Is the question relevant to our lives? People ask it nonetheless. But frankly it is almost irrelevant. However, exceedingly rarely some cat owners do lick their cat and an avowed and self-declared crazy cat lady does it all the time because she wants to behave like a true mother cat caring for her newborn kittens. …
There is a disconnect between what we read about the seriousness of toxoplasmosis as stated on the Internet and what we experience in real life. Nobody is screaming and shouting about the damaging effect of toxoplasmosis on the human population in any area of the world. But if you believe what you read on the …
I have had to interpret a very complicated study on the Toxoplasma gondii protozoan parasite published on the Cell Host & Microbe website. But it is an interesting study if you take the time to try and interpreted as a lay person i.e., non-scientific person because this parasitic disease is very important in the world …
Wily toxoplasma parasite hijacks immune cells to travel around the host Read More »
The life-cycle of Toxoplasma gondii is complicated. People tend to oversimplify it. They see the domestic cat infecting humans with this protozoan parasite which is about the extent of general knowledge. It isn’t that simple; far from it. This article sets out to redress the balance and to mention an interesting study on a very …
Domestic cats overly criticised for their role as hosts of Toxoplasma gondii Read More »
I declare my bias/interest: I am for the cat and against science which either purposefully or inadvertently maligns the cat. The question in the title is very big and very bold. The answer is that we don’t know, at present. However, quite a few scientists are investigating whether the domestic cat inadvertently is linked to …
Is there a link between domestic cats and human psychosis? Read More »
A lot has been said about toxoplasmosis and the possibility of contracting it through coming into contact with domestic cat faeces. This has particular significance with respect to pregnant women. Cats get toxoplasma infection by eating infected rodents, birds or other small animals. They can also get it by coming into contact with anything that …
Health tip: preventing a toxoplasmosis infection from cat faeces Read More »
A study has found that the protozoan parasitic disease called toxoplasmosis is more commonly found in wild animals that live near or in humanly dense urban areas. The chain of events is the obvious one namely that the domestic cat is the primary vector for toxoplasmosis because the domestic cat sheds toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) …
Toxoplasmosis in wild animals is more common in places of higher human density Read More »
The question is: can cat faeces go into compost? I did some research on the internet some time ago and concluded that it is unwise to use cat faeces in compost. The general consensus is that it shouldn’t be done (click this link for another article on the topic). Although, a strict answer to the …
You might not know that your cat has toxoplasmosis because the most common signs are the signs of other illnesses such as lethargy and loss of appetite. However, “feline intestinal toxoplasmosis is usually asymptomatic”. This means that there are no signs but when there are symptoms it affects the lungs, lymphatic system, eyes, spinal cord …
I would like to quickly put the record straight, as I see it, about the news media’s reporting of a link between premenstrual syndrome and toxoplasmosis. The Irish News are reporting on this today although the Mexican University study to which they refer, on this topic, was published online in December 2016. The Irish Times …
No, at the moment, cats cannot be vaccinated for toxoplasmosis. There is a fairly recent study published online on the Science Direct website which provides some insights into the possibilities of a vaccination against this widespread disease. It is entitled, Prospects of toxoplasmosis controlled by cat vaccination (March 2020). I don’t think it’s helpful to …
Professor Sarah Legge, of the Australian National University and the University of Queensland is the lead scientist of a team who carried out a study on the impact of diseases transmitted from cats to people on the Australian economy. These are zoonotic diseases. I’ve not seen the actual research paper but I don’t think it’s …
Perhaps the most sustainable way to dispose of cat faeces is to allow your cat to do it in the backyard in a designated area and stop using cat litter.
This is a recently published study on how prevalent the disease called toxoplasmosis is in Korean cats and dogs. It appears to have been carried out because of an outbreak of human toxoplasmosis which has been put down to eating food contaminated with Toxoplasma gondii. This is the most common way a person is infected …
Cats can be tested for toxoplasmosis. Serologic tests including ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) will show if a cat has been exposed to the disease. A positive test in a healthy cat signifies that the cat has acquired active immunity. Such a cat is not a source of human contamination. For the sake of clarity “serologic …
