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Animanialmanac t1_iz11475 wrote

Cat feces has a parasite that makes rats and mice more aggressive. Cats are only a good solution to a rodent problem when it’s a semi indoor cat like a barn cat that gets regular vet care. Otherwise feral cats make the rat problem worse. The rats in our neighborhood are getting exponentially more in number as the feral cat numbers increase.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0608310104

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yeaughourdt t1_iz281yu wrote

This is also why "working cats" on farms, as encouraged by this article, are a fucking terrible idea. Not only do they attract toxo-infected rodents, the cats then poop toxoplasmosis cysts into the soil. This is why they tell pregnant people to not change litter boxes or eat undercooked meat - cows, goats, etc can pick up toxoplasmosis from the soil and pass it to you, where it will forever live in your brain and potentially deform your newborn. The only vector for toxoplasmosis reproduction is outdoor cats.

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CaptainObvious110 t1_iz28o2k wrote

What's really messed up is that the vast majority of people don't know this information.

Their focus is supposedly that it's bad for the cat to stay indoors and that they should be out to freely roam.

When you are dealing with people's emotions reasoning now takes a backseat

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todareistobmore t1_iz3np49 wrote

> cows, goats, etc can pick up toxoplasmosis from the soil and pass it to you

Sure, but this is true in exactly the same way and exactly to the same extent as e. coli is spread.

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yeaughourdt t1_iz4s4uq wrote

It's a bit different. Humans can contract toxo directly from contaminated soil or unwashed vegetables like e. coli, but when a meat animal is infected the parasite actually takes residence in its muscle tissue (where e coli only gets into meat via external contamination). Toxoplasmosis cysts are also very persistent in soil, remaining viable for over a year.

Also toxo's effect on the human body is longer and potentially more severe as the parasite lives on in your body and brain for the rest of your life with neurological consequences, and it's potentially fatal or disfiguring for fetuses if a mother is infected with toxoplasmosis while pregnant. Neurological consequences of toxoplasmosis infection aren't particularly well studied but may include mental illness and reduced motor response times. A study of vehicle accidents suggests that people with toxo in their brains are more likely to die in a car accident.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19356869/

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CaptainObvious110 t1_iz28ael wrote

Wow! I didn't know that their feces make rats more aggressive. That's really something!

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todareistobmore t1_iz3nt67 wrote

Not more aggressive. Rats without toxo are scared of the smell of cat urine, rats with toxo are drawn to it.

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