Your cat could give you TB? Vets warn pets are catching deadly strain found in cattle and could pass it on to humans

Cats could pass on deadly bovine tuberculosis to their owners, according to vets.

Adventurous felines are catching the disease during their exploration of badger setts or by coming into contact with rodents who have done the same.

They can also pick up bovine TB directly from cattle or infected milk.

Now experts says vets should be more aware that domestic cats can carry the disease.

'The real issue with cats with TB is that unless they are feral, they tend to have close contact with humans,' Carl Padgett, former president of the British Veterinary Association, told the Sunday Telegraph.

'That is where you ramp up a degree of the public health risk through direct contact with cats that have TB and that is where I see the importance rather than driving the outbreak among cattle.'

Scientists at the University of Edinburgh Royal School of Veterinary Studies say that as many as 100 out of every 100,000 cats could have a form of tuberculosis, more than previously thought. 

A fifth of those are thought to be infected by Mycobacterium bovis - the strain found in cattle and badgers.

Most were caused by Mycobacterium microti, usually found in voles.

Professor Danielle Gunn-Moore, who led the study, told the newspaper: 'You need to be aware that cats are acting as sentinels for other small furries that are infected. 

'You might clear the cattle, but if you don’t clear the cats as well, you could potentially get reinfection.'

If you own one, please be careful.