The Case of the Fearless Rat | Mindsuckers

a gentle breeze blows across the farm
this morning a cap stands at the screen
door eyeing the activity outside a woman
opens the door and the cat trots out
with killing on its mind
there’s a rat sniffing around the cat’s
turf but this rat isn’t behaving
normally its brain is infected with a
parasitic protozoan called Toxoplasma
gondii eye it’s not completely
understood but talk so likely affects
dopamine levels in a rat’s brain the
scent of cat urine should make the rat
wary instead it shows no fear making it
easy prey a cat’s intestinal tract is
the only place
toxo is known to reproduce from there it
spreads through cat excrement which is
exactly why toxo wants to be part of
your cat’s next meal talk so can infect
the brain of nearly any warm-blooded
animal even humans though rarely fatal
the parasite can harm a pregnant woman’s
fetus but for some reason it never
reaches a cat’s brain so don’t worry
your cat is safe
you