Cat

New study finds that owning a cat can lead to severe mental illnesses.

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Uh-oh, Taylor Swift. Looks like we’ve got some bad news for you.

Though most cats love to cuddle and can serve as a nurturing companion for years, a new study has found that people who come in contact with litter boxes may develop sudden rage, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia later in life.

Talk about information you can’t just shake off.

According to CBS, E. Fuller Torrey of the Stanley Medical Research Institute and Dr. Robert H. Yolken of Stanley Laboratory of Developmental Neurovirology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have been studying the link between infection with a parasite called ‘Toxoplasma gondii,’ found in cat feces, and schizophrenia for close to three decades.

Their most recent study, published in Schizophrenia Research, compared two previous studies that found a link between childhood cat ownership and the development of schizophrenia later in life with an unpublished survey on mental health from 1982, 10 years before any data on cat ownership and mental illness had been published.

After comparing the two prior studies to the survey, researchers were able to conclude that exposure to T. gondii can lead to ‘toxoplasmosis,’ a condition that, if contracted in childhood, makes one more prone to mental problems later in life.

“Cat ownership in childhood has now been reported in three studies to be significantly more common in families in which the child is later diagnosed with schizophrenia or another serious mental illness,” the authors reported in a press release.

And this isn’t the first time exposure to T. gondii has been linked to worrisome health issues, either.

Pregnant women have long been told to avoid cleaning their cat’s litter box, as toxoplasmosis has been shown to cause severe cause birth defects.

But before you send your precious feline off to the pound, consider this: The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 60 million people in the U.S. who have Toxoplasmosis may never show symptoms.

Plus, researchers also point out that the parasite mainly affects outdoor cats — so, if you have an indoor cat, the chances of your cat contracting the protozoa are very slim.

If you must handle a litter box, the CDC suggests cleaning it daily, as the T. gondii protozoa “does not become infectious until one to five days after it is shed in feces.”

Also, be sure to wash your hands thoroughly afterwards, and consider wearing disposable gloves.

Keep these tips in mind so you can continue enjoying your cat’s special brand of stand-offish affection with peace of mind.

 

Owning a cat can lead to mental health problems, study warns

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A parasite found in cat faeces may alter people’s brain chemistry to cause long-term behavior problems.

 Larry, the Prime Minister's cat, sits outside No10

If you’re prone to sudden bursts of anger, it could be your cat’s fault.

A new study has found that people with Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED) – characterised by explosive bouts of rage – are twice as likely to have been infected by a parasite found in cat faeces.

The findings suggest that toxoplasmosis, an infection from the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, may alter people’s brain chemistry to cause long-term behavior problems.

Cats are known to pass the parasite on to human by shedding its eggs in their faeces. People can become infected by not washing their hands after cleaning a cat’s litter tray, and then unintentionally ingesting the eggs.

Around a third of people in the UK will become infected at some point in their lives – with cat owners at particularly high risk.

Toxoplasmosis has also been linked with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, impulsivity and suicidal behavior in earlier studies.

The new study, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, looked at 358 adult participants. Researcher found that 22 percent of the people with IED tested positive for toxoplasmosis exposure, compared with only 9 percent of those without IED.

Road rage can be a manifestation of Intermittent Explosive Disorder  

“Not everyone that tests positive for toxoplasmosis will have aggression issues,” said research leader Dr. Emil Coccaro of the University of Chicago. However, exposure to the parasite does appear to “raise the risk for aggressive behavior.”

The NHS says that toxoplasmosis is “usually nothing to worry about because the immune system is normally strong enough to fight the infection and stop it from causing serious illness.

“After getting the infection, most people are immune to it for the rest of their life.”

However, it can lead to serious problems in women who become infected while they’re pregnant, and people with weak immune systems.

Ask NIH to Stop Funding Cruel UW Experiment on Cats.

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For decades, experimenters at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) have been conducting cruel and useless taxpayer-funded “sound localization” studies in which cats have steel coils implanted in their eyes, holes drilled into their skulls, and electrodes implanted in their brains. Sometimes, cats used in this experiment have had their ears cut off or are intentionally deafened by having a toxic chemical applied to their inner ear. The cats are then deprived of food for several days in order to coerce them to look in the direction of sounds during experimental sessions in which their heads are immobilized by a bolt screwed into their skulls.

Internal UW documents and photographs obtained by PETA in response to a successful lawsuit detail the miserable life and death of one of the cats, a gentle tabby named Double Trouble, who was abused and killed in this barbaric experiment. In one instance, Double Trouble woke up while experimenters were cutting into her head. Following a series of invasive surgeries, she developed infections, became lethargic and depressed, started to twitch, and suffered paralysis in half her face. After UW deemed the experiment a failure, the experimenters killed and decapitated Double Trouble so that they could examine her brain.

Experimenters have justified the use of 30 cats like Double Trouble per year in this cruel project not by saying that it would enhance human health but by stating that they needed to “keep up a productive publication record that ensures our constant funding.”

Shockingly, the federal government continues to support this irrelevant and deadly project and has provided UW with more than $3 million in grant money to abuse animals—even though researchers at other institutions around the world are already using modern methods with human volunteers to investigate how the brain locates and processes sound.

PETA has called on federal officials to investigate the circumstances surrounding Double Trouble’s horrendous treatment and take disciplinary action against UW for likely violations of federal animal welfare laws. You can help our efforts by contacting the National Institutes of Health and urging the agency to cut funding for this crude and deadly project.

Sign the petition:

https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=4317&utm_campaign=0912%20Ask%20NIH%20to%20Stop%20Funding%20Cruel%20UW%20Experiment%20on%20Cats%20Post&utm_source=PETA%20Facebook&utm_medium=Promo

Source: PETA