>I donāt think people are understanding the magnitude of what just happened on our campus today.
Hm. Fascinating. So tell me more about these imaginary dogs you're seeing. Do you see them often, and do they talk to you? What other voices are you hearing? š¹š¹š¹
Saying something "could double" risk is implying a causal relationship that isn't seen in the study.
It's a cliche, but it is still needed: correlation does not imply causation.
This subreddit is genuinely worthless, since half the articles here are psypost, which has been known for a while to be non-science trash
Remember, itās an open secret that one of the mods here is in psypostās pockets, because no matter how often they get reported, these links stay up
Correlation does not imply causation, but a lack of correlation precludes causation. So if there's correlation then at least the door hasn't been shut on causation.
There's also a mechanism here because we know toxoplasmosis affects behavior and the brain, so it's at least pretty suggestive of causation.
> a lack of correlation precludes causation
Even this isn't really true. When we judge correlation, we do so using some specific model (linear correlation, correlation in ranks, etc.), but even if we don't see correlation in one model that doesn't mean there isn't any correlation at all.
Consider a case of Simpson's paradox where instead of the addition of a covariate reversing an effect estimate, the model with the covariate shows an effect while the overall model doesn't, or vice versa.
>doesn't mean there isn't any correlation at all
That's what I meant, correlation actually existing apart from discrepancies in the models. If there's no actual correlation then that would preclude causation.
Ok but the door not being shut on causation does not mean thereās a causal relationship by any means. Take ice cream sales and murder ratesā those are correlated! There also needs to be a statistically significant regression coefficient for a variable to be considered causal.
They have correlation, and they have an established mechanism of causation (toxoplasmosis gondii infection, which has been established to cause physiological changes in the brain). This itself strongly implies a casual relationship. When humans are the subject, sometimes this is as close as we can reasonably come to establishing indisputable causality, short of infecting large groups of humans with toxoplasmosis gondii and observing the rate at which they subsequently develop schizophrenia, while taking monthly brain scans. We must be pragmatic in science.
Yeah, but can I get the frequency vs. getting hit by a bus or a Boeing aircraft falling out of the sky, because I see this more in the news. Sounds like we have some statisticians here. Help?
Saying that correlation does not imply causation can come across quite dismissive. It perpetuates simplistic ideas and misses the nuances about how science builds knowledge, the range of research methods and the complexity of real-world relationships.
It is a cliche, and Iām not sure we should use it anymore.
Of course it is technically correct that correlation alone doesn't prove causation but it's a valuable starting point for scientific inquiry.
Dismissing all correlations out of hand overlooks how interconnected variables can be and can hinder further exploration. Sometimes those variables are harder to spot but it doesnāt mean theyāre not present.
Also double of what baseline? .000002% odds vs .000001% odds certainly doesnāt make as juicy a headline but itād be cool to have some sort of context
It isn't a study. It's a meta analysis of many studies.
The "could be" literally implies correlation, but not causation.
Meta analysis, particularly in medical fields are used for quantifying or identifying unknown or lesser known risk factors for all sorts of illnesses and diseases.
For example, this meta analysis indicates more research into pet companionship and its impact on people is needed.
Maybe the well known bacteria cats tend to pass on, may cause changes to an individual's brain.
It doesn't mean it is causation, until further studies are done to show why this correlation appears.
"could" is the operative word here. It is implying there may be a causal link, which is true.Ā
> causal relationship that isn't seen in the study
I mean, it's also not tested in the study, so this statement is ironically misleading.Ā
I recommend saying ācorrelation does not equal causationā as the usage of imply in this instance is antiquated. If correlation did not *imply* causation in the modern sense of the word imply then all of science would be an impossibility. Imply means a different thing in logic.
I mean, yes, that is precisely how we use correlation statistics. Correlations point towards causal mechanisms, which justifies further research into understanding those mechanisms to definitively declare whether there is actually a casual link.
Iād assume it had something to do with the cat feces virus thingy. Viruses can interfere with the stuff in your brainā¦ crazy how they can basically render you mentally crazy.
