Hi, I'm Alice. ShawnGBR's cat. Meow, Kossacks.
I'm proud to say that I am not an otter killer. But many cats are, and it's easy to make sure your cat doesn't end up wiping out a special marine mammal.
How to prevent your kitty from being a killer, below the fold (wow, this keyboard is really difficult with paws...)
It started in 2003, when a large number of sea otters were found dead on California beaches and scientists didn't know why...
'We have had other times when mortality was high, but we attributed it to various things, and it tapered off,' said Greg Sanders, the southern sea otter recovery coordinator for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 'But at this point we are breaking all previous records and we have not found a pattern.'
State and federal officials are so concerned that on Monday they asked a federal panel of scientists to help determine if an 'unusual mortality event' should be declared, an official designation that would make money and other resources available to study the possible causes.
The scientists did their studies, and found a link: Toxoplasma gondii.
T.gondii, as some of you may know, is the little protozoan that lives in my poo, and can cause Toxoplasmosis. Pregnant women should never empty my cat box (which is probably the lame-ass reason that ShawnGBR gets to empty it. Mwhuhuhuhahaha!).
Here's how it works. Cats are the only creature that can shed the T.gondii parasite, in their feces, and there are many ways this cat poo can get into the ocean. Once there, the T.gondii oocysts get collected in all those bivalve mollusks (cockles) that filter-feed in the ocean. Sea otters eat the mollusks and die a horrible death as the T.gondii swells their brains.
So, what can fellow cat owners do to prevent this? Here are some good words of advice for anyone that owns a cat:
While cat owners are intensely defensive at any suggestion that our cats can cause ecological problems, we need to accept the facts when it becomes apparent that there is a problem. Scientists and researchers are exploring broader solutions to the threats to marine life, including finding solid scientific data that their preliminary findings are correct. They are aware that global solutions are going to be tremendously expensive, such as finding better ways to process sewage and water runoff, and they want to be absolutely sure of their findings, before lobbying for these solutions.
In the meantime, assuming those findings are on target, responsible cat owners can do a number of things to help mitigate this potential marine ecology disaster:
1. Don't Flush: Even if you use a "flushable litter," dispose of used litter, including feces and clumps by placing it in a plastic bag, tying tightly, and putting it in the garbage can (land wastes, where your garbage will end, are covered with soil and have membranes to prevent pollution of ground water).
2. Don't Compost: Your state-of-the-art litter may advertise that used litter can be mixed with garden soil, composted, or used as a "top dressing." Don't fall for this easy disposal. Surface runoff could carry the parasite right into your storm drain. Instead, dispose as in #1.
3. Don't Hose it Down: If you should find cat feces on your lawn or in your garden, resist the temptation to hose it out into the storm drain. Pick it up with a plastic baggy over your hand and dispose of properly.
4. Keep Your Cats Indoors: If they are carriers of the parasite, it will prevent further spread through their feces. If they are not carriers, it will help them from acquiring the parasite.
This has been scientific knowledge for a few years now, but not everyone is au fait with every new discovery. Especially when it comes to their pet's crap. It recently made it into the West Hollywood News, but I wanted to bring it to everyone's attention. A 2006 report from the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association calculated how much Number Two was generated by cats in an area with where they asked 294 adult residents (thanks, buddabelly).
The region's cat population was estimated at 7,284 owned and 2,046 feral cats, and 38% of surveyed households owned a mean of 1.9 cats/household. Forty-four percent of cats defecated outside >75% of the time. Annual fecal deposition (wet weight) by owned cats in the 3 communities was estimated to be 77.6 [metric] tonnes (76.4 tons).
Over 75 tons of prime real estate for the Toxoplasma gondii from this one small sample area. Multiply that by the population of the country.
So please: don't flush, wrap it up, throw it out, and keep me in. And you too could help save the sea otter from extinction.
Thank you, Kossac--
...wait, is that a dust bunny? Hell's teeth, it is! Excuse me, won't you, but I have to go pounce on something...