[Darksheare]

Toxoplasmosis (In people).
A cat parasite that comes from rodents.
It infects a rat or mouse and rewires it's brain so that it's natural fear of cats is obliterated.
Said rodent then picks a fight with a cat.
The cat is the toxoplasmosis bacterium(?) breeder, the rat is the carrier.

The little bug multiplies in Kitty kitty, and is expelled via fecal matter, which is nibbled by ratty. Which starts the process again.
Interestingly, the bug will multiply only in cats.
In people, it causes all sorts of problems -pregnant women especially.

[js1138]

I'm jumping into this thread without reading everything, but I just heard on the radio news a few minutes ago that SARS has been traced to an oddball restraunt dish using a cat or catlike creature as the meat item.