My friend Andi Self is one of those freakishly smart girls with a degree in anthropology, a minor in psychology, sociology, biology and any other olgy you can think of. When she posted a study from the Centers of Disease Control on her Facebook page, I thought it was a joke, but it’s the perfect example of truth being stranger than fiction.

DISCLAMER: As a responsible journalist (in my own mind) I’m simply reporting the facts. If you feel compelled to write me hate mail, you can stand in line behind all the PETA people who send me nasty emails because I prefer bacon to bean curd.

Okay kitty lovers, prepare to be offended – and don’t say I didn’t warn you. According to estimates from the CDC, more than 60 million people in the United States are infected with a parasite Toxoplasma gondii. This parasite may migrate into the human brain making some people develop an unhealthful attraction to cats and become immune to the smell of cat urine. This explains why some people have one or two cats, and why my Aunt Mildred has 47 felines, and her house smells like it’s filled with Glade’s newest Plug-in, pee-pee scent.

I’m grateful for Andi Self because she finds the most interesting studies and it’s only a matter of time before she posts an article about my parasite -- Toxic-handbag-ia Must-have-ia. It’s migrated to the part of my brain where I’ve developed an unhealthful attraction to cute handbags --  I’ve become immune to how may purses I actually have.  I don’t know if this illness is life threatening, but there’s a good chance one day I’ll open my closet and be smothered to death in a handbag avalanche. I imagine more than 60 million women have the same affliction, so maybe Andi will post this GC study on her Facebook page.

That’s why I’m grateful for Andi Self.