Oregon health officials said that the state's first case of human plague in more than eight years likely originated in a person's pet cat. 

The cat had developed symptoms before the animal likely infected its owner with bubonic plague, Deschutes County Health Services said last week, according to NBC News. 

Dr. Richard Fawcett, a Deschutes County health official, said the cat suspected to be responsible for the recent case was "very sick" and had a draining abscess that indicated a "fairly substantial" infection.

The owner's infection began in a lymph node and progressed to the bloodstream by the time the owner went to the hospital. The owner "responded very well to antibiotic treatment," Fawcett said.