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A cat can be quite a lovely creature with their lithe grace, silky fur, purrs and playful antics. They even have us trained to provide a litter box for them so they can tend to their ‘bathroom’ needs. Who can’t help but become friends with a cat?
Many people love cats aka ‘crazy cat’ lady or man. Cats do provide us an outlet to express our love and they are a source of comfort and lift our Spirits with their playful and silly antics.
Disease in our Cat
Unfortunately, they can also be a source of a disease known as toxoplasma infection aka toxoplasmosis. Now, what does a cat have to do with infections?
Infections in our cat arises from contact with a germ and those germs can thrive in various environments, wet, cold, hot, dry. As long as they have their needs met, such as, food, water and shelter they will thrive and our own bodies provide a perfect environment. It seems our own bodies can betray us, don’t it? But we are own keeper, responsible for our own bodies.
the Guilty one – cell Germ
Toxoplasma gondii‘ a sporozoan Parasite
Toxoplasmosis begins with the germ, ‘Toxoplasma gondii‘, a sporozoan parasite, and is borne out of infected meats such as mutton, venison, pork, goat meat but also when in contact with cat feces. Careful handling and cleaning a cat’s litter box is important since we are not always aware if the cat is infected.
A cat becomes a carrier if it eats an infected mouse or rat. Studies have found infected rodents are not afraid of cats and will seek them out by scent. This is due to how it changes the behaviors of cells in the brain, ‘dendritic cells‘ secrete ‘GABA’ergic secretions which inhibits fear and anxiety.
Types of Infection for Cats and Humans
The types of infection depends on how it was acquired. Infants born with toxoplasmosis are considered as having the ‘congenital‘ form which affects the central nervous system and may cause blindness, brain defects, or death.
The ‘acquired‘ form falls into two categories, ‘lymphadenopathic‘ which resembles mononucleosis and the second version, ‘disseminated‘, which causes lesions to appear on the lungs, liver, heart, muscle, skin, brain and meninges.
Medical Definition
Congenital – present at, or existing at birth
lymphadenopathic, enlarged lymph nodes
disseminated, scattered, or distributed over a considerable area
Miller-Keane Encyclopedia & Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing & Allied Health
Research studies of changes in a ‘host‘ have found, that people with various psychiatric disorders, are found to be infected with toxoplasmosis. There is evidence infection may be found in people who are extroverted or exhibit risk taking and aggressive behaviors.
Rate of Infection and Symptoms
Analysis of records suggest that up to 30% -50% of the global population may be infected, with 60M infected in the US (CDC). Humans have lived with this parasite for a long time.
Initial infection may cause ‘flu‘ like symptoms and then disappear into a ‘dormant’ phase and depends upon the strength of one’s immune system. It can be fatal for those with weaker immune systems (HIV/AIDS) or the unborn fetus.
Inflammation of the choriod and retina aka ‘chorioretinitis‘ eventually occurs in the congenital or chronic form with symptoms of pain, light sensitivity, blurred vision, black spots.
Diagnosis of toxoplasmosis is difficult and expensive. Bloodwork is drawn and stored for comparison purposes. Biopsy’s of cysts, and swollen lymphs may also provide visual changes.
vet cat care- Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko from Pexels
Treatment and Therapy for Cat and Owners
Humans ; Treatment is effective with a combination of drug treaments and Folinic acid (a derivative of folic acid used to treat folic acid deficiency)with the following;
Pyrimethamine (Daraprim), and sulfadiazine or triple sulfonamides for a total of thirty days and reserved for those with weak immune systems.
Newer drugs are proving effective and may also, be additionally used. Inflammation of the eyes may be treated with corticosteroid, anti-parisitic or antibiotic drugs, dark glasses, and may include laser surgery to remove lesions.
Prevention of this disease, is done with emphasis on avoid eating raw meat, that may contain ‘cysts’, avoiding contact with cat feces, and ensure visits to your Veterinarian for your cat. Best practices when handling raw meat, do not cross-contaminate your knives and other utensils in the kitchen, or with other foods or liquids.
Use disposable gloves, face mask and disinfectant, when cleaning the cat’s litter box. Make sure to wash the area where the litter box is placed too.
Cats ; A Veterinarian specializes in caring for animals and will treat your cat. Like humans, blood work must be done first to verify the presence of the t. gondii germ. Cats will normally develop an immunity after their initial infection and shed germs for approximately 24 days. They can still get infected from eating raw meat with tissue cysts (bradizoites stage) or passed from mother to kitten while pregnant for both felines and humans.
Adult cats immune systems are strong enough to overcome the infection but not kittens. They will have symptoms such as fever, diarrhea, coughing, difficulty breathing, sneezing, and runny nose. Severe illness in cats will have seizures, uncoordinated gait, leading to death. They can be treated with antibiotics, anti-convulsants and if weakened by the infection, they will remain at the Vet’s office for fluids and intravenous feeding.
Life of t. Gondii germ
The stages of the Toxoplasma gondii germ are as follows;
Tachyzoites, fast growing stage, able to cross Placental barrier both pregnant felines and humans.
Bradyzoites, tissue cyst form, cause damage to organs and tissues, hard to remove
Sporozoites, in oocytes stage, immature form
Absolute care must be taken when handling raw meat and importance of not cross- contaminating other dishware and work areas with used knives or cleaver. This germ can be cleared with the following steps;
Soap and water does kill these germs so do ensure washing your hands, work surface and utensils.
