Please don't flush your cat poop - Toxoplasmosis and Sea Otters

I just came across this article on Feline Pine's website and am going to
stop flushing my kitty poop, even though I'm nowhere near California. If
Toxoplasmosis harms Sea Otters, I would guess it's a problem for other
water critters.

http://www.naturesearth.com/specialalert.html

Dear Cat Owners,

Nature's Earth has recently become aware of a serious health threat to
sea otters living off the coast of California, caused by improper
disposal of cat waste. As a company rooted in the mission of cat health
and environmental responsibility, we feel we need to help educate the
public.

Most domestic cats carry a parasite called Toxoplasmosis Gondii (TG).
Traditionally, TG has only been a concern for pregnant women handling the
litter box (click here for more info). TG has no effect on other family
members, including cats, dogs or other pets. However, research has found
that TG is making its way to our oceans by way of toilets and storm
drains.

TG can survive the sewage treatment process and flow freely into the
ocean along with otherwise clean treated water. Shockingly, TG is to
blame for nearly 20% of all sea otter deaths today. The State of
California has already passed a law requiring citizens to properly
dispose of cat feces in the trash, with hefty fines for non-compliance.
Pressure is being applied to other coastal communities, both east and
west, to do the same.

While Feline Pine and other alternative cat litter varieties are
flushable, and while that aspect may seem convenient to cat owners, we at
Nature's Earth strongly urge our customers to dispose of their cat's
feces in the garbage-especially if you live in a coastal community.

We believe that our customers deserve the facts about TG. Currently, we
are in the process of changing all of our packaging to include this new
warning. By making this one small adjustment to our cat-care routines, we
can help save the lives of innocent marine life and preserve this
environment we all enjoy.

Sincerely,
Nature's Earth Products, Inc.

--
Lynne

On Apr 9, 9:27 pm, Lynne wrote:
I just came across this article on Feline Pine's website and am going to
stop flushing my kitty poop, even though I'm nowhere near California. If
Toxoplasmosis harms Sea Otters, I would guess it's a problem for other
water critters.

http://www.naturesearth.com/specialalert.html

Dear Cat Owners,

Nature's Earth has recently become aware of a serious health threat to
sea otters living off the coast of California, caused by improper
disposal of cat waste. As a company rooted in the mission of cat health
and environmental responsibility, we feel we need to help educate the
public.

Most domestic cats carry a parasite called Toxoplasmosis Gondii (TG).
Traditionally, TG has only been a concern for pregnant women handling the
litter box (click here for more info). TG has no effect on other family
members, including cats, dogs or other pets. However, research has found
that TG is making its way to our oceans by way of toilets and storm
drains.

TG can survive the sewage treatment process and flow freely into the
ocean along with otherwise clean treated water. Shockingly, TG is to
blame for nearly 20% of all sea otter deaths today. The State of
California has already passed a law requiring citizens to properly
dispose of cat feces in the trash, with hefty fines for non-compliance.
Pressure is being applied to other coastal communities, both east and
west, to do the same.

While Feline Pine and other alternative cat litter varieties are
flushable, and while that aspect may seem convenient to cat owners, we at
Nature's Earth strongly urge our customers to dispose of their cat's
feces in the garbage-especially if you live in a coastal community.

We believe that our customers deserve the facts about TG. Currently, we
are in the process of changing all of our packaging to include this new
warning. By making this one small adjustment to our cat-care routines, we
can help save the lives of innocent marine life and preserve this
environment we all enjoy.

Sincerely,
Nature's Earth Products, Inc.

--
Lynne

So are they going to have toilet police lurking in the sewers to catch
people flushing cat poop?

"Lynne" wrote in message
m...
I just came across this article on Feline Pine's website/////SNIP//////


take this ****** to alt.cat.****

On 9 Apr 2007 20:05:28 -0700, wrote:

TG can survive the sewage treatment process

No, it CAN'T survive PROPER sewage treatment.

Almost certainly, all of the toxoplasmosis is entering the sea otter's
environment through storm water runoff.

That would be from feral cats. Not properly cared for pet cats.

Very few indoor pet cats carry toxoplasmosis.

"The sky is falling"

Puh-leeze!!!

On Apr 9, 11:05 pm, wrote:
On Apr 9, 9:27 pm, Lynne wrote:





I just came across this article on Feline Pine's website and am going to
stop flushing my kitty poop, even though I'm nowhere near California. If
Toxoplasmosis harms Sea Otters, I would guess it's a problem for other
water critters.

http://www.naturesearth.com/specialalert.html

Dear Cat Owners,

Nature's Earth has recently become aware of a serious health threat to
sea otters living off the coast of California, caused by improper
disposal of cat waste. As a company rooted in the mission of cat health
and environmental responsibility, we feel we need to help educate the
public.

Most domestic cats carry a parasite called Toxoplasmosis Gondii (TG).
Traditionally, TG has only been a concern for pregnant women handling the
litter box (click here for more info). TG has no effect on other family
members, including cats, dogs or other pets. However, research has found
that TG is making its way to our oceans by way of toilets and storm
drains.

TG can survive the sewage treatment process and flow freely into the
ocean along with otherwise clean treated water. Shockingly, TG is to
blame for nearly 20% of all sea otter deaths today. The State of
California has already passed a law requiring citizens to properly
dispose of cat feces in the trash, with hefty fines for non-compliance.
Pressure is being applied to other coastal communities, both east and
west, to do the same.

