Study Links Childhood Cat Ownership to Schizophrenia Later in Life

A new study has revealed that children having cats as pets are at a risk of developing schizophrenia later in life. The main reason is being attributed to the possible presence of Toxoplasma gondii in cat feces which kids may get exposed to.

The parasite can infect any warm blooded animals which includes human beings. While most people exposed to toxoplasma gondii show no symptoms, people with weak immune systems are particularly vulnerable to its effects.

When exposed to the parasite, it could lead to a condition called toxoplasmosis where the victim develops flu like symptoms and might give rise to miscarriage, blindness and abnormal fetal development.

According to CDC, close to 60 million people in the US may be infected with T.gondii. The parasite is known to work only in the bodies of felines and it also helps them to catch prey. When rodents are exposed, they end up losing their natural fear of cats which makes them easier to catch.

Human beings become exposed to T.gondii when they are changing the litter box or ingest contaminated soil. For instance, when you consume fruits or vegetables from the garden without washing it first makes you vulnerable to exposure.

"Cat ownership in childhood has now been reported in three studies to be significantly more common in families in which the child is later diagnosed with schizophrenia or another serious mental illness," authors E. Fuller Torrey, Robert H. Yolken and Wendy Simmons said.

"Children can be protected by keeping their cat exclusively indoors and always covering the sandbox when not in use," Torrey told CBS News. The CDC also advises cat owners to change the litter boxes daily and avoid giving undercooked meat to the cats. Pregnant women should also abstain from clearing litter boxes and instead ask someone else to do the job.