomatic, the disease can be severe or deadly in vulnerable populations. Immunocompromised individuals, such as those with HIV or undergoing chemotherapy, are at risk for severe complications like toxoplasmic encephalitis. Congenital toxoplasmosis, transmitted from a newly infected mother to her fetus, can also lead to severe birth defects or fetal death. Estimates suggest Toxoplasmosis causes an average of about 71 deaths per year in the United States, although this number includes cases acquired from contaminated food or soil, not solely from cat exposure. Another rare cause of death is Cat-Scratch Disease (CSD), caused by the bacterium Bartonella henselae transmitted via cat bites or scratches. Fatalities from CSD are estimated to be less than one percent of hospitalized cases, occurring almost exclusively in individuals with compromised immune systems.
Contextualizing Risk: Comparing Cat-Related Deaths to Other Animals
Comparing the minimal risk posed by cats to the danger presented by other common animals provides perspective. In the United States, domestic dogs account for a significantly higher number of direct human fatalities, with an average of 43 deaths per year from being bitten or struck between 2011 and 2021, and this number has risen in recent years.
Venomous insects, specifically hornets, wasps, and bees, are consistently responsible for more deaths than cats, causing an average of 72 fatalities annually due to anaphylactic shock. Even non-predatory livestock, such as cows, are reported to kill approximately 20 to 22 people per year, primarily farmworkers, through blunt force trauma.