While Feline Pine and other alternative cat litter varieties are
flushable, and while that aspect may seem convenient to cat owners, we at
Nature's Earth strongly urge our customers to dispose of their cat's
feces in the garbage-especially if you live in a coastal community.

We believe that our customers deserve the facts about TG. Currently, we
are in the process of changing all of our packaging to include this new
warning. By making this one small adjustment to our cat-care routines, we
can help save the lives of innocent marine life and preserve this
environment we all enjoy.

Sincerely,
Nature's Earth Products, Inc.

--
Lynne

So are they going to have toilet police lurking in the sewers to catch
people flushing cat poop?- Hide quoted text -

I can't quite see how you come up with that out of a commercial
company's own advice to its own customers about how to properly
dispose of their product once it's used. No police, no government
entities, not even any interest groups--just the company itself,
making a suggestion to its customers.

Lis

On Apr 10, 2:21 am, (Gandalf) wrote:
On 9 Apr 2007 20:05:28 -0700, wrote:

TG can survive the sewage treatment process

No, it CAN'T survive PROPER sewage treatment.

Almost certainly, all of the toxoplasmosis is entering the sea otter's
environment through storm water runoff.

That would be from feral cats. Not properly cared for pet cats.

Very few indoor pet cats carry toxoplasmosis.

"The sky is falling"

Puh-leeze!!!

Many cats that are _now_ properly cared-for indoor cats were
previously homeless strays and may well carry toxoplasmosis. I got
toxo from one of my shelter rescues; I have other friends who've had
the same experience. This is not a serious problem for healthy adult
humans; it's apparently more of a problem for sea otters (and as Lynne
says, likely other water mammals as well.) It may not be a concern
that's worth a great deal of trouble--but putting used litter into the
trash rather than the toilet is hardly "a great deal of trouble."

Lis

on Tue, 10 Apr 2007 06:21:35 GMT, (Gandalf) wrote:

No, it CAN'T survive PROPER sewage treatment.

Almost certainly, all of the toxoplasmosis is entering the sea otter's
environment through storm water runoff.

You'd think, but apparently that isn't the case. I thought it was a
little strange that toxoplasmosis could survive proper sewage
treatment... the operative word being proper (as you well know). After
doing some research, I learned that there is at least one wastewater
treatment plant in California that is NOT properly treating sewage.
There may be more, but I didn't dig very deep. The Morro Bay sewage
treatment plant is pumping virtually raw sewage into the ocean, and it's
apparently operating under some kind of waiver to be able to continue to
do so. So not flushing cat poop in California is a very good idea,
though I can't imagine they will actually police it.

They should fix the friggen treatment plants already. There is a huge
push for this all over the country, BTW, with billions of dollars being
spent by munincipalities to build and/or upgrade wastewater treatment
plants (the company I work for is involved in this). Hell, until very
recently, there were raw sewage pipes that fed directly into the Ohio
River! It wasn't legal, but it was not uncommon.

--
Lynne

on Tue, 10 Apr 2007 13:07:20 GMT, "Lis" wrote:

Many cats that are _now_ properly cared-for indoor cats were
previously homeless strays and may well carry toxoplasmosis.

And a great many people have indoor-outdoor cats who carry toxoplasmosis.

I got
toxo from one of my shelter rescues; I have other friends who've had
the same experience.

I have friends who have had the same experience as well.

This is not a serious problem for healthy adult
humans; it's apparently more of a problem for sea otters (and as Lynne
says, likely other water mammals as well.) It may not be a concern
that's worth a great deal of trouble--but putting used litter into the
trash rather than the toilet is hardly "a great deal of trouble."

Well said.

--
Lynne

On Apr 10, 8:07 am, "Lis" wrote:
On Apr 10, 2:21 am, (Gandalf) wrote:





On 9 Apr 2007 20:05:28 -0700, wrote:

TG can survive the sewage treatment process

No, it CAN'T survive PROPER sewage treatment.

Almost certainly, all of the toxoplasmosis is entering the sea otter's
environment through storm water runoff.

That would be from feral cats. Not properly cared for pet cats.

Very few indoor pet cats carry toxoplasmosis.

"The sky is falling"

Puh-leeze!!!

Many cats that are _now_ properly cared-for indoor cats were
previously homeless strays and may well carry toxoplasmosis. I got
toxo from one of my shelter rescues; I have other friends who've had
the same experience. This is not a serious problem for healthy adult
humans; it's apparently more of a problem for sea otters (and as Lynne
says, likely other water mammals as well.) It may not be a concern
that's worth a great deal of trouble--but putting used litter into the
trash rather than the toilet is hardly "a great deal of trouble."

Lis- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Your toilet will probably thank you anyway. I've never flushed cat
poop. Over time, the amount of litter
stuck to it builds up and septic system problems are an expensive
nightmare. Even though some
litter is flushable now, it's not that big a deal to dispose of it
elsewhere and I'm not taking chances.
That's sad about the sea otters. It made me think of the zillions of
stray wharf cats we saw on
vacation, who probably defecate on the beach and are a signficant
contribution to the
problem also.

Sherry

"Sherry" wrote
Your toilet will probably thank you anyway. I've never flushed cat
poop. Over time, the amount of litter
stuck to it builds up and septic system problems are an expensive
nightmare.

Yeah, our house is 50 years old, I never flush litter even when it says
I can. This place is expensive enough to take care of, I don't need
extra plumbing jobs. And we're on the municipal sewerage system,
I imagine when you aren't you might be in for even worse problems.