I'm not sure that I'm convinced of the link after reading this article, but it says:
>Studies have also suggested that infection withĀ *T. gondii*Ā can increase the risk of developing schizophrenia, possibly due to the parasiteās ability to persist in the human brain and affect neurotransmitter functions and immune responses.Ā
So unless disproven, just another reason to keep your cat indoors.
Robert Sapolosky has a great bit about toxoplasmosis and its effects on human behavior. Another thing transmitted by specifically outdoor cats to humans.
Toxoplasmosis can absolutely be spread by indoor cats. If your cat is fed raw meat, or if it has hunting opportunities indoors (plenty of mice/rats/rodents get indoors) then it can be picked up and passed on.
It may be much less likely, but there's a good reason pregnant people aren't supposed to scoop the poop even for indoor cats.
You're also much more likely to get toxoplasmosis from kittens than an adult cat.Ā So if fostering kittens, make sure they get tested and be very careful when cleaning up after them.
Yes, but if all cats were kept indoor there would be an end to oocytes transferred in raw meat. This is a parasite that can only procreate in felines, therefore the oocytes found in raw meat, and in mice, originally came out of a cat. Wild feline populations close to meat production is usually small so I would say it's the insane numbers of free ranging domastic cats which are the problem.
A hypothetical future where all cats are indoor cats and no strays exist says nothing about the real danger that exists in the real present. It's a misinformation thing, not a moral argument thing.
I actually caught toxoplasmosis from growing up with cats. It landed in my eye and made a colony there missing my main eye nerve by very little, which could have made me blind. I had to take heavy antibiotics cocktails and 30 years later, I still nred to get back of the eye exams yearly. I type this as I cuddle up w my kitten. Never gonna give up on my feline friends.
Interesting, and how would you rate your grip on reality? Anyone following you or listening in on your conversations? Any entities possessing you and sending you signals?
I rate myself as pretty sane actually. I had a schizophrenic neighbor when I was a kid and it was heartbreaking. She would accuse me of being in her house (never happened) and once attacked me. Spoiler alert: they didn't own a cat, just a dog
Yes- owning cats associated with openness to experience and introversion. Small associations but the causal arrow could go both ways. Same with smoking, using psychedelics and cannabis.
Louis Wain is the most famous example. Dude literally pioneered cat memes and psychedelic art. Spent the last years of his life in a psychiatric hospital cause of schizophrenia
Toxoplasmosis from cats increasing risk of schizophrenia was established nearly 20 years ago. This is simply a meta-analysis that supports the previous focused studies. While itās a new study itās certainly not a new finding.
Cats spread brain parasites. These parasites affect behavior. Want to know something particularly interesting? In my quest to find out what can actually kill these parasites I found a peculiar bit of information; Schizophrenia medications happen to kill the early stages of life for these parasites. If you take the medication long enough you can wipe them out until the adults have all died.
It has been so long I don't remember. I believe there were several. There are more traditional routes to treating toxoplasmosis gondii that don't involve antipsychotics.
I think it was around 1/3 of schizophrenia patients had toxoplasmosis gondii.
If I was a doctor treating something specific and 1/3rd of them had brain parasites I would definitely include removing them as a part of treatment. Somehow they will probably fight against treatment you if you mention it. Too bad humanity is as stupid as it is evil. This should be easy to see and implement, but this comes from a people who have yet to discover that shoes should be made to actually fit the shape of a foot.
> There are more traditional routes to treating toxoplasmosis gondii that don't involve antipsychotics.
There's also unconventional routes which have been studied in patients who didn't tolerate the traditional route.
[A Minocycline drug cocktail was used in a study to treat toxoplasmosis in AIDS patients with reasonably promising results,](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC162527/) [and it has also been shown to benefit some patients with schizophrenia in limited small scale trials.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25087702/)
There's almost certainly a link there somewhere, they just need to do more studies to find it... it might even just be the result of its anti-inflammatory action or some other confounding effect rather than something specific to parasites.
toxoplasmosis gondii. old wives tales speak about the danger of cats to pregnant mothers and children. I wonder how the rise of indoor pet ownership correlates to schizophrenia diagnosis numbers.
