Why Cat Poop is Bad News for Sea Otters

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/47928

From: Alicia Graef, Care2, More from this Affiliate
Published October 13, 2014 09:19 AM

A parasite spread by cat poop is causing a big problem for endangered sea otters in California, and researchers have finally figured out how.

Sea otters were nearly wiped out by the fur trade at one point, but they've been slowly making a comeback thanks to conservation efforts and protection under the Endangered Species Act. While they're on the road to recovery the latest numbers from the U.S. Geological Survey released last month shows they're population growth has stalled, with the biggest issue being that they're dying in record numbers.

Scientists believe the losses could be due to a number of factors that include a lack of food, pollution, parasitic worms, toxic algal blooms and shark bites, but another threat to their survival is Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that only reproduces in cat species, including house cats. According to the Sea Otter Alliance, an estimated 17 percent of sea otters are dying from a brain disease that it causes.

While scientists have known this is a problem for sea otters, they didn't know exactly how a land-based parasite was infecting them in the water until now. Building on previous research that found T. gondii infections were more common in sea otters who ate marine snails than those who ate abalone or other foods, researchers from the University of California, Davis started exploring the link.

FULL story at link.

[kestrel91316]

1. We've known about this for years in the veterinary community.

One more reason to keep kitties indoors and not feed ferals (which guarantees much more successful reproduction).

[yallerdawg]

3. What else do you vets know?

All we generally hear is for pregnant women not to mess with cat litter (poop) because of these parasites.

What else are you not sharing with us?

[kestrel91316]

5. We know lots. But when we post it here on DU we get called liars and idiots.

[yallerdawg]

9. I hear you - well, not literally, of course.

As you well know, being in the vet world, a nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse, right?

[MicaelS]

11. Doncha know...the Professionals don't know anything.

That why otherwise "educated" people swallow the anti-vax crap.

[ZombieHorde]

29. You're a vet?

I want to ask you a question, but it will derail the thread. Check your PM.

[MicaelS]

4. Don't feed ferals.... oh shit...

You just set off a shit storm with that comment. I agree with you,, but prepare to be pilloried for that one.

[kestrel91316]

6. Oh I know. There's a very good reason why I generally stay very far away from the Pets Forum here.

[joeybee12]

8. Stupid idea...

feed the ferals and get them fixed...they're essentially still domesticated animals...glad to know you support animal abuse...ignore.

[kestrel91316]

13. Letting feral cats go to some other house for food is only animal abuse if you're the one

who abandoned them in the first place.

But thanks for letting me know right up front you are one of THOSE people, lol.

IMHO the animal abuse is knowingly letting nonnative domestic felids roam outdoors spreading fatal diseases to endangered native species.

[kestrel91316]

15. I only support trap/neuter/rehome indoors only.

TNR is animal abandonment as far as I'm concerned. Even if you make a pretense of caring for them by putting food out.

[dbackjon]

17. No that is the worst thing you can do

Cats should only be indoors except on a leash

Trap neuter release is a failure any rational person knows that

[tblue37]

35. On July 2 this year I adopted a TNR kitty who had been hanging around my apartment for months.

I had tried to lure him in when the weather was nasty, but he wouldn't let me get close. I was annoyed that whoever owned him was letting him out in bad weather.

When I finally managed to get him inside, I still assumed he was a stray and spent a lot of time after bringing him into my home trying to find out whom he belonged to. I intended to talk to them about proper care of a pet cat--and to offer to take him off their hands if the didn't really care much about him.

But when I called the shelter to describe him in case anyone had reported their cat missing, they told me that he must be a feral cat. I'd assumed he had a home because he is neutered, but when I mentioned that his right ear has a notch in it, the shelter lady told me that was a standard marker for a TNR cat.

So I immediately took him to the vet for an exam, treatment for parasites, and his first round of shots. My 3 girl kitties were not thrilled to have this young boy cat introduced into their home, but they've accepted him now, and my youngest (Lucy, a 4-year-old) has been gradually inviting him to play for real. He is about 2 years old, and he also would like to play with Lucy, but they are still being very tentative in their approaches. Sometimes they do playfully chase each other around for a while, but more often, an approach by one leads to a tail-switching standoff.

