How Common 'Cat Parasite' Gets Into Human Brain and Influences Human Behavior

ScienceDaily ^ | Dec. 6, 2012 | NA

[JoeProBono]

[dennisw]

 

[Salamander]

Uh oh.

[Focault's Pendulum]

Don’t any of you people sleep......uh what am I saying?

[Captain Rhino]

Some initial thoughts:

Bad news day for cats.

Beware kitty!

Okay, so how do I get rid of the parasite and is the cure covered by Obamacare?

What a great new legal defense for cat-owning reckless people (possible oxymoron?): My cat's parasites made me do it!

[Hetty_Fauxvert]

Before we get all crazy about the kitties making us crazy ... I just want to say I don’t think it’s that common here in the U.S. I grew up with a ton of farm cats all around me (we commonly had 25 or so outside cats) and as a small child, paid little attention to sanitation. As an adult, I live closely with several indoor kitties, most of them rescues from outside. (We have had anywhere from 11 to four cats in the house at any one time, since we do rescue work sometimes.)

When we were trying to get pregnant, I was concerned about this issue, so I made my doc give me a blood test ... and after 35+ years of living very closely with a number of cats, I did NOT test positive for the antibody! (I was hoping I would, so I wouldn’t have to worry about it during pregnancy. However, it gave me a good excuse to have my husband clean out the litterboxes during my pregnancy. ;o)

Anyway, people get a little over-the-top about this, I’ve noticed, so I wanted to share my .02.

[STYRO]

HAHA you’re posting on a cat thread on FR at 3AM and claiming you are perfectly sane? Give it up Hetty.
Sarcasm aside, you make a pretty good case.

[Hetty_Fauxvert]

LOL! Good point. I took some prednisone pills this evening though, for this wretched cold, and I am WIDE awake! Just spent time watching Craig Ferguson and holding our two newest kitty babies ... brought them in as feral terrified itty bitty kittens this summer, now they are teenagers and so affectionate it’s like having sweet babies with fur around. (Okay, hm, maybe my brain has been a little affected! LOL!)

[count-your-change]

I discussed this with my cat and he said (in Swedish)not to worry about it, I think that’s what he said, anyway I know cats don’t make you nuts.

[neverdem]

Whole genome sequencing better at tracing TB outbreaks than standard test

FReepmail me if you want on or off my combined microbiology/immunology ping list.

[Smokin' Joe]

Ping.... (Thanks, neverdem!)

[Smokin' Joe]

Ping.... (Thanks, neverdem!)

[Smokin' Joe]

Ping.... (Thanks, neverdem!)

[Smokin' Joe]

Ping.... (Thanks, neverdem!)

[Smokin' Joe]

Well. That’s a new personal best (or worst). Sorry, all about the extra pings.

[Salamander]

I *am* asleep.

[Gene Eric]

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you :)

[Vaquero]

Not a cat person. I tend to dislike then.
So I was really surprised 3’years ago on June 6th when my Brittany bitch had one pinned in the corner of my yard. A tinny she-kitten less than 2 lbs. seems my neighbor cleaned out a ‘nest’ of feral cats under his shed and this one made through the chain link to my yard.

My boys still make fun of me for taking care of “D Day” knowing my cat history.

[chrisser]

Correlation certainly isn't causation but...

in my observation, the more liberal a person, the more likely they are to have cats.

Sure, I've known conservatives with cats, but it seems every liberal has cats.

Maybe there is something to this parasite...