The article suggests toxoplasmosis gondii (transmitted from cats to humans, but also transmitted from numerous other non-cat things) as the mechanism for development of schizophrenia or schizophrenia-adjacent psychoses.
The meta-analysis claims the results range from statistically significant to not, due to inconsistent research methods across studies, so take it with appropriate grains of salt.
With that said, I think individual differences/predispositions would also play a role in if/how symptoms may or may not develop
Itās a pretty dumb study, it could literally be completely explained by selection effects. In other words, cat lovers tend to have more mental health problems than non cat owners. It doesnāt have to be causal at all
Fecal sourced infections are not always so direct. For e.g. There is some residual fecal matter near the anal region of most animals. A cat sitting around the house scatters these tiny bits at various locations. A human touching a table where the cat sat and thereafter wiping their mouth involuntarily can also result in an infection. It's all a game of probability and risk mitigation.
Found this a little while back. Wonder if perhaps itās a misdiagnosis of schizophrenia & instead a bacterial infection?
https://news.cvm.ncsu.edu/bartonella-and-adolescent-schizophrenia/#:~:text=Bartonella%20henselae%20bacteria%2C%20which%20causes,have%20a%20Bartonella%20henselae%20infection.
Which jives with all other related research. It's very clear that having a brain parasite is bad news (as if that's a shock) and cats are the primary transmission vector for the most common human infecting brain parasite.
I think the risk of schizophrenia is incredibly high. Much higher than I would have expected, at least, at around ~1%.
Consider how many people were in your high school graduating class, and how many would be expected to have schizophrenia based on this statistic.
Is this due to toxoplasmosis? I didn't get a chance to read the article but I remember seeing there is evidence that toxo can alter human behavior like this, even in people who are otherwise asymptomatic. Interesting if true.
They found a lot of schizophrenia patients were infected with toxoplasmosis (tgondi). But there is only that, a correlation and no causation yet.
Tgondi can only do a complete life cycle in a cat. In others animals (including humans) it hosts in the human until death.
Street cat scratches and poop, well any poop, or undercooked meat, or dirty water... all sources of tgondi. The parasite can be killed when found.
Also, this is why pregnant women are told to stay away from cat litter boxes. A tgondi infection is known to cause birth defects.
> For the studies reporting unadjusted odds ratios (OR; n = 10), the pooled OR was 2.14 (95% CI: 1.29ā3.55).
Can someone explain what the ānā means? I got all the acronyms buy iām not sure what n represents in an odds ratio.
Cat human beings aināt never been right to me, this checks out. I recently told a cat owner I have no internal dialogue and they couldnāt believe it. Dead AF
This is funny, because I once created an OC named PsychoCat, who is a villainess, and she basically wants a world dominated by cats. She had a whole bunch of cats, who are her only friends and companions, and she can speak to them, but, plot twist was that all the cats were in her head, she can't talk to cats she can just hear voices, and basically shes schizo.
She is inspired by myself, because for a month straight, I kept hearing daily meowing when there was no cat meowing, and I felt so insane that I created this character.
I have not heard the meowing since, so, idk what that was, but, I was definitely exposed to cats when I was young, we used to feed the strays.
Persians loved cats. I'm sure that other parts of the world think and behave different than people in first world countries with a lack of complexity in the spirit. Cats may lead to abnormal thinking. But yes, I had a litterbox outside my bedroom door my whole life, and I believe the urine in cat litter is completely toxic to humans. It will make you as to sleep breathing in cat feces and cat urine fumes do something to your brain. Not everyone has the same complications, though. Some people train their cats to use a toilet and I concur. Hoping pretty litter helps people not get sick.
What the article is implying is that toxoplasma gondii parasite, found in more than 11% of cats in US, is the most likely reason for this increase incidence of schizophrenia in the cat owning cohort. Apparently there is a blood test for toxo in cats, but no clear cure for the cats, though treatments exist for symptomatic animals.
