Cats make me crazy

I’ve had a cat since I was a child. (No, not the same cat. Wake up; I’m an old fart.) Right now, we have three cats. I like cats in part, because, unlike dogs, cats are very much like people: the world revolves around THEM. Show me someone who hates cats and I’ll show you, someone who’s most likely a controlling, manipulative S.O.B.

But… cats make me crazy. Maybe literally. And if you have cats, it’s quite likely they make you crazy too. Literally.

Or at least neurotic.

Check this out.

A parasitic microbe commonly found in cats might have helped shape entire human cultures by manipulating the personalities of infected individuals, according to a new study…

…people living in those [countries] with higher rates of T[oxoplasma] gondii infection scored higher on average for neuroticism, defined as an emotional or mental disorder characterized by high levels of anxiety, insecurity or depression.

And this.

Toxoplasma gondii is a common parasite found in the guts of cats; it sheds eggs that are picked up by rats and other animals that are eaten by cats. Toxoplasma forms cysts in the bodies of the intermediate rat hosts, including in the brain…

…Oxford scientists discovered that the minds of the infected rats have been subtly altered. In a series of experiments, they demonstrated that healthy rats will prudently avoid areas that have been doused with cat urine. In fact, when scientists test anti-anxiety drugs on rats, they use a whiff of cat urine to induce neurochemical panic.

However, it turns out that Toxoplasma-ridden rats show no such reaction. In fact, some of the infected rats actually seek out the cat urine-marked areas again and again. The parasite alters the mind (and thus the behavior) of the rat for its own benefit.

If the parasite can alter rat behavior, does it have any effect on humans?

Urm, could be…

Dr. E. Fuller Torrey (Associate Director for Laboratory Research at the Stanley Medical Research Institute) noticed links between Toxoplasma and schizophrenia in human beings, approximately three billion of whom are infected with T. gondii:

So, feeling a lil depressed, anxious or inclined toward risky behavior? Maybe even kinda schizoid from time to time? (“I talk to the voices in my head. I say, ‘Get out of my head!’ They tell me I’m crazy. Me? Crazy? THEY’RE the ones in my head!”)

Pet your cat.

Scratching around in Ferdy’s litterbox. *heh*