You Gotta Be Kitten Me (Toxoplasma Gondii)

Thanks for the post OP, this is a subject that has been in my mind recently with the news that has come out lately - being a life-long cat slave myself.

The question that keeps popping up in my head is "how do you rid yourself of a T. Gondii parasite if you are infected?". IMHO millions of people could benefit from that knowledge, as I think millions are infected and suffer at least mild depression from this parasite.

Looking forward to more on the subject.

reply to post by zonetripper2065


I don't have a cat I'm allergic to pet dander so that will never happen.

Here is the thing:

How do we know what it truly means to be human? The T. Gondii infection is just one infection that we are aware of that acts like this. We also know that viruses have a tendancy to insert new genetic material into the host during infection. Thus, when you emerge from your infection you are slightly different, genetically.

So what effects to the retroviruses have on the individual?

Further, what behavioral effects can be elicited by "infection" of one of our "good" bugs, like the digestive bacteria we all have?

Because consider this: out of the roughly 1 trillion cells in your body, only 100 billion of them are actually "you". 90% of "you" is various bacteria and other organisms. And this makes you wonder, just what does it mean to be "human".

Originally posted by mamabeth
reply to post by zonetripper2065

 

I have three cats living in my house,I have never seen my cats step
in their poopoo! My cats are 9,10 and 11 years old.

True it will only happen by accident, cats try to be as clean as possible. One of my cats tries to clean up his food after eating LOL, he also scratches on my bedroom door (and NEVER gives up) and makes me follow him to clean up his poo!!

I plan on working on this more here shortly but have a question. Is there a way to have this moved to the alien / ufo forum? I wasn't sure where to put it at first being about a parasite, I see it will be taking an "alien" turn of sorts, how does one get something moved?

I was under the impression that your immune system can handle toxoplasmosis pretty well and it's only symptomatic if you have a weakened immune system; if, for instance, you're a child or elderly.

reply to post by Mayson


If you follow the links from the source somewhere in one of them it mentions a healthyimmune system does help balance the effects of the parasite. I hope to cover some of this in my future post

Originally posted by bigfatfurrytexan
Here is the thing:

How do we know what it truly means to be human? The T. Gondii infection is just one infection that we are aware of that acts like this. We also know that viruses have a tendancy to insert new genetic material into the host during infection. Thus, when you emerge from your infection you are slightly different, genetically.

So what effects to the retroviruses have on the individual?

Further, what behavioral effects can be elicited by "infection" of one of our "good" bugs, like the digestive bacteria we all have?

Because consider this: out of the roughly 1 trillion cells in your body, only 100 billion of them are actually "you". 90% of "you" is various bacteria and other organisms. And this makes you wonder, just what does it mean to be "human".

Have you posted this in another thread? I seem to recall reading a similar post many months ago. Nice post.

Originally posted by mamabeth
reply to post by zonetripper2065

 

I have three cats living in my house,I have never seen my cats step
in their poopoo! My cats are 9,10 and 11 years old.

So when your cat goes into its litter box.....what is in there?

and when it scratches around in there....what is possibly in that dust?

Does it wear rubber mittens when it goes potty? Or does it, like every other cat, step into the litter box, walk around a little, dig a little, do its business, then bury it?

And how often do people change that litter?

And how much poo particulates get knocked off the individual little kitty krispies?

And finally, of those particulates (dust), what percentage would you find to be infectious, and left on the sides of the litter box after the litter is changed?

You have seen your cat step in poo. You have seen your cat digging around in poo. If you think your litter box is clean, consider that the average HUMAN has about 1gram of poo in their underwear AFTER it comes out of the washing machine? You are sitting in poo all day.

Enjoy supper.

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


Yeah but then they basically eat the microscopic poo from their paws and bums, leaving a "pretty clean"(I know we can NEVER be 100% clean haha) body for us to interact with.

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


I like your style, makes me smile.

I'm a poet and didn't know it.

You seem like a wise individual. You happen to know how I can get this moves to the "alien" forum?

Originally posted by _Phoenix_
reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan

 

Yeah but then they basically eat the microscopic poo from their paws and bums, leaving a "pretty clean"(I know we can NEVER be 100% clean haha) body for us to interact with.

We eat microscopic poo everyday I would imagine.

Originally posted by _Phoenix_
reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan

 

Yeah but then they basically eat the microscopic poo from their paws and bums, leaving a "pretty clean"(I know we can NEVER be 100% clean haha) body for us to interact with.

No, they basically colonize their mouths with the bacteria, and spread it all over their fur when they lick themselves.

It isn't like they are scrubbing with warm water and antibacterial soap. If it was that effective, we wouldn't use Universal Precaution. Your doctor would just lick his hands real good before he went into surgery.

reply to post by MyParadoxicalSelf


alert on someones post, and instead of complaining about them just ask to have the thread moved.

Or U2U one of the mods of this forum. I am unsure who moderates which forum. Just U2U a mod that you know posts often. They generally do a really good job of taking care of the members.

