I was watching Good Morning America (or one of those other network morning shows) this morning and they had a man on claiming that cats caused schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Out of curiosity, I decided to look into it a bit more.

Many of you may already be aware of this information, as this isn't exactly a new theory. It was first proposed by E. Fuller Torrey about 30 years ago, but has gained momentum in the last ten years or so. Noted Johns Hopkins virologist Robert Yolken has come around to accepting Torrey's research which states that toxoplasmosis, which is caused by a single celled parasite known as Toxoplasma gondii, is a major contributing factor to several types of mental illness. People most often contract the Toxoplasma parasite from their pet cat's waste matter. It should be noted that the infected animals are almost always cats that are allowed outside and contract the parasite from wild birds and rodents that they have eaten. Infected rats lose their instintive fear of feline urine, allowing them to be caught easier than uninfected animals. The cats once infected then are capable of transmitting the parasite for a few weeks.

Almost everyone has an immune system sufficent to thwart the parasite without them ever suffering from any noticable symptoms. The problems occur when the person has a weakened immune system and the parasite is allowed to flourish. The most vulnerable are those born to mothers who had recently contracted the parasite. The parasite can lie dormant until a state of weakened immunity occurs. Toxoplasmosis, if allowed to run unchecked, can cause damage to the brain. Torrey suggests that this brain damage is directly responsible for the previously mentioned mental disorders.

There has been much evidence that points to schizophrenia as not being an inheritable trait, nor being the result of genetic damage of any sort. Quite a bit of evidence points to an infectious agent. For instance it's been proven that significantly more schizos are born in winter or spring. Seasonal factors would be irrelevant to a genetic disorder.

Torrey also points out that keeping cats as indoor pets did not become popular until the nineteenth century and that since that time schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have gone from obscure to common problems. While that is, of course, a circumstantial argument, it is something to think about.

So what's the bottom line?
While this theory is not the prevailing view of the scientific community, a lot of scientists are starting to think your cat may give you an insanity bug. You always hear about the stereotypical "crazy lady with all the cats." Better be careful she may really be out of her mind.

sources:
http://www.schizophrenia.com/sznews/archiv...ves/001613.html
http://cogweb.ucla.edu/ep/Schizovirus.html
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/to...xoplasmosis.htm
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.f...3&dopt=Citation
http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/pa...oplasmosis.html
http://www.hsus.org/press_and_publications..._linked_to.html
http://www.psychlaws.org/GeneralResources/Article5.htm

Can Freud get any deader?

I hate cats.

False. There is a huge body of work on Gene-Environment interactions and genetic predisposition to disease. In this case, there may be a critical period in devolpment (either in- or ex-utero) that is very sensitive to low (or high) temperatures.

This all sounds plausible, but I have a hard time believing that if this is true, that nothing's been done about it yet.

Must be where the term "crazy cat lady" comes from....or maybe I made that up...I can't remember.....


hmmmmm...

(Edited by holeypeacoat at 10:03 am on Nov. 11, 2005)

Treatments for the toxoplasmosis have been around for awhile. Usually none are needed as the immune system is typically quite capable of taking care of the parasite. The medical community has been warning pregnant women to avoid cats for years now. Additionally, it is now advised that you keep your cats indoors so that they will have a harder time coming into contact with the Toxoplasma gondii parasite.


While it's true that various factors can contribute to genetic development during pregnancy, these same factors can also be attributed to the cultivation of the parasite. So, while, yes, it can be argued that the very low or high temperatures may be causative factors in gene development, it can also be argued that the dormant parasite is sensitive to the temperature extremities.

That doesn't change the fact that the traditional methods of studying hereditary traits have lent support to the toxoplasmosis theory. When schizophrenics are compared to to their parents and grandparents, only a marginal number also suffered with the ailment. Problems are also present with the psychiatric community's explanations (i.e. "I believe that I am Franklin Roosevelt because my mother was unkind to me as child"), where no discernable pattern for the occurance of the illnesses have ever been shown.

bottom line: women who are pregnant should not change litter boxes- if the feces are infected with toxoplasmosis antigen, it can affect the fetus. i think this is pretty well-known. i mean, you want to avoid all potential causes of infection as much as you can when you are pregnat.

also, those who have compromised immune systems, like people with cancer and especially hiv/aids should not come in contact w/ cat litter either. if they are not already immune, they can get the infection which can actually make them pretty sick.

i have a purple shirt from childhood that i still wear and it says said "cat crazy," with a bunch of pink and purple cats all over it. i think my mom bought it for me at crackel barrel. its pretty awesome. mmm crackerbarrel...

Cat scratch fever is real. I had it and it turned one of my lymph nodes into a golf ball sized area of pain. Ted Nugent is one of the most ridiculous human beings I've seen. Isn't he a full on carnivore?

Did I ever tell about the time I watched a ZZ Top concert from the side of the stage with Ted Nugent? The Nuge is a nice guy. But crazy.