Tag Archives: toxoplasmosis

is it good to be a crazy cat lady?

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Who asks –  is it good to be a crazy cat lady?

Must be someone who doesn’t get cat lovers. Guess how My Kitty Care answers “is it good to be a crazy cat lady?”

We say of course!  But perhaps I’m a little biased. OK, I’m very biased.

is it good being a crazy cat lady?

photo by shari smith dunaif ©2015

 

How did the concept of a cat lady being crazy happen?
Maybe it began centuries ago when people believed in witches. Witches were crazed and associated with black cats, hence crazy cat ladies.

Another theory is based on cat poo with parasites called toxoplasmosis. Cats can get it by eating infected rodents; humans can contract it by handling contaminated kitty litter. One of the symptoms could be altered mental function.

In 2003, E. Fuller Torrey of the Stanley Medical Research Institute in Bethesda, Maryland his colleagues noted a link between Toxoplasma and schizophrenia – specifically, that women with high levels of the parasite were more likely to give birth to schizophrenics-to-be.

from scientificamerican.com July, 2012

More recently, UK researchers cambridge.org dispute the link between toxoplasmosis and crazy cat lady image in a July 2017 article titled “Curiosity killed the cat: no evidence of an association between cat ownership and psychotic symptoms at ages 13 and 18 years in a UK general population cohort.” It basically concludes:

“While pregnant women should continue to avoid handling soiled cat litter, given possible T. gondii exposure, our study strongly indicates that cat ownership in pregnancy or early childhood does not confer an increased risk of later adolescent PEs [psychotic experiences]

Now that we’ve dispelled the issue of our mental health, I’ill accept the `crazy cat lady‘ term because I happily confess: I’m CRAZY about cats!

So now the question remains: is it good to be a crazy cat lady?

The Journal of Vascular and Interventional Neurology vol.2 no.1 published research that established a benefit between cat ownership and a decreased risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke. In a 2009 article,

Conclusions: A decreased risk for death due to MI and all cardiovascular diseases (including stroke) was observed among persons with cats. Acquisition of cats as domestic pets may represent a novel strategy for reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases in high-risk individuals

 

Why it’s good to be a crazy cat lady

  • The sound of your purring cat is relaxing. Purring calms nerves and effectively lowers blood pressure.
  • Apparently, petting your cat releases oxytocin, a bonding hormone, which makes people feel less stressed, says Melanie Greenberg, Ph.D., licensed clinical psychologist and author of “The Stress-Proof Brain.”
  • Loneliness, or feeling isolated is a factor in our health. Various studies recognize stress, loneliness and alienation as contributors to illness. Want to feel better? Having a pet, we’re partial to cats, is a fabulous way to bring love and companionship into your home,

Crazy cat ladies, crazy cat men too, may not be so crazy – cats bring love and joy, which contributes to our well-being.

is it good to be a crazy cat lady? A resounding YES!

 

Do cats spread disease?

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We hear about cats being blamed for spreading disease

All creatures, including humans, carry germs, bacteria, that sort of thing, and so do cats. But do cats spread disease? Well, sort of but not really. There is something called toxoplasmosis which can be present in cat poo. Toxoplasmosis is caused by a microscopic parasite called Toxoplasma Gondii. Cats who hunt and have eaten contaminated rodents, birds, even small animals could become infected.

do cats spread disease?

outdoor cat
photo by shari smith dunaif © 2016

Or, if a cat has contact with another cat’s infected poo, that cat may become contaminated. That’s how a human is infected by a cat with toxoplasmosis, it’s from cat poo.

However, according to cdc.gov, humans are more likely to contract toxoplasmosis by:

  • Eating raw or undercooked meat from animals (especially pigs, lamb, or wild game) that have been infected with Toxoplasma.
  • Directly from a pregnant woman to her fetus when the mother becomes infected with Toxoplasma just before or during pregnancy.
  • Eating food, drinking water, or accidentally swallowing soil that has been contaminated with infected cat feces.

So if your cat is an outdoor hunter, just avoid picking up cat poo with your bare hands. (We hope you use a scooper, right?) If you do handle outdoor hunting cat poo, wash your hands. Otherwise, don’t blame cats!Do cats spread disease?

Do cats spread disease?

a final confirmation about transmition of toxoplasmosis:

Not many of us (perhaps toddlers aside…) will intentionally consume cat faeces, but we will sometimes come inside after gardening and grab a quick sandwich without remembering to wash our hands. This is not a problem with the cat itself, rather our own personal hygiene. It is extremely unlikely that you would pick up toxoplasmosis by petting your cat or being scratched or bitten by your cat, because the organism is not spread by the fur or saliva. You CAN, however, pick up toxoplasmosis by eating undercooked infected meat, particularly lamb and pork. Again, this is not your cat’s fault, rather our own lack of taste or culinary skills, and is by far the most common way of picking up the disease in developed countries.

vethelpdirect.com

So, do cats spread disease? Not really, unless you encounter a specific cat who is an outdoor hunter AND ate contaminated prey AND you handled the cat’s infected poo with your bare hands. And then didn’t wash your hands.