Study reveals having Cat as pet in childhood can lead to Schizophrenia later in life

a reply to: Layaly

At least the cat in the second pic looks pretty chill, lol.

a reply to: Indigent



yup. too true, OP.

however, toxoplasmosis-induced psychosis is extremely rare. I think if you did some more digging you'd find that the only cases where children got infected were where they (the children--and the cat) were living under less-than-ideal living conditions (perhaps in the home of a hoarder or somewhere with a rodent problem) or a situation where the cats were not properly taken care of (meaning their litter box was not cleaned properly so that the cat--who would be an outdoor cat since indoor cats don't have toxoplasmosis gondii--ends up tracking litter and feces away from the litter box and into your living space).

coincidentally, I actually have done a bit of research on this subject--as weird as it is. A couple years ago, there was an episode about this on Mystery Diagnosis that I watched, and that made me read further into the subject a bit because I'm majoring in psychology and so am interested in this sort of thing.

Anyhoo~
I am a reasonably well-adjusted individual. I have had my cat since I was 7--I'm 23 almost 24 now! And she's doing great ^_^ looks way younger than she is and besides her usual goofiness (which is sometimes rather obnoxious and leads you to wonder if she might be going a bit senile--) is an incredibly intelligent cat who I love very much. She likes looking outside and stuff and we've held her outside and let her wander around the patio supervised a couple of times, but largely she seems disinterested with "the outside-world".

Therefore, if you want to protect your children and family from toxoplasmosis gondii, then if you decide to have a cat make sure that:

• A. you get an indoor cat that is up-to-date on all of its shots and is spayed/neutered and declawed
  - (because you can't get infected with poopy-claws if there are no claws with which to scratch--just saying
  )
  
  
• B. your house isn't a pig stye--rather, your home is clean and well-ordered.
  - ie. wash hands regularly esp. after touching the cat or any other animal~
  
  - *don't let the cat on surfaces you eat/sleep on*--teach it BOUNDARIES. don't just let it do whatever it wants
  
  -put the cat in it's room for the night and close the door (we keep ours in the basement when we go to bed--she has everything she'd need or want down there like food, water, her box, and a couch--the only necessity is that the area must be clean/suitable for a cat)
  
  
• C. your children are old enough to care for a cat and be somewhat responsible
  - you yourself are willing to look after the cat when your children tire of the novelty
  
  
• D. you clean the litterbox every other day
  - every 3 days is the absolute maximum amount of time in btwn litterbox cleanings that there should be
  
  - sweep up excess litter around box when you go to clean the box
  
  - buy a litterbox with a lid and have a nice mat for the cat so that the litter gets off of the paws and doesn't go all over your house
  
  - put the litterbox AWAY from you and food--the laundry room is good, the basement is good
  
  *** NO putting it in bedrooms or in the kitchen--again KEEP IT AWAY FROM surfaces you eat off of or sleep on, lol ***
  
  
• E. Avoid getting multiple cats--one is plenty.
  - They like their solitude.
  
  - And they also like feeling special
  
  
  
• F. Beware of adopting stray kittens w/o getting them checked out *by a professional*
  
  
• G. Don't be stupid
  
  

do all that & I'd be willing to bet the farm that you and yours will be 100% completely fine

I know the real reason cats Are linked to schizophrenia. It's because cats are more closely related to humans than apes. They are one of two animals dumb enough to trust humans, and we take advantage of that as well. Start understanding animals in consciousness - well, you are bound to get in trouble. We do not even know if consciousness exists or what it is for, but my cat does he is not worried at all about it. -------
---------
-----------
As I write this now, I seem to forget what I was going for and lose a little bit of grasp. ...... a very good sign indeed!

a reply to: Portsfour

Most animals can establish a bond of trust regarding Man, not just cats and dogs. It just depends on the person in question and the circumstance. As to the Schizophrenia and cats, well the link regarding Toxoplasmosis has been apparent for sometime. As to Toxoplasmosis being responsible for inducing Schizophrenia personally i think as a species we are crazy enough all on our own, no need to blame the poor cats, better off blaming television.

a reply to: rukia


Rukia- If you're going to get a litterbox with a top on it then the litter needs to be scooped daily. The top traps the odors, which the cat hates, and might avoid the box and do its business outside of it.

