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Cat parasite impacts human brain chemistry

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TobyZ
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02 May 2009, 3:37 pm

Original story: http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/ ... lture.html?

Good discussion thread:
http://www.reddit.com/r/science/comment ... e_you_may/

Something to consider... They don't list the countries, anyone find a list?



WardenWolf
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02 May 2009, 3:46 pm

I've known about this for quite some time. While I likely have it (had cats since age 9), it would be hard to quantify any effects.



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02 May 2009, 3:52 pm

You mean this?

http://www.cdc.gov/toxoplasmosis/

List the countries? You mean where the parasite can be found or something?

You'll find this parasite with rates of probably 30-80% (some figures are more accurate than others and there's lots of estimation in pretty much all of them) in European countries and the US.

Nothing special or anything.


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KingdomOfRats
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03 May 2009, 12:05 pm

have wondered for a long time why cats dont get that toxiplasmosis[?] because they spend a lot of time licking their bum?


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Tantybi
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03 May 2009, 12:23 pm

Is this why they tell pregnant women to not change litter boxes? No, cause I swore it was a bacterial reason. All I remember is my doctor told me not to change the litter box while pregnant at all. But, when the litter box wasn't getting changed because my husband can't do anything helpful, and the cats were going in other places (he usually did clean that up at least), I had to. So I mentioned it to the vet, and she told me that it's only an issue in the first trimester, and it's only in the poop (not pee or the litter itself), and it only develops after 24 hours. So, basically, if I scooped daily, I'd be fine. Since then we got rid of the cats because they got territorial after I had the baby (we all know how cats mark territories, and it wasn't just the spit or whatever is near their mouths, but I call it spit).

As far as what I've read, I don't think it matters all that much. I was less depressed and anxious around my cats than I am now that I don't have them.



KingdomOfRats
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03 May 2009, 12:29 pm

Tantybi wrote:
Is this why they tell pregnant women to not change litter boxes? No, cause I swore it was a bacterial reason. All I remember is my doctor told me not to change the litter box while pregnant at all. But, when the litter box wasn't getting changed because my husband can't do anything helpful, and the cats were going in other places (he usually did clean that up at least), I had to. So I mentioned it to the vet, and she told me that it's only an issue in the first trimester, and it's only in the poop (not pee or the litter itself), and it only develops after 24 hours. So, basically, if I scooped daily, I'd be fine. Since then we got rid of the cats because they got territorial after I had the baby (we all know how cats mark territories, and it wasn't just the spit or whatever is near their mouths, but I call it spit).

As far as what I've read, I don't think it matters all that much. I was less depressed and anxious around my cats than I am now that I don't have them.

yes,pregnant women and children are supposed to be most at risk,think it's because children are more likely to handle it,but then some adults do as well.


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03 May 2009, 8:20 pm

KingdomOfRats wrote:
have wondered for a long time why cats dont get that toxiplasmosis[?] because they spend a lot of time licking their bum?


Well, if they didn't have it already they couldn't get it from licking their bums.

Usually they are asymptomatic carriers. It's not one of those things that hurts cats (or people) with healthy adult immune systems. An immuno-suppressed cat or kitten sometimes becomes symptomatic and is made quite seriously ill by it.

If your cats don't go outdoors or eat raw meat, and they've ever had a feces sample looked at at the vets, they probably don't have it. If you're looking at cat poop under a microscope, it's really obvious, because the organism that causes this illness is quite a pretty shade of blue. If it's there, the vet would have treated it regardless of wether the cat had symptoms, for the owner's safety.



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03 May 2009, 8:53 pm

Best way to get Tox is to eat undercooked meat especially wild meats like wild pig and venison. Tox has to be ingested so if you wash your hands properly after cleaning out a litter box then you don't end up eating poo particles. I work in an animal hospital and have done for many years. I had a Tox titre done when I was pregnant and it was negative. I have certainly been in contact with infected cats but I always wash my hand after touching animals :)