Don’t be deceived by those big round eyes, cute little noses and tiny meows because despite their unbearable cuteness, kittens can potentially pack one deadly swipe of the paw.

That’s right, those fluffballs best known today for their internet memes, calendars and crazy cat lady memorabilia can actually kill you, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the U.S.

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When doctors conducted a large-scale survey of cat scratch fever, a cat-borne bacterial disease, they found the scope and impact of the disease was much larger than previously thought, says The Telegraph.

“The scope and impact of the disease is a little bit larger than we thought,” says Dr. Christina Nelson of the CDC to The Daily Mail. “Cat scratch is preventable. If we can identify the populations at risk and the patterns of disease, we can focus on the prevention efforts.”

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Researchers report that 12,000 people are infected with the disease every year, 500 of which are hospitalized.

The number of cases continues to decrease, but those who do get infected report more serious complications, researchers say.

According to PetMD, cats contract the bacterium through contact with flea feces. Cats often don’t suffer from the infection but may have a fever, swollen glands and muscle aches.

The disease can then be passed on to humans through a cat’s scratch, bite, saliva or by kissing their kitty. Kittens and stray cats are most likely to carry the bacterium.

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Symptoms in humans include fever, fatigue, headaches and swollen lymph nodes and usually appear within a week or two after initial contact but may take as long as eight weeks to present. Complications resulting from the disease can also cause death.

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, it is estimated that one-third of cats carry the bacterium and between 55 per cent and 85 per cent of cat scratch disease cases happen in patients under the age of 20.

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