I let my two boys sleep with me. One waits for me every night in his spot by my right pillow right before I turn in for the night. He doesn't get antsy and will sleep all the way through without bothering me. My other one, the more demanding one (LOL) will sleep at the end of the bed and does jump off to explore during the night. It doesn't bother me.

If you want to keep your kitties happy and heathly for the duration of their lives the best thing to do is feed a high protein, low carb wet food. Never make dry food a main staple in the diet. This is the reason for a lot of chronic diseases. If you notice, the pet food companies will not list the carb content on its packages or cans of food. They don't want you to know the carb content, as it has been connected to diseases, as well. (Just like in people) I do a rotation diet of grain-free, no fish wet food and commercial raw. The dry is a few sprinkles on their afternoon snack. But it's low carb dry food, 13%, and not the 30-40% that most other dry foods contain.

My boys are 15 and 13 and still run around like kittens.

I've had cats all my life and have never caught any diseases from them.

a reply to: texasgirl

lol t

do u give them grass to chew..

I helped out at a catterie for an oldies couple.,

mnnn when a chick dropped in a cat on a diet .. lol omg

typical woman..

we just give them a chicken leg and a wood chip litter box
yeah move on next

a reply to: Layaly


One of my clients put her cat on a low-fat diet and I couldn't convince her it was a bad idea. Cats need fat. They don't need carbs. After a few months of eating this low fat diet her cat developed liver problems.

I used to give them grass but my two boys are not interested in it. They're not crazy about catnip, either. So strange!

I use Yesterday's News litter for them. It's kind of a pain to scoop but it doesn't track anywhere or smell up the place. It's great.

a reply to: texasgirl

I use Yesterday's News litter for them.

You mean like this?

a reply to: Layaly


LOL!!! Good one.

Its all fun and games but there is the possibility this study is real, and the parasite does cause schizophrenia and you people turn the thread in cat pic thread.

shame on you people.

a reply to: Indigent

and heat worm and ring worm and people worm

it is all true

I am so allergic if I try to conceive a child with a cat around I ll never have them..

It is what it is.. I still have cats people have cats:/
I am getting less allergic the more I am around them..

originally posted by: Indigent
Its all fun and games but there is the possibility this study is real, and the parasite does cause schizophrenia and you people turn the thread in cat pic thread.

shame on you people.

True. It is a real thing.
Toxoplasmosis gondii causes problems not only for humans, but causes reproductive problems in goats and sheep.... if you live in a third world country, it might mean the difference between having enough food to get by and starving.
Michigan State University

Toxoplasmosis is caused by the Toxoplasma gondii microorganism. It is a common cause of infectious abortion in sheep and goats, other animals and humans. Cats can be carriers of T. gondii, but typically only shed the organism when they are first infected. Cats often defecate and bury their feces in the hay and food storage areas of barns. Animals can become infected by ingesting food or water contaminated by these feces.

Cats are at the heart of the matter.

a reply to: Indigent

I think a kid without a pet or bro or sister is much more worse..

This thread is so cool ..

I feel less mental reading it..

people are bizare

a reply to: rukia
Kudos!
Great post.
A common sense cat owner.
I like it.

a reply to: rukia

Oh, that's it huh?

No offense at all, but regulating your cats in that manner is a bit extreme, especially for something that seems pretty rare in the first place. Cats are animals, just like us. I don't agree with micro managing them to that level.

Cats are independent animals and they are nocturnal. I would never lock my cat in a separate room for the night, especially if they are a single cat with no brothers or sisters and have nobody to play with. I feel that cats deserve freedom just like we all do. I DO NOT own my cats, I coexist with them and they understand this and are the most affectionate cats I've ever seen. I treat them like friends, not property.

