Over the years, pets have become established and indeed play huge roles in the socio-cultural existence of humans. From an earlier role as hunters, guards and invaluable war veterans to the more modern, celebrity status of designer hand poodles and tomcats, pets, especially dogs and cats have indeed become man’s best friends of all times. Their association with the human race has been graced with evidences of a highly developed sense of faith, trust, confidence, loyalty and unwavering love all of which have snowballed into an everlasting bond. However, different societies all over the world differ in the way they view and accept pets. While they are adorable personalities highly regarded and even worshipped in some societies, others, like in Africa maintain a cynical level of appreciation not widely divergent of being ordinary beasts. The household cat comes into focus at this stage.
The occurrence of cats more in the rural areas and villages in Africa, as opposed to in the civilizations of the developed European communities is evident of exactly how it is assessed as a pet. Indeed, most Africans see them as possible embodiment for evil-spirits and some would sooner pray for them to ‘fall-down and die’ than rescue them when in distress. However ,If you do keep cats and for whatever reason, you must be fully aware of some of the risks involved in tending to some of the cuddly needs of these species.
Cats especially are plagued by an organism known as Toxoplasma gondii. This is a protozoan that causes a disease condition known as Toxoplasmosis. This condition causes severe nervous system malfunctioning and respiratory distress. However, the greater danger here is that it is a condition which is transmissible to humans and can cause, most importantly, foetal death and abortion in pregnant women, if and when they come in contact with the infected cat and its faeces. Thus it becomes a matter of severe importance to ensure care and vigilance at all times when pregnant and having cats in the house. Thus, preventive measures like strict hygiene, avoidance of feeding of raw-meat to cats and regular disinfection of cat litter-boxes are of paramount importance.
