Cat Owners See Higher Suicide Risk

Source:

A recent study published by the University of Maryland School of Medicine found that negative personality changes and mental illness in humans may result from exposure to a parasite that exists in almost every cat's litter box, no matter how fastidious the owner may be.

Toxoplasma gondii, also known as T.gondii or Toxo may be the source of changes in the human brain that result in strange behavior or even suicide. In fact, researchers found that women who own cats are more likely to suffer from mental-health issues and are one-and-a-half times more likely to attempt suicide than uninfected women.

Owning or caring for higher numbers of cats may increase the level of T.gondii antibodies, and the higher the levels of T. gondii antibodies found in women who were infected, the higher the suicide risk, according to the report.

Interesting.