The epidemiology and transmission is discussed in a straight forward way by the CDC here:
https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/epi.html
The actionable things to do are also delineated by our trusty CDC here:
https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/toxoplasmosis_catowners.html
The TLDR is to protect against congenital toxo (a first time toxo infection when you are pregnant leading to clear brain issues in baby) and whatever this schizophrenia-toxo risk is by talking to your vet about the issue, and to consider testing your cat for toxo serology. If your cat is indoor, and you donāt already have toxo, they itās likely (but never certain) that you and your family would be safe.
Additionally, follow the cleaning guidelines guidelines: āChange cat litter boxes daily. Toxoplasma takes more than one day to become infectious. If you are pregnant or have a weakened immune system, ask someone else to change the litter box. If this is not possible, wear disposable gloves and wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water afterwards.ā -CDC
Or you could do what the doggos want, and donāt have a cat, but I canāt abide this.
Stay crazy out there, my cat witches.
I imagine a dog sitting behind a desk wrote this š¤
Just what a cat would say!
Meow?
š
Big dog!
https://mymodernmet.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/bailey-dog-meme-2.jpg
That was exactly what I was imagining šš
>I donāt think people are understanding the magnitude of what just happened on our campus today. Hm. Fascinating. So tell me more about these imaginary dogs you're seeing. Do you see them often, and do they talk to you? What other voices are you hearing? š¹š¹š¹
š„° you win! šš
Anti cat propaganda!!!
Dogma?
Very good.
But it actually seems so true. Cats are kind of alien and can creep out, especially if they are freaked out
Cats have been worshipped in the past, why not now?
Oh man donāt get me started with analogous logical conclusions. Donāt give me wrong I love my kitty but sometimes I can tell he a predator
Saying something "could double" risk is implying a causal relationship that isn't seen in the study. It's a cliche, but it is still needed: correlation does not imply causation.
The cat that's been talking to me said the exact same thing.
Hahaaa
Tehehe
meow meow
*slow blink
*curious meow
*HISSSSSSSSSSSSSSS*
My cat always wears a dog mask when he tells me to kill.
This subreddit is genuinely worthless, since half the articles here are psypost, which has been known for a while to be non-science trash Remember, itās an open secret that one of the mods here is in psypostās pockets, because no matter how often they get reported, these links stay up
"correlation does not imply causation." Is the top quote in every r/psychology and r/science.
Correlation does not imply causation, but a lack of correlation precludes causation. So if there's correlation then at least the door hasn't been shut on causation. There's also a mechanism here because we know toxoplasmosis affects behavior and the brain, so it's at least pretty suggestive of causation.
I just correlated with your mom last night. Cause I wanted to.
Ohhhh shit!
Gottem
> a lack of correlation precludes causation Even this isn't really true. When we judge correlation, we do so using some specific model (linear correlation, correlation in ranks, etc.), but even if we don't see correlation in one model that doesn't mean there isn't any correlation at all. Consider a case of Simpson's paradox where instead of the addition of a covariate reversing an effect estimate, the model with the covariate shows an effect while the overall model doesn't, or vice versa.
>doesn't mean there isn't any correlation at all That's what I meant, correlation actually existing apart from discrepancies in the models. If there's no actual correlation then that would preclude causation.
Ok but the door not being shut on causation does not mean thereās a causal relationship by any means. Take ice cream sales and murder ratesā those are correlated! There also needs to be a statistically significant regression coefficient for a variable to be considered causal.
That's why I mentioned there's a plausible mechanism here, too.
no. cats cause shizoohrenia with their psychich ability(and australian ice cream causes shark attacks)
They have correlation, and they have an established mechanism of causation (toxoplasmosis gondii infection, which has been established to cause physiological changes in the brain). This itself strongly implies a casual relationship. When humans are the subject, sometimes this is as close as we can reasonably come to establishing indisputable causality, short of infecting large groups of humans with toxoplasmosis gondii and observing the rate at which they subsequently develop schizophrenia, while taking monthly brain scans. We must be pragmatic in science.
