If the radiation doesn’t get you…

…maybe the cat parasites will:

My Buddy sent me that link and then wrote that because he didn’t have a cat he didn’t read it. I’ve lived in a house with cats for most of the last 45 years and I’ve been the principal cat litter changing agent since I was married. That’s because my wife who as a preemie survived her Mother’s bout with toxoplasmosis required me to do it. Cat poop is a principal means for the parasite’s transmission. Since I would not be getting pregnant she felt it should be my responsibility to clean the cat pan and take on the risk. Little did I know that I might be subjecting myself to schizophrenia as a result. Ten percent or so of all Americans have the bug in their brains. Its as high as 95% in much of Africa.

Reiber has her eye trained on other human pathogens that she thinks may well be playing similar games, if only science could prove it. For example, she says, many people at the end stages of AIDS and syphilis express an intense craving for sex. So, too, do individuals at the beginning of a herpes outbreak. These may just be anecdotal accounts, she concedes, but based on her own findings, she wouldn’t be surprised if these urges come from the pathogen making known its will to survive.

“We’ve found all kinds of excuses for why we do the things we do,” observes Moore. ‘My genes made me do it.’ ‘My parents are to blame.’ “I’m afraid we may have reached the point where parasites may have to be added to the laundry list of excuses.”

Maybe we should ban cat ownership in favor of dogs just like some would have us abandon nuclear energy for solar energy.

This American Life had a fun segment on the subject a few years back but this NPR story is shorter to listen to.

About the author