I believe this is going to be moved into the proper forum.

Originally posted by MyParadoxicalSelf

Originally posted by _Phoenix_
reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan

 

Yeah but then they basically eat the microscopic poo from their paws and bums, leaving a "pretty clean"(I know we can NEVER be 100% clean haha) body for us to interact with.

We eat microscopic poo everyday I would imagine.

You eat plenty of poo particulates. Most of it is not even your own.

Just consider how many surfaces you touch throughout the day. Every single time something goes into your mouth, you are likely getting some amount of poo particulate. Not only is it not usually yours, but it isn't even always human.

Just think about that. 1gram in the average pair of clean underwear.

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


Thankfully "I" have not been sick since my younger years! I have always said it was because I do not "believe" in "germs", but still believe in gross. Easting poo I most certainly consider gross. I am going to finish more of these thoughts I started, hopefully it will be moved into the appropriate forum at some point.

reply to post by MyParadoxicalSelf



It most certainl is disgusting. But some context of what is reality helps when we try to talk about how ones cat never steps in poo, and that any one of us is so pristine that we could not possibly be infected via fecal matter.

It is unsettling to think about.

reply to post by zonetripper2065


Dogs eat cat poop and then lick you as well.

I guess they're even?

I'm a cat person and oddly enough, so are most people in my family. I do try to wash my hands often after petting my cat or changing his litter.

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CONTINUED

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The following information is sourced in the original OP as I continue any new sources will be listed when necessary.
I understand our natural reaction to reading something that suggests we may have a "companion" that tags along with us on this journey we are all a part of here on planet earth. My first reaction was not one of "joy" to put it mildly. We have to remember that our "perspective" when we read things of this nature is quite limited. Often times it is hard at first to see how something such as this little "parasite" could prove to be beneficial, not only for us as individuals but also for the human race when looked at as a "whole". Please remember my views in future posts such as this one are just one view regarding this subject. I am not suggesting any one take any of this as truth, just one perspective I have aloud my thoughts to follow through the course of this original thought about the subject matter at hand. With that said I shall continue

The reason I have become so fascinated by this parasite (other than my adoration for the beautiful creature we call a cat) is because of this. I remind you to do your best trying to keep an "open mind" while reading the following words. At the least you should be able to appreciate the genuineness of such a small creature, and the intelligence behind it.

Toxoplasma cycles between its rodent and feline hosts, living out different phases of its existence in each. In cats, it resides in the wall of the small intestine and passes out of the host in its faeces. These are then picked up by rats and mice (and also by other mammal species, including humans), where they form cysts in brain, liver and muscle tissue. Eventually, if the parasites are lucky, their rodent host is eaten by a cat and the whole cycle starts again.

Eventually, if the parasites are lucky, their rodent host is eaten by a cat and the whole cycle starts again.
Key word being cycle. I do not want to go into a lot of detail about this particular subject, as I am sure many here on ATS are familiar with certain topics regarding "cycles" we may or not be going through here on planet earth today, or such statements as this "cycle" we currently find our "self" in may or may not be coming to an end shortly.

The biggest problem I see for humanity at this stage in our spiritual evolution is fear. Here is where our (or at least my) new friend Toxoplasma gondii comes into play. Lets rehash what exactly this parasite does to those rodents that become infected.

When the bizarre parasite Toxoplasma gondii infects rats, it turns the rodents fearless. SOURCE

I do not wish to go into the details of my "story" or run in with schizophrenia. Perhaps at some point I will make a post in the Grey area of ATS but from my personal experience the hardest part (in as few words as possible) was trying to balance Love and Fear. In my humble opinion as a human being the biggest "problem" preventing my current spiritual growth is this fear. If you read any of my prior post here, I confessed this fact to a fellow member of ATS just recently.

Rats and mice infected with Toxoplasma start wandering around and drawing attention to themselves—in other words, behaving in ways that will bring them to the attention of cats. They are even, Dr Webster's work suggests, attracted to the smell of cats.

I am not saying that this parasite would have the exact same affect on humans as it does rodents. But the correlation I see here is astounding. Look at those that find our self here on ATS. Do we not draw attention to our actions by posting o here with our conspiracy theories? Even though something inside us is telling us to beware of standing up to these illusions we see all around us, do we not have the courage to still post all of this on an open forum for anyone to see? That would in fact be a silly move if you think about it. We are all drawing attention to our by these actions we engage in on these forums.

The next experiment drew on the demonstration that many antipsychotic drugs commonly used in the treatment of schizophrenia inhibit the replication of T. gondii tachyzoites in cell culture.25,26 Such observations provided support for the hypothesis that the antipsychotic and mood-stabilizing activity of some medications may be achieved, or at least augmented, through their inhibition of T. gondii replication and/or invasion in infected individuals. Moreover, they led to the prediction that such medications could also inhibit the behavioral effects of T. gondii in rats.

TO BE CONTINUED

edit on 25-10-2012 by MyParadoxicalSelf because: (no reason given)