Cat Bites Linked to Depression
Or are depressed people more likely to own cats?
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
After studying more than 1.3 million people for 10 years, researchers found that if you are a woman who has been bitten by a cat, there is a 50 percent chance you are also depressed.
The study, published in PLOS ONE, does not reveal whether cats are acting aggressively toward people suffering from depression or if depressed people are simply more likely to own felines.
A third option involves a parasite found in cat poop. The culprit, Toxoplasma gondii, has the ability to change the chemical makeup of the human brain, causing self-inflicted violence and increased suicide rates, as well as depression in some patients.
Although the jury is still out on the cause behind depressed cat-bite victims, we do know that the bites themselves are extremely dangerous. One clinic reported to the Journal of Hand Surgery that out of 193 cat-bite patients, 30 percent had to be hospitalized for three days.