So sorry Suzi I just now saw this question..
duh duh duh. Anyway it's not a dumb question..remember the old saying "The only dumb question is the one unasked?"
I myself think it's a great question and one I've been meaning to ask my vet. I've left the glass of water out on a table I used for rinsing my fit (syringe), and sure enough I come back in the room and one of mine is lapping water from it. Naturally I start thinking exactly what you are. I think the different types of Hepatitis are species specific and that Hep C is specific to humans but am not really for sure on that. From what I have found it seems yes they can get hapatitis but it's normally a bacterial one called (hepatic lipidosis), as opposed to a viral one like Hep C.
Here's the answer: (since it's been asked and answered on the internet I guess it's not such a dumb question after all...see I told ya
Hepatitis in Cats
My cat has just been diagnosed with hepatitis. In your extensive website I was unable to find any information on Hep in cats.
The background: 9 year old indoor cat, shares home with two cats and two humans. Coughing, not eating and lethargic for a week before brought to vet.
Is this fatal? Are the other cats (or humans) at risk of contracting the disease? How did the cat get infected?
Any information would be greatly appreciated.
The Answer
Unfortunately "hepatitis" simply describes inflammation of the liver which can be caused by a large number of very different conditions with very different causes, treatment, and prognosis. This is usually made on the basis of some bloodwork, but the cause and treatment require additional tests (eg biopsy, other blood tests, etc). Although this has the potential to be a serious disease, in cats the most common causes of hepatitis are not contagious and they do not get the infectious types that affect people (so there is no likelihood of hepatitis being spread from cat to person, or vice versa).
J. Lindsay Oaks DVM, PhD, Dip ACVM
Source:
http://www.tica.org/vet/vet161.htm
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