Cat Lady Conundrum

[Alex+R 0]

By REBECCA SKLOOT

Published: December 9, 2007

Here’s a little-known and slightly terrifying fact: According to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 60 million people in the United States are infected with a parasite that may migrate into their brains and alter their behavior in a way that — among other things — may leave them more likely to be eaten by cats. New research into this common parasite — Toxoplasma gondii — may offer clues to the phenomenon known to the unscientifically-minded as “crazy cat lady” syndrome.

The basic facts: Toxo can infect many species, but it undergoes sexual reproduction only in cat digestive tracts. Once the parasite reproduces, the cat passes it in its feces, where the next unwitting host picks it up by digesting it (intentionally or unintentionally). Then the cycle starts again. In the long run, Toxo must find its way back to a cat’s stomach to survive. So the parasite has evolved a complicated system for taking over its hosts’ brains to increase the likelihood that they’ll be eaten by cats.

How? Scientists are still figuring that out. Research conducted this year by Toxo expert Robert Sapolsky of Stanford, and also by Joanne Webster, professor of parasite epidemiology at Imperial College London, has found that Toxo actually causes rats to become attracted to the smell of cat urine.

Might Toxo explain why some humans develop an unhealthful attraction to cats and apparently become immune to the smell of their urine? And might that explain the mystery of crazy cat ladies? “That idea doesn’t seem completely crazy,” Sapolsky says. “But there’s no data supporting it.”

Not yet. But Jaroslav Flegr, an evolutionary biologist at Charles University in the Czech Republic, is looking into it. He has spent years studying Toxo’s impact on human behavior. (He found, for example, that people infected with Toxo have slower reflexes and are 2.5 times as likely to get into car accidents.) He won’t have results of his study for a while and refuses to speculate. But Joanne Webster says the connection isn’t much of a stretch: “In our evolutionary past, perhaps we were eaten by cats, too,” she says.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/09/magazine...10_catcoat.html

[Ban Hammer 13,334]

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

By REBECCA SKLOOT

Published: December 9, 2007

Here’s a little-known and slightly terrifying fact: According to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 60 million people in the United States are infected with a parasite that may migrate into their brains and alter their behavior in a way that — among other things — may leave them more likely to be eaten by cats. New research into this common parasite — Toxoplasma gondii — may offer clues to the phenomenon known to the unscientifically-minded as “crazy cat lady” syndrome.

The basic facts: Toxo can infect many species, but it undergoes sexual reproduction only in cat digestive tracts. Once the parasite reproduces, the cat passes it in its feces, where the next unwitting host picks it up by digesting it (intentionally or unintentionally). Then the cycle starts again. In the long run, Toxo must find its way back to a cat’s stomach to survive. So the parasite has evolved a complicated system for taking over its hosts’ brains to increase the likelihood that they’ll be eaten by cats.

How? Scientists are still figuring that out. Research conducted this year by Toxo expert Robert Sapolsky of Stanford, and also by Joanne Webster, professor of parasite epidemiology at Imperial College London, has found that Toxo actually causes rats to become attracted to the smell of cat urine.

Might Toxo explain why some humans develop an unhealthful attraction to cats and apparently become immune to the smell of their urine? And might that explain the mystery of crazy cat ladies? “That idea doesn’t seem completely crazy,” Sapolsky says. “But there’s no data supporting it.”

Not yet. But Jaroslav Flegr, an evolutionary biologist at Charles University in the Czech Republic, is looking into it. He has spent years studying Toxo’s impact on human behavior. (He found, for example, that people infected with Toxo have slower reflexes and are 2.5 times as likely to get into car accidents.) He won’t have results of his study for a while and refuses to speculate. But Joanne Webster says the connection isn’t much of a stretch: “In our evolutionary past, perhaps we were eaten by cats, too,” she says.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/09/magazine...10_catcoat.html

Goddamn, I love the Times

[JVKn'CVO 11]

Prevention is key with toxoplasmosis

Toxoplasmosis fact sheet

How can I prevent toxoplasmosis?

There are several general sanitation and food safety steps you can take to reduce your chances of becoming infected with Toxoplasma.

Wear gloves when you garden or do anything outdoors that involves handling soil. Cats, which may pass the parasite in their feces, often use gardens and sandboxes as litter boxes. Wash your hands well with soap and water after outdoor activities, especially before you eat or prepare any food.

When preparing raw meat, wash any cutting boards, sinks, knives, and other utensils that might have touched the raw meat thoroughly with soap and hot water to avoid cross-contaminating other foods. Wash your hands well with soap and water after handling raw meat.

Cook all meat thoroughly; that is, to an internal temperature of 160° F and until it is no longer pink in the center or until the juices become colorless. Do not taste meat before it is fully cooked.

For further information on safe food handling to help reduce food borne illness visit the Fight BAC! ® Web site at http://www.fightbac.org/main.cfm.

If I am at risk, would I be able to keep my cat?

