The symptoms of cat scratch fever are fever within 2 weeks of being scratched by a cat and a single enlarged painful lymph node near the broken skin. Enlarged lymph nodes are evident and are 1-5cm in diameter, individual lymph node enlargement can reach 8-10cm in diameter, some patients have a group of enlarged lymph nodes or even develop 2 different areas of enlarged lymph nodes, generalised lymph node enlargement is relatively rare. The axillary lymph nodes are the most common site, but the lymph nodes involved depend on the site of the infection, i.e. the site of the scratch. Fever is predominantly low-grade and may be accompanied by generalised weakness and, in severe cases, optic neuritis, coma, liver and kidney damage.
