Can your cat give you a mental illness?

We all love them, well at least most of us do. They’re soft, cuddly, furry, mischievous…and did I forget, thoughtful? Especially when they bring you a special present they caught out on the porch. This post isn’t meant to scare anyone away from getting a cat. In all honesty, I would probably get one too if I wasn’t allergic to them. But if you’re a cat owner, there’s a couple things I would encourage you to be aware of. Firstly, well done. Having a pet is actually very protective for your mental health. The warmth and love they provide is priceless. As a pet owner though, you’re probably aware of all those little bugs or flees they might bring home. Most of the time this isn’t a concern, however there’s one particular parasite called Toxoplasma gondii which may be linked to the development of neuropsychiatric disorders.

Now getting T. Gondii is usually of no concern, most people just get symptoms similar to a flu or mild head cold. Which in turn actually means you might never even know you got it. The problem mostly comes about if you get it at a young age. What ends up happening is if by some accident you become exposed to T. Gondii, it can travel through your body and get stuck in your brain or muscles where it forms cysts. Typically any kind of disruption to your brain, whether that’s through a chemical change do to a mentally traumatic experience, or a physical change due to an infection or brain injury, puts your brain at risk for developing psychiatric illnesses. Cysts obviously don’t help. Studies looking into this possibility, particularly by Torrey et al. have found that people who present with psychosis are more likely to have antibodies against T. Gondii (which basically means you were infected with it before). Other studies have showed that in about 2025 people with Schizophrenia or Bipolar, 51% of them had a cat, whereas in 4847 people who didn’t have any psychiatric illness, only 43% of them had one prior to 13 years of age.

So what does this mean, and how can you avoid these potentially rare outcomes? It’s actually quite simple. The chances of you getting exposed are higher when the cat is a kitten, because this is usually the time when they will get infected. Also if you’re an adult, you usually don’t have to worry as your brain is mostly developed, so even in the off chance you did get get infected, there is likely an insignificant risk of you developing any sort of psychiatric disorder. What you should do however, is while the cat is a kitten, change the litter box every day. The reason is because T. Gondii is found in cat poop, and it can become aerosolized after about a day. However, that being said, if you’re a woman who’s pregnant, I would recommend having someone else change the litter box. 2nd, if you have young kids, be wary of where they’re playing. As mentioned above, you don’t want them to be around places where cats/kittens run around and poop, so sand boxes, gardens, litterboxes (obviously) are a no go. 3rd, make sure your food is always well cooked and you’re drinking fresh clean water. Lastly, as I mentioned, enjoy having a cat. They’re honestly great and although what’s mentioned in this post can be a little worrisome, if you take the proper steps described, you shouldn’t run into any issues with your feline friend.