In most cases, medical treatment is not needed for cat scratch disease. Scratches or bites should be washed with soap and water, and patients can usually take an over-the-counter pain reliever to lessen any discomfort associated with the injury. Patients should not take any medication without first consulting a physician. Children should never be given aspirin, as it is associated with a potentially life-threatening condition called Reye syndrome. Warm, moist compresses can be used to treat swollen lymph nodes. 

Severe forms of the disease – such as swelling that lasts for more than two to three months – may require medical treatment, such as a course of antibiotic medications. Antibiotics may also be used to treat patients with immune system problems, or those with long-term fever or infection in the bones, liver or another organ.

Lymph nodes that are painfully swollen and those that fail to regress after weeks or months may benefit from fine needle aspiration. In this procedure, a needle is inserted into the node and the fluid is removed. Lymph nodes may need to be drained multiple times.

Cat scratch disease poses no danger to cats, and felines with the condition do not require treatment.