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Cat bite hand shit that hurts
Cat biting a hand of a person who now has a 50 percent chance of being depressed. (Photo: g_lutsenko/Getty Images)

Cat Bites Linked to Depression

Or are depressed people more likely to own cats?

Published:  Updated: 
Cat bite hand shit that hurts
(Photo: g_lutsenko/Getty Images)

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After studying more than 1.3 million people for 10 years, researchers found that if you are a woman who has been bitten by a cat, there is a 50 percent chance you are also depressed.

The study, published in , does not reveal whether cats are acting aggressively toward people suffering from depression or if depressed people are simply more likely to own felines.

A third option involves a parasite found in cat poop. The culprit, , has the ability to change the chemical makeup of the human brain, causing self-inflicted violence and increased suicide rates, as well as depression in some patients.

Although the jury is still out on the cause behind depressed cat-bite victims, we do know that the bites themselves are extremely dangerous. One clinic reported to the  that out of 193 cat-bite patients, 30 percent had to be hospitalized for three days.

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Lead Photo: g_lutsenko/Getty Images

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