[Pasteurella multocida infections in birds following cat bites (author's transl)].

Infection with Pasteurella multocida caused by bites has been known for several decades. Cats are an important factor in Pasteurella multocida infection. Considerable numbers of victims are 'rescued' from the mouths of cats and submitted to bird reception centres for treatment. A number of bird shelters sent birds in this condition to the present authors for closer examination. The majority of birds caught by cats die. The mortality rates in shelters were reported to be 30, 90, 99 and one hundred per cent. Of the birds rescued alive from the mouths of cats, approximately 40 per cent died from the direct effects of the bites, and approximately 60 per cent died from Pasteurella multocida infection.