I figure that after 2 years on his own Tico will need extra time to fully trust other cats. He is a handsome, solid black Siamese mix. He's very playful and affectionate with me, but he is still leery of other people and still nervous about being approached by my 3 girl cats, especially since the oldest (and by far the *smallest*) one is, despite her diminutive stature, a bit of a bully, always thumping the other cats to remind them who is the dominant member of the pride.

[alp227]

10. And what about mountain lions, whose waste ends up in the waters too? nt

[kestrel91316]

14. I'm not aware of any evidence that mountain lions have anything to do with Toxoplasma transmission.

Or other native felids for that matter. Though if you have a link I'd be interested.

Felis domesticus is the primary host. Rats, mice, certain avians are prey species that pick it up in the environment and then pass it back to cats. Livestock easily pick it up when cats roam farms, and from there it gets into people (cats only rarely give it directly to people). Otters are accidental hosts and it's devastating to them.

[yallerdawg]

18. Rarely gets into people?

In this form of transmission -- is this from us eating the infected livestock, and rarely eating cats?

[kestrel91316]

21. Rarely from cat poop. Yep. Believe it or not, there is no statistical

correlation between toxoplasma infection in humans and contact with cats. There is a very high correlation with consumption of incompletely cooked meat or contact with contaminated soil (ie vegetable gardens that cats poop in).

Which does NOT mean that women looking to get pregnant or who are pregnant can afford to be careless. The risk is there, but somehow American women manage to avoid getting it that way. Many of our cats are housecats with no exposure to Toxo hence they can't spread it to anyone.

[alp227]

24. Sea Otter research says all feline species have toxoplasmosis transmission.

http://seaotterresearch.org/resources.shtml

Even though lots of animals, including birds, have Toxoplasma, only cats – pet cats, feral cats, mountain lion, bobcats -- shed Toxoplasma “eggs” in their poop. They can shed millions of “eggs” for 7-14 days the first time they get infected with Toxoplasma (and they usually get infected only once in their lives). The “eggs” live in the soil and water, are spread by earthworms, flies and beetles, and are picked up by other animals.Cats pick up Toxoplasma when they eat small wild animals. The parasites spread throughout the body to places like the lung, eye and brain, and remain in the body for a long time.

This is an academic website run by the University of CA.

[kestrel91316]

33. Not surprising. I actually listened to a podcast on

This Week in Parasitsm recently that said that. But the recent major increase in the problem IS thought to be linked to major increases in feral cat populations in the watershed.

[Scootaloo]

28. Well, seeing as mountain lions are a little rarer than feral cats...

And tend ot not exist so close in proximity to waterways, and don't have hteir poop flushed by humans,, and aren't an introduced species in the first place...

You're like a climate denier asking about elephant farts, man. Think.

[davidpdx]

27. I didn't know that about cat poop and also about feeding feral cats

Our cats are indoor and both rescue cats. My wife insists on feeding the feral cats and I've tried to get her to stop. I'm not sure what else to say to her that will make sure stop. I worry that one of these cats might approach her and misunderstand what she is doing and attack. Our second cat was one she rescued off the street while I was out of the country and I wasn't too happy about that. I told her if she did it again, she'd have to find a place to live with any cat that wasn't initially ours (which is the one). I wouldn't give him up.

[Inkfreak]

31. I agree...but

I know, I know..there's alwsys some pain in the ass poster with a "but". Here's mine:

Mr Butters came to us one night as we left the bar late at night about 7-8 years ago. Just jumped right in the car. Big street tabby. Some investigating proved he was a city stray. We kept him and took him to the vets.

He won't stay inside. I have no clue if he was born outside & lived his life out. Or he just lives the rural setting now. But he is out all the time unless it's winter. He hates the cold. And keeping him indoors creates havoc because he beats up our other cat and dogs. He's a mean lil shit but he's super lovable to us.

Anywho, like I told our vet. We tried but can't this be that special case?? Thanks for being a vet, btw. You're all special folks for healing/helping our precious animals.

[IADEMO2004]

2. Cat poop post is the thanks DU gets for you current #1 Omaha Steve greatest thread status????

hahahahahahahhahaha

[Omaha Steve]

7. YEP!

[Major Hogwash]

12. Sounds like a Seinfeld episode.

it's just too weird not to be true.

