Toxoplasmosis in action. One of those weird diseases (like rabies) that affects brains and behavior. It makes mice lose their fear of cats – so they’ll be eaten and pass the parasite to the next host. And in infected people it’s associated with schizophrenia and increased risk-taking.
GrooverNovember 21, 2015 / 2:42 pm
Transentence, you are now officially That Person.
TransentenceNovember 21, 2015 / 4:20 pm
Yeah, Debbie Downer…. What are you doing for Thanksgiving? Can I come? Have you heard about salmonella in turkey stuffing?
Lucy's MomNovember 21, 2015 / 4:40 pm
I don’t see you as a Debbie Downer at all. I see you as a person who knows a LOT of stuff and is able to express it terms I can understand. So thank you. 🙂
I love learning about new things like this. The Wikipedia article on this notes that exposure to cat feces is one cause of transmission. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxoplasmosis
? The More You Know…?
I’M glad to know what caused this, cos that is some wildly aberrant behavior! At first I thought it was cute–little ninja mouse!–but when he didn’t escape after the cat left it became worrisome.
joodsNovember 22, 2015 / 9:29 pm
Transentence thank you for the scoop on the li’l maniac mousie. I was wondering why he was behaving like that…especially when he went after the person filming. Great to learn new things!
SYDNovember 21, 2015 / 3:26 pm
I think they’re just friends! Stranger things have happened! I can’t stop watching!
Transentence you are my hero. I was thinking rabies or Ninjavitosis mouseicalious
CatwhispererNovember 21, 2015 / 7:10 pm
Nicely done, Faye.
FayeNovember 21, 2015 / 9:36 pm
?
Lucy's MomNovember 21, 2015 / 4:28 pm
“I’z a lover, not a fighter.”
Phred's MomNovember 21, 2015 / 6:28 pm
Transentence is right. This is not, repeat, not normal mouse
behavior. Mousie even went after the hoomin making the
vid. It is not playing, it is attacking, defending itself from
perceived threat. Not cute, sad.
I think that “Cute or Sad” is a personal decision that I will leave to you, the readers. I will say that I’m grateful for the additional information that’s been brought in here, and yeah, a little sorry that something that made me giggle turned out to have a downside. But we’ll have fresh cuteness tomorrow, I promise.
beemousedNovember 21, 2015 / 7:33 pm
Transentence, thank you for the info. I agree with NTMTOM–it was so cute and made me smile, but sorry for the poor mousie to be ill.
SYDNovember 21, 2015 / 10:41 pm
Even if it’s not “normal”, they both look pretty happy, so I’m going for cute!
Toxoplasmosis in action. One of those weird diseases (like rabies) that affects brains and behavior. It makes mice lose their fear of cats – so they’ll be eaten and pass the parasite to the next host. And in infected people it’s associated with schizophrenia and increased risk-taking.
Transentence, you are now officially That Person.
Yeah, Debbie Downer…. What are you doing for Thanksgiving? Can I come? Have you heard about salmonella in turkey stuffing?
I don’t see you as a Debbie Downer at all. I see you as a person who knows a LOT of stuff and is able to express it terms I can understand. So thank you. 🙂
Yup, I was totally impressed.
Ahh! I wondered if it was something like that. Thanks!
I love learning about new things like this. The Wikipedia article on this notes that exposure to cat feces is one cause of transmission. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxoplasmosis
I meant to post this link: http://www.nature.com/news/parasite-makes-mice-lose-fear-of-cats-permanently-1.13777
I heard a great RadioLab story about toxoplasmosis and I’ve been fascinated ever since. Didn’t mean to be That Person. More like, Oh cool, I’ve heard about that, and here it is!
That person is a smart informative person.
? The More You Know…?
I’M glad to know what caused this, cos that is some wildly aberrant behavior! At first I thought it was cute–little ninja mouse!–but when he didn’t escape after the cat left it became worrisome.
Transentence thank you for the scoop on the li’l maniac mousie. I was wondering why he was behaving like that…especially when he went after the person filming. Great to learn new things!
I think they’re just friends! Stranger things have happened! I can’t stop watching!
Transentence you are my hero. I was thinking rabies or Ninjavitosis mouseicalious
Nicely done, Faye.
?
“I’z a lover, not a fighter.”
Transentence is right. This is not, repeat, not normal mouse
behavior. Mousie even went after the hoomin making the
vid. It is not playing, it is attacking, defending itself from
perceived threat. Not cute, sad.
Is this our first is it Cute or Sad?
I’ll vote for animal biology in action.
I think that “Cute or Sad” is a personal decision that I will leave to you, the readers. I will say that I’m grateful for the additional information that’s been brought in here, and yeah, a little sorry that something that made me giggle turned out to have a downside. But we’ll have fresh cuteness tomorrow, I promise.
Transentence, thank you for the info. I agree with NTMTOM–it was so cute and made me smile, but sorry for the poor mousie to be ill.
Even if it’s not “normal”, they both look pretty happy, so I’m going for cute!
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