kitty can transmit mind control amoeba https://www.businessinsider.com/toxoplasma-gondii-the-cat-brain-parasite-2015-1
I had a 'pet' water moccasin when I was 14 until my Canadian stepdad figured out what it was "What kind of snake is that you got out in the shed eh?" I told him it was a harmless, banded water snake. He said 'well, it sure looks mean''. lol He went in my room and found a field guide and eventually figured it out. So i'm holding the snake with my homemade noose on a stick, against a plywood board. He was shaking so bad it took him several swings with the axe to finally connect.