
Having a Cat Does Not Cause Mental Illness, New Study Suggests - intergalactic
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cats-mental-illness-toxoplasma_us_58adc06ae4b03d80af714072
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gwern
If you look at the abstract, all of the correlations actually show that having
a cat does predict mental illness at all ages considered. But the effect sizes
are relatively low (albeit consistent with the more direct studies looking at
people actually infected with toxoplasma rather than people who might be
infected), so with a few hundred or thousand people, it technically doesn't
satisfy p<0.05. Nevertheless, this is further evidence _for_ toxoplasma having
bad effects.

This seems to be a trend with toxo papers - take a too-small sample, do no
power or Bayesian analysis, find all bad correlations, but declare evidence of
safety anyway.

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jessriedel
The jump from "we could not detect a difference" to "there is no difference"
is so frustrating. (And this is a mistake the authors make in this case, not
just the journalists.)

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beojan
They _did_ say "no evidence of a link" in the title and abstract, though the
conclusion at the end of the abstract unfortunately says the study strongly
suggests there is no link. Given the quoted odds ratios are > 1, this is a
strange statement to make.

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anonymoose321
Let me guess... study sponsored by cats?

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neogodless
Obviously you didn't read the article. The humans that come in contact with
cats have altered minds; they sponsored the article, with no direct links to
the original feline overlords.

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holografix
Is there a simple, accurate and cost efficient test for toxoplasma? I got a
cat 2 years ago... it never leaves the apartment on the 7th floor and never
comes in contact with other cats. However it is a rescue cat so could have
been infected before adoption.

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pvaldes
Your pet is not even remotely close to the cats risk group.

Only the 0,7% on average of the cats drop oocysts in its faeces and it still
will take 1 to 5 days for this oocysts to activate and be able to transmite
the disease. If you clean daily the litter box of your cat with gloves and you
are not pregnant or inmunocompromised the problem is greatly minimized.

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wapz
Is washing your hands not sufficient enough? I have a cat and clean the litter
box every other day without gloves.

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pvaldes
Should be, but gloves will not do any harm. Toxoplamosis is not the only
disease that your cat could host.

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Icedcool
Oh thats good. This was something I've been wondering lately.

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daysforbeef
Having a cat may not cause mental illness, just that in my experience having a
cat is a sign of mental illness

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jjtheblunt
i realize you're joking, but it made me think: i wonder if there are any
correlations about "not having a pet" with egocentrism.

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daysforbeef
I feel people who own pets don't see things from a pet's perspective. But
that's probably just me. Having someone love you based on sort of sort weird
stockholm-syndrome based relationship is weird. The cat comment, as much as
it's a joke I have seen most folks around me who own cats have this need for
constant drama. And Goodness, no matter how much the cats randomly lashes out
at these owners, the owners still love em, where's the bloody logic in that? I
guess everyone on here is a S&M lover. But anecdotal evidence doesn't count
for much haha

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cowpewter
If a cat is "randomly lashing out" at their owners, then yeah, that's a pretty
good sign that the owners don't see things from the cat's perspective.

Cat social behavior has its own internal consistency though. Usually the
problem starts when people expect cats to behave like dogs. They don't have
the same motivations as dogs at all.

Learn cat body language, and understand that cats see us as big, weird,
slightly dumb, hairless cats that belong to the same "cat colony" as them, and
nothing a cat does will seem "random" anymore.

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daysforbeef
With all due respect, I will never understand how that statement differs from
trying to understand the ways of an abusive ex and trying to thread carefully
based on it? pretty sure the abusive nature comes from somewhere and then for
some darn reason I'm walking on egg shells when I could pretty much invest my
time in a more nicer manner. Unless you think that putting up with complete
crap is something people ought to aspire to do (don't mean to come up as an
asshole, but seriously mate?)

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cowpewter
Well now I'm confused. My cats have never done anything that could be likened
to an abusive partner.

I respect my cats as individuals with their own needs and desires and they
respect me back. We're like roommates.

If you had a roommate that didn't speak English as their first language, would
you make an effort to understand them so you could get along? Or would you
scream or try to hit them or spray water in their face (as a lot of people do
to cats) anytime he did something you didn't like? And if you did, and he
reacted violently in turn, would you really be surprised?

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daysforbeef
The question is why would you want to be stuck with someone who doesn't speak
your language and gets pissed off at everything you do because they see you as
dumb by default and their culture is the stark opposite of yours?

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cowpewter
I kind of feel like we're speaking past each other here. I'm not sure what
sort of dysfunctional cat/owner relationships you've observed to make you so
vehemently opposed to the idea that they can be mutually beneficial.

I assure you, my cats actively enjoy and seek out my company, attention, and
affection, and I likewise enjoy and seek out theirs.

When I get home, my cats run to greet me, with the straight upraised tail
(with slightly curled tip) that indicates "friendly excitement." They sniff me
and rub themselves against me with the full length of their bodies, which is a
common greeting ritual for cats that belong to the same colony. They come and
sit next to me on the couch, and when they want privacy, they will go and
sleep somewhere else.

If they seek out my attention, and I don't have time or the desire then to
give it them, a few firm setting them on the ground or shifting them out of
the way, and they'll settle and not bother me (unless something is genuinely
wrong and I haven't noticed, like the water dish being empty/dirty).

When I seek out their attention, if they don't feel like giving it right then,
they indicate so through body language or even just leaving, and I respect
their desires and don't force myself on them (unless it's in the case of
something for their health, like giving them medication or taking them to the
vet).

They can't speak English, though they understand a handful of words, such as
their names, "treat", "dinner", "come here", "no", "gentle", and "please" as
well as tone of voice. I can't speak Cat, but I understand a handful of words
via body language and tone of voice when they meow.

I don't ever get angry at my cats for being cats, though occasionally I do get
frustrated. And in return, though they sometimes get frustrated when I am
failing to understand one of their requests, they don't get angry and lash out
either.

I think we communicate fairly well for beings of two completely different
species, and find each other's company mutually agreeable.

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braveo
Don't bother, it's obvious they're not a pet owner and don't understand the
sort of companionship one can have with pets.

When I first got my cat (for mousing) I was shocked at how quickly I grew
attached to her. I had her about a week and she found a way out of the house,
I searched and searched and searched and was about to let her go emotionally
when I found her, and I was extremely happy.

And I had only had the cat a month, and no I didn't live by myself either.

You could use the same logic this person is using to describe a parents
relationship with their child as well. It's just someone's opinion who has
never owned a pet.

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ender89
Fine! Guess I'll have to go back to blaming my parents or eating lead paint
chips.

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robynsmith
Why the cat hate on HN?

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astrodust
HN hates everything, cats included. It's bewildering.

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B1FF_PSUVM
> cats included. It's bewildering.

Only to those possessed by cats.

Q.E.D.

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smsm42
My cat told me so a long time ago.