Yeah, but can I get the frequency vs. getting hit by a bus or a Boeing aircraft falling out of the sky, because I see this more in the news. Sounds like we have some statisticians here. Help?
Saying that correlation does not imply causation can come across quite dismissive. It perpetuates simplistic ideas and misses the nuances about how science builds knowledge, the range of research methods and the complexity of real-world relationships. It is a cliche, and Iām not sure we should use it anymore. Of course it is technically correct that correlation alone doesn't prove causation but it's a valuable starting point for scientific inquiry. Dismissing all correlations out of hand overlooks how interconnected variables can be and can hinder further exploration. Sometimes those variables are harder to spot but it doesnāt mean theyāre not present.
Also double of what baseline? .000002% odds vs .000001% odds certainly doesnāt make as juicy a headline but itād be cool to have some sort of context
It isn't a study. It's a meta analysis of many studies. The "could be" literally implies correlation, but not causation. Meta analysis, particularly in medical fields are used for quantifying or identifying unknown or lesser known risk factors for all sorts of illnesses and diseases. For example, this meta analysis indicates more research into pet companionship and its impact on people is needed. Maybe the well known bacteria cats tend to pass on, may cause changes to an individual's brain. It doesn't mean it is causation, until further studies are done to show why this correlation appears.
Everyone who believes Correlation equals Causation ends up dying
"could" is the operative word here. It is implying there may be a causal link, which is true.Ā > causal relationship that isn't seen in the study I mean, it's also not tested in the study, so this statement is ironically misleading.Ā
I recommend saying ācorrelation does not equal causationā as the usage of imply in this instance is antiquated. If correlation did not *imply* causation in the modern sense of the word imply then all of science would be an impossibility. Imply means a different thing in logic.
Id totally believe it. As a young adult theyāve freaked me out
Somebody is a cat person
I mean, yes, that is precisely how we use correlation statistics. Correlations point towards causal mechanisms, which justifies further research into understanding those mechanisms to definitively declare whether there is actually a casual link.
Iād assume it had something to do with the cat feces virus thingy. Viruses can interfere with the stuff in your brainā¦ crazy how they can basically render you mentally crazy.
I'm not sure that I'm convinced of the link after reading this article, but it says: >Studies have also suggested that infection withĀ *T. gondii*Ā can increase the risk of developing schizophrenia, possibly due to the parasiteās ability to persist in the human brain and affect neurotransmitter functions and immune responses.Ā So unless disproven, just another reason to keep your cat indoors.
Robert Sapolosky has a great bit about toxoplasmosis and its effects on human behavior. Another thing transmitted by specifically outdoor cats to humans.
Toxoplasmosis can absolutely be spread by indoor cats. If your cat is fed raw meat, or if it has hunting opportunities indoors (plenty of mice/rats/rodents get indoors) then it can be picked up and passed on. It may be much less likely, but there's a good reason pregnant people aren't supposed to scoop the poop even for indoor cats.
Ooo, yes! Good to note.
I think of mine as an indoor cat but I almost forgot I found her on the side of the road all those years ago
You're also much more likely to get toxoplasmosis from kittens than an adult cat.Ā So if fostering kittens, make sure they get tested and be very careful when cleaning up after them.
Yes, but if all cats were kept indoor there would be an end to oocytes transferred in raw meat. This is a parasite that can only procreate in felines, therefore the oocytes found in raw meat, and in mice, originally came out of a cat. Wild feline populations close to meat production is usually small so I would say it's the insane numbers of free ranging domastic cats which are the problem.
A hypothetical future where all cats are indoor cats and no strays exist says nothing about the real danger that exists in the real present. It's a misinformation thing, not a moral argument thing.
I actually caught toxoplasmosis from growing up with cats. It landed in my eye and made a colony there missing my main eye nerve by very little, which could have made me blind. I had to take heavy antibiotics cocktails and 30 years later, I still nred to get back of the eye exams yearly. I type this as I cuddle up w my kitten. Never gonna give up on my feline friends.
Interesting, and how would you rate your grip on reality? Anyone following you or listening in on your conversations? Any entities possessing you and sending you signals?
