My grandfather helped to train me to drive. He used to say, “Predicting what a different driver may possibly do, is like attempting to predict the route of a cat parade.” It turns out that cats may have far more to do with our driving a car than my grandfather previously imagined!

If I told you that an alien bug had infected the brains of 50 percent of the population, hijacked their minds, and changed the way they acted on the road, you probably wouldn’t believe me. Yet a thing like this may truly be occurring right now!

Toxoplasma gondii is not an alien, in actual fact, it is so common that in some parts of the world as much as 60% of the population is infested with this creature. Toxoplasma gondii is  transmitted indirectly from cats and kittens to individuals and it has been shown to effect human personalities in numerous ways.  For most that are infected, the signs and symptoms are usually no worse than a mild dose of flu. But now there is an increasing body of evidence that some of those infected individuals may have their behavior permanently changed.

Research has shown that females who are infected with the parasite tend to be warm, outgoing and attentive to others, while infected men tend to be less intelligent and possibly a bit boring. But both men and women who are infected are more prone to feeling guilty and insecure.

Dr. Jaroslav Flegr of Charles University in Prague, has studied several factors of the Toxoplasma question. In one case he looked at the infection rate of people involved in traffic accidents. Dr. Flegr observed that motorists and pedestrians who had been in collisons were almost three times more likely to be infected than similar individuals who had not been.

“But officer, I have a cat!”

Dr. Flegr has also observed other abnormalities in infected people. These included} diminished response times and reduced attention spans—each of which may possibly help to explain the collision statistics.

“Holy cat poop, Batman!” 

Like Plasmodium, that cycles in between mosquitoes and man, Toxoplasma cycles in between its rodent and feline hosts, living out different stages of its existence in each. In cats, it resides in the wall of the small intestine and moves out of the host in its feces. These are then picked up by rats and mice where they form cysts in the brain, liver and muscle tissue. Ultimately, if the parasites are lucky, their rodent host is eaten by a cat and the entire cycle starts again.

“I’m a cat lover, what should I do?”

Keep your cat on a diet regime of safe cat food and, if doable, not left to feed off rats or mice.

Dr. Flegr says, “This isn’t about making an attempt to freak cat owners out. Merely getting a cat as a pet doesn’t indicate you’re going to get infected.”

Of course, possibly some alien is inducing him say that!

Until Next Time,
Eddie
ASenseOfHumorDriving.com