Cats Cause Blindness in Babies

Wednesday, August 27, 2008
And I'm not just saying that because I'm a dog person, either.

According to this article, babies in Brazil are more susceptible to toxoplasmosis than European babies. "Toxoplasmosis, caused by Toxoplasma gondii, is the most common parasitic disease found in humans around the world. Infection can cause inflammatory lesions at the back of the eye that sometimes affect vision." The genotype found in Brazil is far more virulent than other types.

Here's the cat connection. Turns out the Toxoplasma gondii completes its life cycle in cats, and is most easily caught by close contact with cats, more specifically, cat feces. Once contracted, it can cause a number of bizarre behavioral effects in humans, such as some forms of schizophrenia, and is one of the leading causes of blindness in Brazil.

So there you have it. Definitive proof that dogs are better than cats. QED.

24 comments:

Cindi in CO said...

Whatever.

Maybe they should keep their cat's butts out of their babie's faces. Or keep their babies out of the litter box.

And for what it's worth, no baby should be left unsupervised around any animal.

Janiece said...

I think they're concerned about the cats tracking the eggs through the house after they use the litter box.

But the vision of a cat's butt in a baby's face made me laugh.

Eric said...

Maybe cat feces are a potential hazard because cats are smart enough not to eat their own crap.

Not like some other species I could name.

(But seriously: truth be told, I'm one of those fuzzy people that likes cats and dogs pretty nearly equally, and I'd probably have a canine if I had the time and energy to do right by it. Elvis alone is a handful, and he's mostly self-sufficient.)

Cindi in CO said...

"because cats are smart enough not to eat their own crap."

They don't drink out of the toilet, either.

I feel the same way you do though, Eric, dogs are just too high
maintainence for me right now.

Random Michelle K said...

Sorry Cindy, but cats do indeed drink from the toilet.

But only when the water is clean.

Also, Toxoplasma is a a problem not just for infants, but for pregnant women. However, as long as pregnant women don't change the litter box, they're fine.

And you can keep the dogs. I don't gave to get up at ten till early to walk the cats. I don't have to have someone come over to feed them when we're gone for the weekend, because they won't eat all their food in the first fifteen minutes after they walk, and I never have to wander the yard with a pooper scooper lest I get an accidental surprise.

Janiece said...

I'll live with the inconvenience of owning a doggie.

Boogie gives a shit if I'm around or not, and with cats that's sometimes a hit or miss proposition.

Random Michelle K said...

Cats care--they care a lot.

They just refuse to LET you know they care.

Kat regularly follows me from room to room, and then sits with his back to me.

And they're almost always at the door when we come home--pretending to be interested in something else.

Actually, come to think of it. I do the same thing with Michael.

Random Michelle K said...

Maow.

Eric said...

Elvis cries in the morning when I go to work and sometimes tries to follow me out the door. He usually meets me at the door when I come home. And he sometimes follows me around the condo. Also, he's been known to get really jealous sometimes when I seem to be paying more attention to the computer than to him.

If cats are supposed to be aloof, Elvis is a pretty lousy cat, actually. But he's a good little guy and, like Michelle, I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn to walk him in the rain.

(He is, however, pretty assertive in the mornings about getting his breakfast, so I'm not totally off the hook in the mornings.)

Jeri said...

I like both dogs and cats - the demonstrativeness of dogs, and the independence of cats. But we're a dog household since the smug husband is allergic to felines.

Nice proof though!

mattw said...

Thank you, Janiece. Dogs are way better. Hands down. Cats are ok, but there's a reason dog's are called man's best friend.

And it's not like all dogs eat poop or drink out of the toilet. I had a dog that did one and not the other, and then I've had dogs that wouldn't do either.

We could argue about this all day, but I think it breaks down into dogs=awesome, cats=ok.

Janiece said...

And that's why Matt is my New Best Friend.

Cindi in CO said...

My cats are awesome, Matt. They follow me around and are aggressivly affectionate. One of them even loves to play fetch.

My husband was never a cat person, but after years of living with them, he's been converted.

Michelle, one of my cats is a water baby, and if I don't keep the lid down on the toilet, he will play in it. Dogs are cool too, but I don't have one for all the reasons you list. :)

mattw said...

I've never seen anyone wrestle around with a cat like you could a dog. Cats are nice if I go visit someone with one, but I don't believe I'd ever own one. I'm glad that my wife is also a dog person, although she wants a tiny little dog that I would be afraid of stepping on.

kimby said...

Having always been a dog person, it always seems strange to me that I ended up with a cat. I long for the day when i can have a dog, but right now, the timing is not right for us. Stanley is the perfect pet for us, and he will fetch like a dog, growl like a dog, yet has the independence of a cat.

Anonymous said...

Love animals, period. Grew up with dogs and yes, I often miss having one. But I love my putty tats (yes, plural and no, not a crazy cat lady. - yet) and wouldn't trade them for a dog. The boys are super affectionate and let me know that they love the hell out of me. Plus Matisse (the oldest of the three - shut up - I have both a male roommate AND a boyfriend, so I'm not a Crazy Cat Lady, dammit!) loves humans so much that everyone who meets him falls for him, including CuteFilmNerd, who is more of a dog person than cat person.

Dogs = awesome. Cats = awesome.

Fish and birds, on the other hand...

mattw said...

Yeah, I'm definitely not a fan of birds. Their beaks are sharp and they can fly, which means they are not to be trusted. My mom tried to keep birds a couple of times and no one was able to give them the attention they needed, so they were given away to people that could. The last bird she had, an African grey, tried to pierce my ear for me while he was walking on my shoulder once. Fish are nice to look at, but they're more like a piece of art than a pet.

Eric said...

I've never seen anyone wrestle around with a cat like you could a dog.

The only problem with wrestling cats, is if you don't declaw them (and I don't).

See, there's nothing as adorable as a wrestling kitten. Nothing. And I'm not even picking on dogs with this statement: a kitten trying to look fierce as it stalks and then jumps on your hand, trying to bite your thumb as you tussle with him, scores something like an "11" on a 5-point cuteness scale. And you can get away with it because little kitten claws and teeth are sharp but don't have much force behind them.

But when the kitten gets a little older, a little bigger--well, they tend to not realize they're bigger and stronger and effectively pointier, so wrestling with a cat is kinda cute in theory and kind of fucking painful in practice.

Which is why cat toys are awesome.

Point being, you can play with a cat, and even wrestle with him to some extent if you want to (tho' in the latter case you may have to discourage him from pouncing on your hands and feet when he grows up).

Anonymous said...

Which is why cat toys are awesome.

Plus one of the funniest and cutest things ever? Cats and laser pointers.

Srsly.

It just never gets old. Granted, Matisse couldn't care less and Edison thinks it's okay. But B.J. (What?! He's named for B.J. Hunnicutt!) could chase the little red dot for hours. I probably would let him do that, except I always end up collapsing in giggles after about ten minutes.

MWT said...

You can also just wear oven mitts while wrestling with a grown cat. ;)

I like fish. No you can't cuddle them or pet them, but they do come with fun personalities if you select for that instead of physical appearance.

Birds, very loud, poo every 20 minutes ...

Janiece said...

I have a fish tank, but their personalities can only be described as "assheads."

It's a chiclid tank...

MWT said...

Heheh... but would you really want to trade them in for swarms of peaceful tetras? :D

Cindi in CO said...

mwt, that's what we did. ;)

Agressive fish tanks make us nervous.

The Mechanicky Gal said...

Ok I'll say it.
babies = suck.
Heh.