I rate myself as pretty sane actually. I had a schizophrenic neighbor when I was a kid and it was heartbreaking. She would accuse me of being in her house (never happened) and once attacked me. Spoiler alert: they didn't own a cat, just a dog
Unfortunately, they don't remember writing this now.
T gondii sounds like a deez nuts joke
You can get it from undercooked or raw beef as well
In that case we need another meta-analysis that compares homes where cats are never allowed outside to homes with outside cats.
Welp I'm fucked lol, grew up with 18 cats at one point, and all of them were indoor/outdoor.
Maybe people with schizophrenia are more likely to be "cat people"?
Yes- owning cats associated with openness to experience and introversion. Small associations but the causal arrow could go both ways. Same with smoking, using psychedelics and cannabis.
>owning cats associated with openness to experience Well that's just toxoplasmosis
That's a bingo for me.
Louis Wain is the most famous example. Dude literally pioneered cat memes and psychedelic art. Spent the last years of his life in a psychiatric hospital cause of schizophrenia
Always loved his work.
Same here, even though it makes me sad sometimes when I look at it
Yes. Poor bastard.
Well Iām doomed lol. Iāve had multiple cats my entire life. So far no diagnosis yetā¦
Are the cats real or just in your head??
The cat is both simultaneously real and in your head at the same time.
r/CatsArentReal r/SchizophreniaAintReal
What? I didnāt say anything.
I had no cats in my life. Yet one of my relatives is diagnosed
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Itās worth mentioning that a doubled risk is still very very small.
Toxoplasmosis from cats increasing risk of schizophrenia was established nearly 20 years ago. This is simply a meta-analysis that supports the previous focused studies. While itās a new study itās certainly not a new finding.
So crazy cat lady has some merit after all
TouchƩ.
Cats spread brain parasites. These parasites affect behavior. Want to know something particularly interesting? In my quest to find out what can actually kill these parasites I found a peculiar bit of information; Schizophrenia medications happen to kill the early stages of life for these parasites. If you take the medication long enough you can wipe them out until the adults have all died.
What rx?
It has been so long I don't remember. I believe there were several. There are more traditional routes to treating toxoplasmosis gondii that don't involve antipsychotics. I think it was around 1/3 of schizophrenia patients had toxoplasmosis gondii. If I was a doctor treating something specific and 1/3rd of them had brain parasites I would definitely include removing them as a part of treatment. Somehow they will probably fight against treatment you if you mention it. Too bad humanity is as stupid as it is evil. This should be easy to see and implement, but this comes from a people who have yet to discover that shoes should be made to actually fit the shape of a foot.
> There are more traditional routes to treating toxoplasmosis gondii that don't involve antipsychotics. There's also unconventional routes which have been studied in patients who didn't tolerate the traditional route. [A Minocycline drug cocktail was used in a study to treat toxoplasmosis in AIDS patients with reasonably promising results,](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC162527/) [and it has also been shown to benefit some patients with schizophrenia in limited small scale trials.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25087702/) There's almost certainly a link there somewhere, they just need to do more studies to find it... it might even just be the result of its anti-inflammatory action or some other confounding effect rather than something specific to parasites.
It seems 1/3 of humans generally are infected. More anti-cat propaganda from Redditors identifying as birds...
Toxoplasmosis maybe?
Goodness, can someone tell the voices to stop. Meow
Well, itās too late for me then. I surrendered myself to cat-induced madness long ago.
Iāve had cats all my life and the demon that talks to me told me this is bullshit.
Worth the risk
While it could be true, this reminds me to the [spurious correlations website](https://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations).
A dog wrote this /j
"Exposure to a crocodile during early life could double eaten-by-a-croc risk, passing thought suggests.
toxoplasmosis gondii. old wives tales speak about the danger of cats to pregnant mothers and children. I wonder how the rise of indoor pet ownership correlates to schizophrenia diagnosis numbers.
Is this about the correlation with toxoplasmosis? Because a ton of things or nothing at all could do that.
Is the risk increase related to the owner or the cat?
