As we know, the cat can cause an often very mild disease: toxoplasmosis. But what we learned Fanny Agostini Monday, is that the parasite which is responsible, Toxoplasma, is able to change the behavior of mice to achieve its ends and reach the feline.
Fanny, confinement is conducive to observing the behavior of his pets. And you have noticed something surprising in your cat.
Even improbable. An almost unnatural phenomenon, which is one of these ingenious extravagances of the living. Have you ever heard of mice that throw themselves into the mouth of their worst enemy, the cat? The cat, which is the natural predator of rodents who have learned to fear and flee from it during evolution. But then, what is the reason that drives mice to suicide by causing them to violate what their instincts dictate to them?
You have discovered that it comes from a parasite.
The tiny Toxoplasma, indirectly known by the disease it causes: toxoplasmosis. Very often benign, toxoplasmosis can nevertheless develop in many species, including humans. Its peculiarity is that in order to generate offspring, the Toxoplasma has no other choice than to find the ideal and definitive host which will provide it with the right conditions for reproduction. And this host is the cat, because its intestine meets all the requirements of the small parasite which can then develop there.
So if I understood correctly, finding a cat is an essential quest for the survival of this parasite. But what does this have to do with mice?
The Toxoplasma has the incredible power to manipulate minds. It is able to modify the behavior of mice to get closer to the cat. When a mouse is infected with Toxoplasma, it will block the chemical mechanisms that generate a fear reaction, and heighten the rodent's curiosity. Instead of instinctively fleeing in the presence of a cat, the parasitized mouse will develop an irresistible attraction for the predator. Once devoured by the cat, the mouse will release the parasite, which can this time colonize the cat.
Regarding humans, we know that more than one in three people in the world is a carrier of the parasite. This raises the question of our irrepressible attraction for domestic felines. Wouldn't we be piloted, just like mice are? To meditate.