Kissing cats may cause serious mental illness, blindness or worse
OK, kitty has been out this evening whilst you are glued to the TV. When he/she returns the kids pick him up then it’s kisses and cuddles all night.
However, kitty has most likely been in someone’s garden tearing into a germ-ridden mouse or a long-dead dead bird that was killed earlier. All that deadly bacteria comes right back to the loving owner and their trusting children. Nevertheless, health risks from pet cats are much greater than this and more far-reaching.
Studies indicate that just being around the feline species greatly increases your exposure to the dangerous parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, which can lead to many health risks including mental illness that can lead to suicide.
The findings come after research at John Hopkins University School of Medicine into whether or not childhood cat ownership is a risk factor for severe mental illness in adulthood. Scientists say that Toxoplasma gondii found in cat faeces can lead to toxoplasmosis. The study follows two previous which suggested that childhood cat ownership is a possible risk factor for later developing schizophrenia or other serious mental illness.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/owning-cats-linked-mental-illnesses-7655469
Of course, alternative studies have sought to play down the common-sense germ factor linked to cats, yet it does not take a genius to see the risks involved.
Is your anger issue related to your cat, due to Toxoplasma gondii, infection?
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 behaviour problems.
Cats are known to pass the parasite on to humans 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 behaviour in earlier studies.
The new study, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, looked at 358 adult participants. Researchers found that 22 per cent of the people with IED tested positive for toxoplasmosis exposure, compared with only 9 per cent of those without IED.
Cat parasite and blindness in humans
A cat-borne parasite has caused two Turkish females to lose their eye sights, local media reported Jan. 21. The two women from the western province of İzmir, 26-year-old chemist Gizem Yalçın and an unidentified 24-year-old beauty expert, contracted toxoplasmosis, a disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii, which is a parasite that is only known to reproduce sexually in the cat family.
Dr. Bora Yüksel from the Bozyaka Hospital said that cats may also contaminate sheep and cows, so meat should not be eaten uncooked. “Cats should not be kissed. Human immunity is strong but it also has some deficiencies, like in this instance,” he said, adding that the current treatments can only “put pressure on the parasite but lost tissues cannot be recovered even with medical operations.”
The risk to children’s mental health via cat ownership
Recent scientific research has revealed that:
Children with cats are nearly three times more likely to have been diagnosed with a mental health problem.
Children with cats have expressively more attention problems, even after the researchers statistically controlled for factors like poverty, age, and parental depression.
Unlike with dogs, there was no substantiation that having a cat was associated with lower rates of anxiety.
Why do these problems exist?
Researchers raised the fascinating probability that the attention problems in children with cats might be caused by Toxoplasmosis gondii, the tiny parasitic organism that can invade the cells of mammals, including cats and humans. Toxoplasmosis gondii, infection is a risk factor for mental health problems, including attention disorders.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/owning-cats-linked-mental-illnesses-7655469
The infection, if contracted in childhood, could lead to grave mental illness later in life, states a new study, published in Schizophrenia Research. The study follows two previous which suggested that childhood cat ownership is a possible risk factor for later developing schizophrenia or other serious mental illness.
Once you’re infected, however, the parasite often sticks around in muscle or brain tissue for the rest of your life — what doctors call a “hidden infection.”
“Toxoplasma gondii is absorbed by humans via digestion, enters the bloodstream and also migrates into the brain to get into nerve cells for the rest of one’s life,” said Karl-Heinz Smalla of the Special Laboratory for Molecular Biology Techniques at LIN.
https://www.dw.com/en/new-research-reveals-how-toxoplasmosis-alters-the-brain/a-46222116
Pregnant women are also directed not to handle cat litter, as a foetus does not yet have the immune system needed to fight this parasitic infection. Foetuses exposed can suffer from seizures, cognitive problems, and blindness.
Outdoor cats have an increased likelihood of infection with T. gondii. Cats excrete millions of infected eggs in their faeces, which can remain in the soil or water for years.
Gardeners are also warned to take precautions against being infected by other people’s pet cats that may litter in their garden soil.
Whilst cats may be cute and cuddly to their love-struck owners the health risks that these garden predators pose to unsuspecting humans are very real.
In these days of extreme hygiene awareness and a bottle of antibacterial soap in every kitchen, the prospect of having a germ-covered feline predatory roam at will through the house seems rather inexplicable.
Do you really think it’s a good idea to let your cat get kissed by the kids? Is it worth the risk to their health?
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