Yes, you may keep your cat if you are a person at risk for a severe infection (e.g., you have a weakened immune system or are pregnant); however, there are several safety precautions to avoid being exposed to Toxoplasma:

Keep your cat healthy and help prevent it from becoming infected with Toxoplasma. Keep your cat indoors and feed it dry or canned cat food rather than allowing it to have access to wild birds and rodents or to food scraps. A cat can become infected by eating infected prey or by eating raw or undercooked meat infected with the parasite. Do not bring a new cat into your house that might have spent time out of doors or might have been fed raw meat. Avoid stray cats and kittens and the area they have adopted as their "home." Your veterinarian can answer any other questions you may have regarding your cat and risk for toxoplasmosis.

Have someone who is healthy and not pregnant change your cat's litter box daily. If this is not possible, wear gloves and clean the litter box every day, because the parasite found in cat feces needs one or more days after being passed to become infectious. Wash your hands well with soap and water afterwards.

Saludos,

Caro

[mawilson 2,133]

Be careful Mags

Too late

[Alex+R 0]

Prevention is key with toxoplasmosis

Toxoplasmosis fact sheet

How can I prevent toxoplasmosis?

There are several general sanitation and food safety steps you can take to reduce your chances of becoming infected with Toxoplasma.

Wear gloves when you garden or do anything outdoors that involves handling soil. Cats, which may pass the parasite in their feces, often use gardens and sandboxes as litter boxes. Wash your hands well with soap and water after outdoor activities, especially before you eat or prepare any food.

When preparing raw meat, wash any cutting boards, sinks, knives, and other utensils that might have touched the raw meat thoroughly with soap and hot water to avoid cross-contaminating other foods. Wash your hands well with soap and water after handling raw meat.

Cook all meat thoroughly; that is, to an internal temperature of 160° F and until it is no longer pink in the center or until the juices become colorless. Do not taste meat before it is fully cooked.

For further information on safe food handling to help reduce food borne illness visit the Fight BAC! ® Web site at http://www.fightbac.org/main.cfm.

If I am at risk, would I be able to keep my cat?

Yes, you may keep your cat if you are a person at risk for a severe infection (e.g., you have a weakened immune system or are pregnant); however, there are several safety precautions to avoid being exposed to Toxoplasma:

Keep your cat healthy and help prevent it from becoming infected with Toxoplasma. Keep your cat indoors and feed it dry or canned cat food rather than allowing it to have access to wild birds and rodents or to food scraps. A cat can become infected by eating infected prey or by eating raw or undercooked meat infected with the parasite. Do not bring a new cat into your house that might have spent time out of doors or might have been fed raw meat. Avoid stray cats and kittens and the area they have adopted as their "home." Your veterinarian can answer any other questions you may have regarding your cat and risk for toxoplasmosis.

Have someone who is healthy and not pregnant change your cat's litter box daily. If this is not possible, wear gloves and clean the litter box every day, because the parasite found in cat feces needs one or more days after being passed to become infectious. Wash your hands well with soap and water afterwards.

Saludos,

Caro

That made me feel a little better. Still paranoid about parasites though. Oh god, they're coming from everywhere! EVERYWHERE!!!!!!! :screams and pulls out hair:

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

That made me feel a little better. Still paranoid about parasites though. Oh god, they're coming from everywhere! EVERYWHERE!!!!!!! :screams and pulls out hair:

*shakes head*

Rey is a saint for putting up with you

[Alex+R 0]

That made me feel a little better. Still paranoid about parasites though. Oh god, they're coming from everywhere! EVERYWHERE!!!!!!! :screams and pulls out hair:

*shakes head*

Rey is a saint for putting up with you

It's true! And vice versa.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

That made me feel a little better. Still paranoid about parasites though. Oh god, they're coming from everywhere! EVERYWHERE!!!!!!! :screams and pulls out hair:

*shakes head*

Rey is a saint for putting up with you

It's true! And vice versa.

I'm sure

[Mags 112]

Be careful Mags

Too late

hey just seen this!

I can safely say I am not immune to the smell of cat pee. I'm overly sensitive, in fact I'm often caught walking round the house looking for mystery smells.

[Alex+R 0]

hey just seen this!

I can safely say I am not immune to the smell of cat pee. I'm overly sensitive, in fact I'm often caught walking round the house looking for mystery smells.

Well, phew!

[Mags 112]

hey just seen this!

I can safely say I am not immune to the smell of cat pee. I'm overly sensitive, in fact I'm often caught walking round the house looking for mystery smells.

Well, phew!

I often find that many of the "mystery" smells are not a mystery after all. They appear to emanate from my husband.

[Ban Hammer 13,334]

hey just seen this!

I can safely say I am not immune to the smell of cat pee. I'm overly sensitive, in fact I'm often caught walking round the house looking for mystery smells.

Well, phew!

I often find that many of the "mystery" smells are not a mystery after all. They appear to emanate from my husband.

that's not nice! a blatant tos violation! suspend yourself for that disparaging remark about platy!

[Amby 490]

Neil & I think his mom has this.

[Mags 112]

Neil & I think his mom has this.

Is her house a bit whiffy?