[Liberal_in_LA]

16. awww. stop picking on cats

[panader0]

19. Cat poop ruined my roof!

Seriously, I had a cat that would go up on the roof, second story, and poop. I didn't catch it at first, but when I went up there I cleaned up several piles. The acidic content in the poop and pee eroded my 90 weight tar paper. Not kidding. I had a few leaks. Dammit!

[kestrel91316]

22. More likely a raccoon, and raccoon latrines are major sources of

the very nasty and dangerous-to-normal-healthy-adult-humans raccoon roundworm, Baylisascaris.

[yallerdawg]

20. Worried about some other strange infection or disease?

Sea otters seem pretty useless anyway?

Are you a paranoid hypochondriac?

Don't click on this link: http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/

[kestrel91316]

23. Hey, now. That's MY job, creeping people out over weird zoonoses.

[betsuni]

25. Those poopy cats otter be ashamed of themselves.

[Aerows]

26. My sweetie

is piled up in a blanket.

[tblue37]

36. That snowy tummy needs petting. nt

[MADem]

30. Ahh....the method of transmission!!

As they noted, coastal contamination is a big problem for both wildlife and us, and T. gondii eggs cells passed on by cat feces can persist in the environment for months to years. We can also be infected when we drink contaminated water or eat undercooked shellfish. In 2006, the state actually passed a law that requires that all cat litter sold in California have a warning label advising cat owners not to dump their pet waste into toilets or storm drains, even if it’s the flushable kind.

Shapiro told TakePart she hopes the study will help us alter our behavior with small changes like keeping cats indoors and putting litter in the trash, instead of burying it or flushing it, and that it will make us rethink dumping trash offshore.



Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/cat-poop-and-slime-are-really-bad-news-for-sea-otters.html#ixzz3Gahe1skk

[kestrel91316]

34. I put my cats' poop in the toilet, but they are adult housecats who

are the least likely in the world to get infected with Toxo and shed it.

Cats only shed Toxo in their feces for a couple of weeks after initial infection. Little known factoid.

[freshwest]

37. More death by modern hygiene! I thought flushing it was a cool idea, but never did it, myself.

Although my 'death by modern hygiene' was in jest, it's the hardiness of the shell that protects the parasite that is the undoing here.

My first thought was, 'Take the cat to the veterinarian to get the problem eliminated at the source,' but some cat owners can't or won't be able to do that.

And the cat is not so much the source, as a carrier. The parasite could be living inside any host, including us smarty pants humans. Pregnant women are warned against litter box duty for this reason.

This is a shame it is so late in getting attention with other scientific studies. It's reported fish and other marine life ingest a lot of caffeine and prescription drugs through urine sent into municipal waste systems. Now we see just how ineffective those can be in such cases, although they work well enough to prevent epidemics.

So, is it time to return to using the outhouse?

That solution can create other problems or so I've heard. I spent an interesting summer with my Cree grandfather deep in the southern woodlands. The path to the double seater was far away from the house in the woods that surrounded his property, far away from the road.

Trees and brush maintained a layer of privacy between him and the rest of the world. He lived in a tiny old house with a wood stove for cooking and heat and grew all his own food in the clearings.

I thought the outhouse odd being a city dweller, but didn't mind. Kids are adaptable. My father in the city had an opinion when I asked what he thought the most important invention was. He responded without a pause'Indoor plumbing.' Yes, we love the porcelain throne, don't we?

IMO, best to get a composting toilet if at all possible. That was always my intention if I moved to the country again. And to use gray water and passive solar applications. All of that is labor intensive. We seem to have found the limit of our cleverness and love of convenience.

In nature, there are neither rewards nor punishments, there are consequences.

~ Robert Green Ingersoll

Every person has free choice. Free to obey or disobey the Natural Laws. Your choice determines the consequences. Nobody ever did, or ever will, escape the consequences of his choices.

~ Alfred A. Montapert

People certainly need to be educated on how the natural world, including things we'd prefer to never think about, work.

[Gothmog]

32. Interesting article

thanks for posting