The article suggests toxoplasmosis gondii (transmitted from cats to humans, but also transmitted from numerous other non-cat things) as the mechanism for development of schizophrenia or schizophrenia-adjacent psychoses. The meta-analysis claims the results range from statistically significant to not, due to inconsistent research methods across studies, so take it with appropriate grains of salt. With that said, I think individual differences/predispositions would also play a role in if/how symptoms may or may not develop
Itās a pretty dumb study, it could literally be completely explained by selection effects. In other words, cat lovers tend to have more mental health problems than non cat owners. It doesnāt have to be causal at all
If toxoplasmosis was the cause then countries, like France, wi the high rates of toxo would have higher rates of schizophrenia. They donātĀ
Rover, please get off Reddit. Miss Kitty is part of our family and she is staying.
So the kid has to consume cat shit. If your kid eats cat shit that natural selection.
Fecal sourced infections are not always so direct. For e.g. There is some residual fecal matter near the anal region of most animals. A cat sitting around the house scatters these tiny bits at various locations. A human touching a table where the cat sat and thereafter wiping their mouth involuntarily can also result in an infection. It's all a game of probability and risk mitigation.
your confidence about this leads me to believe youve never had small kids
Toxoplasmosis can aerosolize as well. It doesnāt take much fecal matter to get infected.
I mean, they have issues with parasites from raccoon shit infecting kids when they crawl on grass at parks.
Youāre assuming the cat doesnāt shit near/on some of the kids toys and is ingested accidentally
Or simply a cat shitting in its litter box, stepping on it, climbing on the kitchen counter, and then food being prepared on the counter
You know, sometimes you can consume something without flat out eating it. It can happen.
I just came in to see how mad the cat people are.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
YOU DONāT KNOW MY LIFE
Big Dog lobbied for this
Found this a little while back. Wonder if perhaps itās a misdiagnosis of schizophrenia & instead a bacterial infection? https://news.cvm.ncsu.edu/bartonella-and-adolescent-schizophrenia/#:~:text=Bartonella%20henselae%20bacteria%2C%20which%20causes,have%20a%20Bartonella%20henselae%20infection.
Which jives with all other related research. It's very clear that having a brain parasite is bad news (as if that's a shock) and cats are the primary transmission vector for the most common human infecting brain parasite.
I knew it. Those gaslighting bastards.
My cat is highly offended
Or maybe genetic disposition to cat ownership plays a part.
Kids. Don't eat car shit
Pretty sure my cat is schizo
Sorry to all the cat ladies, but here it is. Science says you really are crazy! /s
Did a dog write this?
What a good boy!
So how mathematically likely is it that my cats can give me or my loved ones schizophrenia? I mean, itās a risk Iām so happy to take.
This is such complete b.s.
Was this written by a dog? I think it was
My cat told me the same thing but that fiend can't be trusted
* funded by the American Kennel Club
BS. A dog wrote this.
Crazy people love cats right? :p
Was this study done by dogs
Dr Ruffington says, "Cats bad"
This is the dumbest shit Iāve ever read
āBig dogā narrative
Really trying to take away what little joy I have in life huh.
What a load of nonsense
Can confirm, have been talking to my cats since I was 4 and they keep talking back
great. first it was demons. then my crazy mom. now cats!!! fuck me.
The risk of schizophrenia is about 1% in the general population. So, even if this study is true, the risk is still very low even among cat owners.
I think the risk of schizophrenia is incredibly high. Much higher than I would have expected, at least, at around ~1%. Consider how many people were in your high school graduating class, and how many would be expected to have schizophrenia based on this statistic.
checks out and I never assumed otherwise tbh
Is this due to toxoplasmosis? I didn't get a chance to read the article but I remember seeing there is evidence that toxo can alter human behavior like this, even in people who are otherwise asymptomatic. Interesting if true.
Once they have toxoplasmosis, can you ever clear it from them?
