Its targets are mice and cats, where the latter are their definite hosts. Infected mice become less careful and thus are more likely to be captured and eaten by cats. The cat eating an infected mouse becomes infected and thus the parasites can mate and reproduce.
We as humans, are sufficiently close to mice to become infected as intermediate hosts, but we are a dead end, as we usually don't end up as our cat's food.

Evolution doesn't have intent. If a mutation doesn't have any significant negative pressure, it can be passed on. So while infecting a human is mostly a dead end, it is an active infection where they successfully reproduce.

There's no end game with people, there's just an end. We're not a suitable host, it's just an unlucky coincidence when they infect us. The creature doesn't ask us to consume it, but we sometimes do anyway, in spite of it.

i thought i saw a mention that it makes rats not afraid of cats, easier to catch. humans might just have similar enough biochemistry to also be affected.

good news is cat ladies are fiesty.

It's either 9D chess from a parasite, or a side effect of the evolutionary proximity and evolved domestication between humans and cats.

There is something to be said for making humans more friendly to feral cats, and of course more-risk taking behavior equals more opportunities for the parasite to be transmitted.

I encourage you to check out the book Parasite Rex by Carl Zimmer if you’re interested in that kind of thing, it’s a very fascinating look at how many different parasites function within their hosts and environment, and how they evolved.

It wants to be in cats.

Humans like cuddling cats.