Cats and Mice

Cats love to chase (and sometimes kill) mice. That's a given, and something that most people do not find too alarming. In fact, people in many countries still utilize "barn cats" to dispatch unwanted rodents - a win-win situation for all parties (except the rodents). The cats have plenty of food available, and the farmer is assured of grain bins undisturbed by hungry mice. A perfect scenario, eh?

Almost. In addition to barn cats, many suburban indoor-outdoor kitties will occasionally bring home a small kill to proudly display, which we humans (depending on our constitutions) might or might not allow him to eat. If not, we might be tempted to just pick it up by the tail and dispose of it in the trash container, or down the toilet. The problem is that, depending on the region, those little mice may be loaded with a variety of "nasties," that neither you nor your cats want to encounter. Romeo, the cat pictured here, was infected with toxoplasmosis twice, after catching and eating mice. The toxoplasmosis led to uvitis, which in turn led to glaucoma. Romeo is now an indoors-only cat as a result of this chain of events. Although most cats are exposed to toxoplasmosis at one time or another, the usual reaction is mild. However, Romeo's experience underscores the potential deadliness of this organism. Another case in point:

The Dreaded Hantavirus

In May of 1993, a new hantavirus, Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) was identified in New Mexico, after forty-two people were infected, with eleven fatalities. Since that time, the new strain has been discovered in other parts of the U.S., with various rodents, including the common house mouse (Mus musculus) acting as hosts, and the incidence of disease in humans has become widespread. Several other hantaviruses that affect humans exist worldwide, and have been found responsible for outbreaks of hantavirus among animal caretakers and laboratory workers in Korea, China, Japan, Scandinavia, the U.K., France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and the former Soviet Union.