Every phrase has an origin story, and the term “crazy cat lady” is no different, but what if there was some truth to this ubiquitous term?
A number of articles, such as “How A Cat-Borne Parasite Infects Humans” on National Geographic’s website, state a parasite found in cats known as Toxoplasma gondii can infect humans and potentially change the way we think. The article’s claims come from the findings of Czech evolutionary biologist Jaroslav Flegr, who the articles states discovered a high correlation between the parasite and a person’s risk of developing schizophrenia.
According to Karen Munana, a professor of clinical science at the College of Veterinary Medicine, the parasite makes its way to its feline host through small animals the cat eats that contains the parasite, such as birds and rats, and then multiplies by reproducing in the cat’s intestines.
According to the National Geographic article, Swedish scientists learned the parasite then takes over the cat’s white blood cells in order to produce the neurotransmitter, GABA, which allows for the parasite to infect the body and has been “known to reduce fear and anxiety in rats—and in humans.” The article, though, leaves out some key pieces to the puzzle, according to Munana.
“The study does not address how the parasite gets into the central nervous system and the signs that might be seen with infection of the brain,” Munana said. “There have been other studies that have demonstrated that experimental infection alters the behavior of rodents, and based on this work it has been theorized that infection of the brain might reduce fear and anxiety, or alter behavior in other ways in naturally infected individuals – but this has not been proven. The mechanism of infection with Toxoplasmosis is complex, and much still needs to be learned about this.”
What we do know is the parasite forms cysts in tissues of the body, including the brain, according to Munana. Infection of the brain can cause encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain, and result in clinical evidence of disease in both humans and animals.
The effects of the inflammation in dogs or cats can be variable, Munana said.
“You can have problems walking or with vision, seizures, behavioral problems, balance; it depends on the area of the brain affected,” Munana said.
Though Munana said she could not comment about the parasite’s potential effects on people, the term “crazy cat lady” is often associated with mental illness, or at least that is the case with Eleanor Abernathy, a popular character on The Simpsons whose nickname is the “Crazy Cat Lady.”
Besides making you laugh when she throws cats at people, Abernathy’s influence may even be partially responsible for the introduction of the phrase “crazy cat lady” into our vocabulary, according to Michael Adams, a lexicographer at Indiana University.
Though Adams said he can’t say for certain that is where the term came from, his search on Google Books only showed entries of “crazy cat lady” that dated back to the 2000s, giving him a “rough picture” of when the phrase grew popular.
Since Abernathy first appeared on The Simpsons in 1998, the apparent association between the phrase’s rise in popularity in the 2000s seems to support Adams’s theory.
“It’s not to say that someone did not say ‘crazy cat lady’ in 1980 or in print, but it was just not a big deal then,” Adams said. “The Simpsons gave us an iconic figure and allowed us to visualize what the phrase refers to.”
As such, The Simpsons seems to define the “crazy cat lady” character as an older woman who possesses a drunken stupor, an inability to communicate except through gibberish, a mental disorder and oh yes, her crazy obsession with all things feline.
The oldest entry listed on urbandictionary.com for the phrase is only from 2005, where it defines “crazy cat lady” as: “An elderly suburban widow who lives alone and keeps dozens or more pet cats, usually many more than municipal code allows, in a small house, and refuses to give away or sell them even for the sake of the safety of the cats or herself.”
The phrase does not appear in the 2010 Green Dictionary of Slang, either, according to Adams.
“If it had been an older slang term, it would’ve picked it up,” Adams said.
With both the craziness associated with cat owners, as well as the possibility of contracting Toxoplasma gondii, the benefits of having a pet cat may seem small, though Munana said that should not be the case.
“A lot of people get nervous when they hear it’s a ‘cat parasite,’ but it should not be something to deter them from owning cats,” Munana said. “In the United States, it is more likely to get Toxoplasma gondii from handling or ingesting raw or undercooked meat than from cats.”
Many cats also host the parasite but don’t show signs of disease, according to Munana. Disease from the parasite is likelier in people with weaker immune systems, such as people with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, and women infected during pregnancy can transmit the infection to their baby.
When infected with the parasite, cats shed the organism for a short period of time (about two weeks) leaving Toxoplasma gondii in their feces, so cat owners should also wear gloves and scoop litter boxes on a daily basis, though the parasite does take one to five days to become infective, according to Munana.
“You just need to take necessary precautions,” Munana said.
Though a lot of research still needs to be done about the parasite, its potential effects on humans beg the question, “Were the writers of The Simpsons on to something when they created the character of the “crazy cat lady?”
