Two cats use a human toilet at the same time
This is the first time I have seen a record of this sort of behaviour in a picture. Training cats to use human toilets is fairly common these days but in this instance the...
Tagged: toxoplasmosis
Benedict Cumberbatch to star in a cat movie!
Benedict Cumberbatch is playing the lead role in a film about Louis Wain, the eponymous and cat-loving English artist who is famous for his drawings of anthropomorphized cats and kittens. Mr Cumberbatch is playing...
Fake news: New York Times’ article about house cats killing sea otters
The New York Times’ article about sea otters becoming infected with Toxoplasma gondii is highly misleading to the point of it being fake news. The title “What’s Killing California’s Sea Otters? House Cats.’ is...
The reason why cats are definitive hosts for Toxoplasma gondii
In the life cycle of the Toxoplasma gondii protozoan, the only known definitive hosts are domestic cats and their relatives. This singular fact has worked against the cat because it opens the door to...
Two important positive health facts for cat owners
In this article I report on two research projects which have been around for a while one of which confirms the health benefit of living with a cat with respect to your cardiovascular system...
Women who have a cat and have just become pregnant should read this
In the UK, 1 in 12 pregnant women get rid of their cat because of the fear that the cat might harm their unborn baby through a toxoplasma gondii infection. Yes, they believe that...
Toxo-Talk: Studies on toxoplasmosis are inconclusive
If toxoplasmosis was such a threat to human mental health in the US why haven’t state and federal governments done something about it? The polarisation of views on T. gondii infections is staggering. For...
USDA killed almost 3000 cats to research toxoplasmosis
Toxomplasmosis is a treatable condition in humans and cats and most often asymptomatic. And yet the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) have just revealed to ABC7 that the American taxpayer has funded the...
Can Pregnant Women Be around Cats?
I think this point needs to be made again. In fact, it needs to be made over and over again because, despite my best efforts and the efforts of others, women still have a...
Can I cuddle my cat when pregnant?
Yes, you can cuddle your cat when pregnant. However, it is useful to have a basic knowledge of toxoplasmosis. Some precautions can be taken. This parasitic protozoan can result in abortions, stillbirths and unexplained perinatal deaths.
Can Children Be Blinded by Cat Faeces?
In the West, I don’t believe that there is a single case of a child being blinded1 by cat faeces but their eyesight can be negatively affected in very rare cases. The infections can...
Do Cats Cause Mental Illness?
A very recent study published online on 22 February 2017 debunks the theory that cats cause mental illness in people. This is an evergreen topic of discussion and there is conflicting information on the...
Rat Attacks Four Feral Cats and Scares Them To Death
This Russian rat is fairly large and not frightened of cats. Why? It is suggested that the rat is infected with toxoplasmosis. The audio file below explains why rats which normally avoid cats go...
Can Toxoplasmosis Help Cure Cancer?
There are indications that the parasite causing toxoplasmosis, Toxoplasma gondii, could be used in the future in treatments to cure cancer. This is great news because toxoplasmosis is used as a rod to beat...
It Is Time to Stop Denigrating the Domestic Cat with Spurious Links between Toxoplasmosis and Human Mental Health
It has happened before (e.g a link with schizophrenia which fizzled out). Now we have an article in the online newspapers about a so-called “link” between toxoplasmosis and a human psychiatric condition known as...
Note: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified.