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Here's a link to a rather long but worthwhile article about the latest research on toxo infections and it's effects on humans and the fact that it may play a role in schizophrenia.
I wish there was a similar article about dog feces I could send to my HOA and finally convince them to do something about the dog #$@! infesting our development.
I wish there was a similar article about dog feces I could send to my HOA and finally convince them to do something about the dog #$@! infesting our development.
Dog's owners!!! Grrrrrrrrrrrr...... We took a walk in the park today. A park that requires dog feces to be picked up. I guess the local dog owners feel that applies to others, not them. Stinking fly ridden piles along the paths.... disgusting. When our dogs were still alive I always carried a paper bag and plastic baggies to remove anything they did on our walks. What the hell is so hard about it?
Dog's owners!!! Grrrrrrrrrrrr...... We took a walk in the park today. A park that requires dog feces to be picked up. I guess the local dog owners feel that applies to others, not them. Stinking fly ridden piles along the paths.... disgusting. When our dogs were still alive I always carried a paper bag and plastic baggies to remove anything they did on our walks. What the hell is so hard about it?
We have a neighbor who lets his dog do its business on the strip of lawn in front of our curb. Every morning I'm just praying I don't step in something. We've confronted him before but it keeps happening.
Toxo story time- this is a rather traumatic story, so sensitive people might want to skip it. Toxo infection in cats generally causes a short-term fever...many owners don't even realize their cats were infected or ill. After the initial fever, the cat is a carrier but doesn't suffer any illness.
Unless the toxo travels to the brain, in which case the cat can exhibit symptoms very similar to rabies. At my hospital we had a cat brought in as an emergency that went from being a normal household pet to something out of a horror movie overnight. It attacked and seriously injured both owners. Somehow they got it into a carrier and it had nearly chewed its way through by the time they brought him in. I dealt with many aggressive animals and I have never seen a cat so determined to kill and so out of control. I got it in a scruff hold and it flipped back over my arm and mauled my hand. We had to put him into a solid plastic box used for gassing small animals down before surgery. There was no way to safely touch this cat. The owners agreed to euthanize but wanted to be present...but again we couldn't touch the cat to sedate it, so we had to run gas into the box until he fell asleep enough so we could give the final needle. The entire time the cat was in the box it was trying to eat through the plastic side to attack the owners. I ended up going to the hospital for treatment for the cat bites.
It was one of the worst, most terrifying and heartbreaking things I've witnessed. I felt so incredibly bad for those owners. The necropsy showed the brain had been eaten away.
Luckily this kind of reaction is very, very rare. Again, most cats with toxo get only mildly ill, and even in infected cats transmission to humans can be prevented by simply scooping the box daily and wearing gloves. The vast majority of human cases come from eating undercooked meat or gardening, not felines.
That said, avoiding toxo is just one more reason to keep your cat indoors.
Last edited by suzy_q2010; 04-20-2012 at 01:47 PM..
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We took a walk in the park today. A park that requires dog feces to be picked up. I guess the local dog owners feel that applies to others, not them. Stinking fly ridden piles along the paths.... disgusting. When our dogs were still alive I always carried a paper bag and plastic baggies to remove anything they did on our walks. What the hell is so hard about it? 
