Monsters Inside Me : Can My Cat's Poop Kill Me? : Animal Planet

Can My Cat's Poop Kill Me?

By Robert Lamb, HowStuffWorks.com

5. DEATH BY CAR WRECK

Are your cat's mighty parasites driving you to your doom? According to a 2009 study from Charles University in Prague, they might be. Reportedly, if you happen to have rhesus (Rh) negative blood (which means a missing protein on the surface of your blood cells), a Toxoplasma infection could make you 2.5 times more likely to wind up in an automobile accident.

How does cat poop lead to fiery crashes and heaps of twisted metal on the highway? It all comes down to how Toxoplasma affect their non-feline hosts. If the parasites occupy a mouse, they need that mouse to find its way into the belly of an alley cat to keep the cycle going. This is where a little parasitic brain reprogramming comes into play. By impairing the host mouse's motor controls, the parasites cut the host's chances of avoiding a cat's quick claws and spine-crunching jaws. Some studies also suggest that the parasite encourages risk-taking behavior as well.

Let's get down to brass tacks: Toxoplasma want cats to eat you. The tiny protozoan just aren't bright enough to know this isn't in the cards. But what do you think might happen if you head out on the highway with a slower reaction time and risky mindset thanks to parasitic tinkering? Amazingly enough, the Prague study suggests that between 400,000 and a million of the world's annual road deaths might be due to Toxoplasma.

Choose your next death by cat poop:

4. Death by Extreme Sports Is jumping off that cliff your own idea, or is it actually the master plan of your cat's parasites?		3. Death by Depression Thinking of offing yourself? Your cat's parasitic poop may have something to do with it.
2. Death by Neuroticism Are parasites in cat poop driving half the world mad with guilt and anxiety?		1. Death by Hallucinatory Encounter Is your cat driving you crazy? Well if you've accidentally ingested its poop, you may literally be going crazy.

CONTENT

Monsters Inside Me

Can My Cat's Poop Kill Me?

Can My Cat's Poop Kill Me?

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