# My co-worker's 50 cats and Giardia

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-workers-50-cats-and-giardia/490784>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [March 25, 2009, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-workers-50-cats-and-giardia/490784 "2009-03-25T20:27:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![troub](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troub/32/14802_2.png) [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-workers-50-cats-and-giardia/490784/41 "2009-03-28T02:14:56Z")

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I just have a hard time seeing how a Giardia problem can be resolved if the cats can go in and out. Whomever upthread said that they probably picked it up from a water source outside and will keep picking it up is probably right on. Any water that those cats have access to outside, the sick ones will taint that source. Best of luck to her, but damn. I have 3 cats (not exactly my choice) and it’s about 2 too many in my opinion. Even just 3 can get things filthy really quickly.

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**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-workers-50-cats-and-giardia/490784/42 "2009-03-28T12:04:44Z")

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> [@troub](#):
>
> I just have a hard time seeing how a Giardia problem can be resolved if the cats can go in and out. Whomever upthread said that they probably picked it up from a water source outside and will keep picking it up is probably right on. Any water that those cats have access to outside, the sick ones will taint that source. Best of luck to her, but damn. I have 3 cats (not exactly my choice) and it’s about 2 too many in my opinion. Even just 3 can get things filthy really quickly.

I agree. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t know where the source is, so there will be repeated infections unless she keeps all of them in the house. I just don’t see that happening.

I’d delve into this in more detail with her if our relationship was different. But she’s a gazillion miles away and obviously, there are different standards in Brazil (or someone would have taken the cats and put her in a rubber room by now). I hope all of them emerge unscathed.

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**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-workers-50-cats-and-giardia/490784/43 "2009-03-28T20:55:48Z")

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I always figured a microbe that looked like [this](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Giardia_lamblia.png) had to be bad news.

As a pathologist who sees lots of small bowel biopsies I always look for Giardia, and it’s unnerving when you see them looking back at you.

Omigod, they’ve infected the smilies! :eek:

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