That's exactly what my dogs said. The cat refused to comment.
On Jul 8, 2012, at 2:46 PM, "William Scott" <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > Correlation-causation. Do crazy cat-ladies go out looking for (possibly > infected) cats or do the cats make them that way? In any case, maybe the > study helps justify the stereotype. > > Bill Scott > > >>> 07/08/12 2:14 PM >>> > > > > > > > > > > My dog tipped me off to this. She's lobbying to get rid of the cat. > > >> >> A Parasite Carried By Cats Could Increase Suicide Risk >>> by Jon Hamilton >>> >>> 05:28 pm >>> >>> >>> >>> Hans Martens/iStockphoto.com >>> What's the link between cats and madness? >>> >>> There's fresh evidence that cats can be a threat to your mental health. >>> >>> To be fair, it's not kitties themselves that are the problem, but a >>> parasite they carry called Toxoplasma gondii. >>> >>> A study of more than 45,000 Danish women found that those infected with >>> this feline parasite were 1.5 times more likely to attempt suicide than >>> women who weren't infected. >>> >>> That's not a huge increase, but it's probably too big to have been caused >>> by chance, says Teodor Postolache, a University of Maryland psychiatrist >>> and senior author of the paper, which was published in the Archives of >>> General Psychiatry. >>> >>> >>> Still, the absolute risk of suicide remains very small. Fewer than 1,000 of >>> the women attempted any sort of self-directed violence during the 30-year >>> study span. And just seven committed suicide. >>> >>> But this isn't the first time T. gondii infection, or toxoplasmosis, has >>> been associated with behavioral changes in people, Postolache says. >>> Previous studies have shown links to schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and >>> even the chance that a person will get in an automobile accident. >>> >>> Related NPR Stories >>> >>> Invasion Of The Mind-Controlling Zombie Parasites Oct. 30, 2011 >>> Eat Your Worms: The Upside Of Parasites Dec. 2, 2010 >>> Research Links Parasite In Cats To Mental Illnesses June 19, 2010 >>> The T. gondii parasite lives in the intestines of cats. Cat owners can >>> become infected when they change a litter box, Postolache says. But he says >>> people are more likely to be infected when they eat vegetables or meat that >>> are raw or undercooked. >>> >>> "People should not give their cats away" because of this study, Postolache >>> says. >>> >>> Scientists still aren't sure how the parasite affects a person's brain, he >>> says. But in rodents, it causes cysts to form in areas of the brain >>> involved in behavior. >>> >>> A study of rats also found that infection caused them to lose their fear of >>> cats and become attracted to the odor of cat urine. That behavioral change >>> would increase the chance that a rat would be eaten by a cat — allowing the >>> parasite to get into the cat's intestine, which is the only place it can >>> reproduce sexually. >>> >>> The parasite doesn't benefit much from infecting a human, since cats don't >>> eat people very often. So humans are probably just "collateral damage" from >>> the parasites' effort to infect smaller animals, says Robert Yolken, an >>> infectious disease expert at Johns Hopkins University. >>> >>> Yolken says he owns two cats and that "the benefits outweigh the risks." >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> > > --- > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. > > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13058.902daf6855267276c83a639cbb25165c&n=T&l=tips&o=18889 > > (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) > > or send a blank email to > leave-18889-13058.902daf6855267276c83a639cbb251...@fsulist.frostburg.edu > > > > > > > > > --- > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. > > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=177920.a45340211ac7929163a0216244443341&n=T&l=tips&o=18890 > > (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) > > or send a blank email to > leave-18890-177920.a45340211ac7929163a0216244443...@fsulist.frostburg.edu > > > > > > --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=18891 or send a blank email to leave-18891-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