Another method found to kill this t. Gondii germ is with gamma radiation. I’m not sure where ordinary folks would find that but good to know?
Feeding your Feline
Owners of cats, me included, may love the ‘routine’ their cat sets in regards to meals. I wake in the mornings and get immediately met with yowling, purrs and body rubs from my cat, and he walks me to the kitchen straight to his bowl. Yes, cats do develop a personality.
Food for your cat should consist of canned, dry cat kibble or cooked food. Cleaning of the litter box should have you wearing a disposable mask and gloves. Wash the litter box with disinfectant and I go an extra mile, spritz rooms with disinfectant spray plus turn on the HVAC air exchanger. It’s good practice to have good hygiene habits.
I hope you found this article informative. Please feel free to leave your comments, Share the post with friends and family. Use the Ask a Question form and make a request for a topic that interests you. It’s FREE to subscribe to my RSS Feed.
AIC| An Informal Cornr, all rights reserved. Ginsense creates and posts articles online about business development, second income idea’s, health, science, technology and society.
Creating a website seems like a planet far, far away from us. An area somewhat vague and unknown yet a daily part of our lives with all the connected devices we have in our homes and carry with us as we go about your day.
Now, how would we get our own website out there? can I get a website too? Answer, Yes! it can be done!
Let’s explore the idea and what’s available out there so we can make a website for blogging or eCommerce, or other available options.
Building a Website
A website put together by yourself will give you a great sense of pride and accomplishment. As mentioned, it may seem as a task only for professionals but it really can be a simple experience and life lesson. A lot of web design programs can be simple copy, drag and paste programs, and these are included in a Web Host’s cPanel dashboard.
I’d also recommend if you can’t afford paying for a Web Host, check out a free web host, where you can eventually upgrade to paying for your own domain. Do be aware there are people who do not recommend using ‘Free’ sites but not everybody can afford immediate payments for a full domain host. There are many free web hosts available such as the following site :
I have found Free Web Hosting has worked well over all with zero downtime and notified when it’s scheduled. Their assistance was wonderful when I eventually upgraded my site to it’s own domain. I have any questions, I send a ‘Ticket’ which is responded to quickly and they help me make understanding ‘geek’ a lot easier. Give them a trial run. 🙂
Extra Web Host Features
A web host may offer other web building programs. One hugely popular site for blogging is WordPress and it can be ‘launched’ quickly and easily.
They will assign you an ‘account name’ for your FTP program (FTP – File Transfer Protocol). You may have to download a third party FTP program too, such as, CuteFTP, Cerberus, Fetch onto your own computer.
A web host will have a ‘cPanel’ dashboard with various ‘tools’ and ‘programs’ which can provide further options to explore while learning to navigate your cPanel.
Other building tools you can use or build, include Classifieds, Forums, eCommerce, along with other blogging platforms such as Joomla.
A few of the ‘tools’ found inside your web host ‘panel’ will have strange names, such as ‘My SQL’, PHP, file manager or htaccess generator. Consider them as ‘attached’ to your WordPress or other site, as they are used to store the files to operate these sites. They are important and strong password to your cPanel will help protect them.
You may need to enter these areas to ‘tweak’ your site. Again, your web host will assign you, or recommend for your account, a ‘name’ and strong Passwords for security reasons. I’m sure you don’t want to get ‘hacked’. You will also usually find a ‘Back Up’ area in the ‘cpanel’ and you must use this regularly, in the event you’re ‘blocked’ from entry to your web site. A back up will help restore your site to it’s original place and appearance. WordPress also has plug-ins that can back up your site also from their dashboard.
a Web Host cPanel
Research to Begin your Website
The skills you gain and knowledge you learn along the way are beyond priceless and you will enjoy this project. I assure you, that this is one very fun skill to learn, which you will also be able to share or offer to others, for a reasonable fee. For myself, I prefer an affordable annual payment and just need to pay attention to ‘dates’ for renewal.
I highly recommend that you research and read all you can about web hosts, WordPress, or other program you’re considering. Being duly informed and educated will help make your entry into the world of web sites less painful or frustrating.
Understanding the basics of Coding such as CSS, PhP, hex color codes, etc., helps you to be able to ‘change and tweak‘ your web site over all design. It also gives you confidence when entering those areas with your web site coding source. I preferred to keep my site as minimal as possible and hopefully not make anybody ‘bug eyed’ from the blue light of computers.
A last note that I’ve learned in regards to changes and tweaks to your site. Keep a RECORD of those changes such as ;
the date
time
file name
line number
code snippet changed, or added
and keep a copy of the original code
A record will help you quickly UNDO any unforeseen wreckage of your website and it’s broken. Your record can quickly point you to where you need to return the original code which you can fix inside your cPanel and domain files. Yes, I broke my website a time or two and it’s not fun but I was able to repair it too. 🙂
I hope you found this article informative. Please feel free to leave your comments and Share with friends and family. Use the ‘Ask a Question’ form and make a request, on a topic of your own interest. It is FREE to my RSS feed.
An Informal Cornr, all rights reserved. Ginsense writes articles on business skills, development, health, science, technology and society and enjoys advocating for independence, security and a better world for all of us.
