Can cat owners really get schizophrenia from their cats?

No Stars In My Eyes · Nov 9, 2015

The New York Post? Hhhmmmmm. I'd say 'consider the source.'

poppycat, ADN, BSN · Nov 10, 2015

My cats definitely make me crazy at times but I don't think it's gotten to the point of schizophrenia yet!

RatchedAfterMidnight, MSN, APRN · Nov 10, 2015

I have a furry friend and have yet to go crazy, I think :up:

But in all seriousness, you should wash your hand thoroughly and/or wear gloves while cleaning out the cat litter. Cat feces commonly have toxoplasma gandii in it, a parasite. This is why pregnant women are advised to not change the litter box. Acute toxoplasmosis in most healthy adults in children can resemble a brief flu like illness or have no symptoms at all and lay dormant in your body. Research shows that the parasite can affect you dopamine chemistry which in a select group of people can mimic symptoms of schizophrenia. The medical community believes this to be rare. Just wash your hands and wear gloves!

Farawyn · Nov 11, 2015

I just came across this article.

"Is your cat making you crazy?" from the New York Post. I had never heard of anything like this before.

http://nypost.com/2015/10/25/cats-may-be-behind-rise-of-schizophrenia-researchers
As stated in this article, when people don't wash their hands and don't disinfect the surfaces in their homes they can get sick. In this case the idea that someone can "catch schizophrenia" can sound kind of silly.

If this is true, it's important to get the facts out into the general public.

CATch schizophrenia. I get it.

BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN · Nov 19, 2015

Kind of like the Fox News of written matierial "We report, you decide"!

The New York Post? Hhhmmmmm. I'd say 'consider the source.'

Alnitak7 · Nov 19, 2015

I have a furry friend and have yet to go crazy, I think
But in all seriousness, you should wash your hand thoroughly and/or wear gloves while cleaning out the cat litter. Cat feces commonly have toxoplasma gandii in it, a parasite. This is why pregnant women are advised to not change the litter box. Acute toxoplasmosis in most healthy adults in children can resemble a brief flu like illness or have no symptoms at all and lay dormant in your body. Research shows that the parasite can affect you dopamine chemistry which in a select group of people can mimic symptoms of schizophrenia. The medical community believes this to be rare. Just wash your hands and wear gloves!

This is the important thing.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Nov 21, 2015

IMO, I think all cats have a little bit of borderline personality disorder. They see in black and white (in more ways than one) and can flip from love to hate with such ease.

kbrn2002, ADN, RN · Nov 22, 2015

3 dogs and 2 cats so yeah, I think I'm probably a little crazy. I would say an actual schizophrenia dx is kind of a stretch though.

Seriously though, while it's true that many illnesses can be caught by not washing your hands and surfaces a psych disorder is not one of them. Pretty irresponsible reporting to suggest that is possible.

Farawyn · Nov 22, 2015

Se que? What?

El gato = loco

Alnitak7 · Nov 22, 2015

3 dogs and 2 cats so yeah, I think I'm probably a little crazy. I would say an actual schizophrenia dx is kind of a stretch though.
Seriously though, while it's true that many illnesses can be caught by not washing your hands and surfaces a psych disorder is not one of them. Pretty irresponsible reporting to suggest that is possible.

kbrn2002 did you take time to read this report?

Can you quote things out of it and tell us why you feel that it's irresponsible?

"When people ingest T. gondii, it recruits the same neurotransmitters, which govern the behavior of both humans and rodents."

Am I wrong to believe this?

Whispera, MSN, RN · Nov 23, 2015

I read the article and it's reporting on the work of a couple of people who have done some work to correlate toxoplasma gondii with schizophrenia. One is a well-recognized psychiatrist that I respect. It seems it's possible there is some correlation. In any case, if you have cats, it's always a good idea to wash your hands after cleaning litter boxes, as well as surfaces on which they walk, regularly. They do walk around in their litter boxes, after all!