Declawing is inhumane, and it guarantees that if anything happens where they should accidentally get outside or another animal gets in, they have no natural defense and will be easy prey. If you wish to cut their nails, then actually cut the nails instead of taking the easy way out and permanently altering their biology. Declawing does not get rid of fecal matter on the paws either. I would NEVER do that to a cat, and my cats also sleep with me every night. I don't agree with banning them from the bed. There is something that is very therapeutic about snuggling with your buddy and to me that outweighs the possibility of a rare parasite that I can easily just get checked out for.

Another great advantage of cats going outside is that they do their business out there as well, so you barely even have to look at the litter box and your house is much cleaner as a result. I'd personally think that you are much more likely to catch the parasite from an indoor cat because of the litter. Having a single cat can be good if it is a female, but having a single male, he'll probably be really bored. Not all cats prefer solitude. The rest of the stuff I agree with, cleaning and keeping litter away from kitchen/food is very important. That's pretty much the key to all of it. Keep it clean, get a mat to put near the litter and give them the love they deserve.

originally posted by: andy06shake
a reply to: Portsfour

Most animals can establish a bond of trust regarding Man, not just cats and dogs. It just depends on the person in question and the circumstance. As to the Schizophrenia and cats, well the link regarding Toxoplasmosis has been apparent for sometime. As to Toxoplasmosis being responsible for inducing Schizophrenia personally i think as a species we are crazy enough all on our own, no need to blame the poor cats, better off blaming television.

just throwing a clue out there for those looking for one

a reply to: Indigent

IS IT THE CHICKEN--or is it the egg?

yeah. the study is legit--and it isn't new information by any means. The information has been out there, but this was a great thread.

It is exciting to see that they did a legitimate long-term research study.

but like I said, the study lacks a bit of validity if it doesn't explore what i went into previously.

Basically, I think it's a major stretch to say that this cat-induced temporary psychosis (symptoms *similar* to schizophrenia. nowhere does it actually say that it causes it. schizophrenia--like all mental disorders--is biopsychosocial (which means it doesn't just come from one place--there are many factors in the causation of such things). sure, maybe having a dirty cat litter box can be damaging to children (& don't forget pregnant women/those whose immune systems are compromised)--but so can a whole heck of a lot of other things.

This threat to children from cats is literally so miniscule and is so very unlikely to occur--because psychosis symptoms are infinitesimally rare.

Anyway~literally EVERYTHING can kill you in excess.
With that being said, i think it's important that we be careful not to start making this a thread of over-generalizations (-- and cat pictures lols)

a reply to: Barcs

no offense but while you are entitled to your opinion, none of what you said negates any of what I said.

I think letting pet cats outdoors is cruel.
--and I'm not going to expound. lol because I don't really care what you do with your life and your pets and your family.

Take my advice or leave it. All's I do is put it out there. If you have a problem with that then either do your own research and prove me wrong or take your personal experience and bias elsewhere.

You see, I feel compelled to point out that what you said only goes to reinforce what I'm saying. I think what you said is all well and good--but what you said does absolutely NOTHING to help circumvent the issue at hand which is attempting to prevent the transmission of toxoplasmosis gondii from a cat to children.

The point here is while opinions are all well and good, all of what I said and suggested is based on logic. If you don't understand what I mean by that then go figure it out yourself--but don't try to tell me that I'm in any way incorrect if you don't even address the issue (& if you lack knowledge on the subject and the science of it--).

Everyone has different values.

Don't bring ethics into this. This is experimental research psychology maaang--along with disease and prevention



But I, for one, don't plan on being featured in a future edition of the Darwin Awards--especially for something as stupid and avoidable as this. Funnily enough, most people don't give a darn about anything other than what they want personally. This, of course, is a bit of a pitfall--wouldn't you agree? Sometimes you have to do things that you wouldn't do normally when what you do normally doesn't help you in any way.

Hope you understand what I'm saying.

a reply to: Indigent

Interesting, so as the blood sugars start to go up with the modern crap diet, and hit the levels of diabetes, as the blood sugar goes up the immune system goes down. It might be an interesting thing to consider. With the present rise in mental illness.

i had cats as a child.
nothing wrong with me.
or me