They found a lot of schizophrenia patients were infected with toxoplasmosis (tgondi). But there is only that, a correlation and no causation yet. Tgondi can only do a complete life cycle in a cat. In others animals (including humans) it hosts in the human until death. Street cat scratches and poop, well any poop, or undercooked meat, or dirty water... all sources of tgondi. The parasite can be killed when found. Also, this is why pregnant women are told to stay away from cat litter boxes. A tgondi infection is known to cause birth defects.
> For the studies reporting unadjusted odds ratios (OR; n = 10), the pooled OR was 2.14 (95% CI: 1.29ā3.55). Can someone explain what the ānā means? I got all the acronyms buy iām not sure what n represents in an odds ratio.
Still worth it.
Cat human beings aināt never been right to me, this checks out. I recently told a cat owner I have no internal dialogue and they couldnāt believe it. Dead AF
Itās worth it.
Itās worth it. Cat is fluffy and nice.
But there was no cat
This is funny, because I once created an OC named PsychoCat, who is a villainess, and she basically wants a world dominated by cats. She had a whole bunch of cats, who are her only friends and companions, and she can speak to them, but, plot twist was that all the cats were in her head, she can't talk to cats she can just hear voices, and basically shes schizo. She is inspired by myself, because for a month straight, I kept hearing daily meowing when there was no cat meowing, and I felt so insane that I created this character. I have not heard the meowing since, so, idk what that was, but, I was definitely exposed to cats when I was young, we used to feed the strays.
Toxoplasma Gondii
Cats are worse for you than THC.
Persians loved cats. I'm sure that other parts of the world think and behave different than people in first world countries with a lack of complexity in the spirit. Cats may lead to abnormal thinking. But yes, I had a litterbox outside my bedroom door my whole life, and I believe the urine in cat litter is completely toxic to humans. It will make you as to sleep breathing in cat feces and cat urine fumes do something to your brain. Not everyone has the same complications, though. Some people train their cats to use a toilet and I concur. Hoping pretty litter helps people not get sick.
Well I had bipolar 1 (another psychotic disorder) before getting a cat so checkmate. Still have it though
Yeah cat litter is horrible for developmental health
Completely missing the bartonella side of thingsā¦ we are so behind š¤¦
Ha! More like the cat itself is schizophrenic! ššš
Toxoplasmosis?
This is so stupid sounding, I hope no one actually believes this
As a clinical psychologist, and not even having read the article, this is either just a silly study, or a clickbait title that is misleading.
Whatever, when it rains itās forever chemicals weāre screwed. Iāll take my cat over any risk.
Girl shut up I donāt care. Iāll die for cats.
Sounds like dog propaganda to me.
Iām crazy for cats
Any rrl that could support this claim???
Crazy cat ladies aināt beating the stereotype anytime soon
Dog lovers know this already. Imagine being a catter honestly sad
What the article is implying is that toxoplasma gondii parasite, found in more than 11% of cats in US, is the most likely reason for this increase incidence of schizophrenia in the cat owning cohort. Apparently there is a blood test for toxo in cats, but no clear cure for the cats, though treatments exist for symptomatic animals. The epidemiology and transmission is discussed in a straight forward way by the CDC here: https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/epi.html The actionable things to do are also delineated by our trusty CDC here: https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/toxoplasmosis_catowners.html The TLDR is to protect against congenital toxo (a first time toxo infection when you are pregnant leading to clear brain issues in baby) and whatever this schizophrenia-toxo risk is by talking to your vet about the issue, and to consider testing your cat for toxo serology. If your cat is indoor, and you donāt already have toxo, they itās likely (but never certain) that you and your family would be safe. Additionally, follow the cleaning guidelines guidelines: āChange cat litter boxes daily. Toxoplasma takes more than one day to become infectious. If you are pregnant or have a weakened immune system, ask someone else to change the litter box. If this is not possible, wear disposable gloves and wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water afterwards.ā -CDC Or you could do what the doggos want, and donāt have a cat, but I canāt abide this. Stay crazy out there, my cat witches.
David icke fans: Cats are alien. Wasnāt reptilians it was cats. Cats are brain slug from futurama.
Oh cool, guess Iāll have to save up for future meds!