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

Can My Cat's Poop Kill Me?

By Robert Lamb, HowStuffWorks.com

3. DEATH BY DEPRESSION

Given a sufficiently gloomy state of mind, a human may pursue any number of destructive paths: substance abuse, lonesome treks into the wilderness or Morrissey-heavy iPod playlists, just to name a few. But might a depressed individual also wind up throwing his or herself into the bobcat enclosure at the local zoo?

While suicide-by-big-cat is a statistically rare (but not unheard of) occurrence, it would fulfill the designs of the parasitic Toxoplasma if the victim happened to be a host — and the protozoan has been linked to depression.

In investigating the psychiatric effects of Toxoplasma on human hosts, the Stanley Research Medical Institute of Maryland found that people infected with Toxoplasma are at greater risk of developing depression. In one case documented in BMC Psychiatry, researchers found that a depressed 32-year-old male only responded to antidepressants after receiving treatment for toxoplasmosis.

Ironically, depression is occasionally a symptom among Toxoplasma-infected cats, leading credence to the idea that this particular effect is more a byproduct of parasitic infestation, rather than part of its grand design. That is, until studies prove that lions prefer the great taste of Morrissey fans.

Choose your next death by cat poop:

5. Death by Car Wreck Are your cat's mighty parasites driving you to your doom?		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?
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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