The dirt on ‘Toxo’: Why your garden isn’t a cat’s public privy

Question:

My daughter is an avid gardener. Local cats are attracted to her vegetable garden and use it as their litter box. I am concerned about her contracting toxoplasmosis. She wears gloves.

Dr. Nichol:

Your daughter is practicing safe gardening. Toxoplasmosis is a common single-cell (protozoan) parasite of warm-blooded species including dogs and humans but only cats can support its reproduction. Most infected kitties recover completely with treatment.

“Toxo” should not be taken lightly; it’s the leading cause of death from foodborne illness in the United States. There’s nothing new about it. Free-roaming cats have helped themselves to their neighbors’ vegetable patches since the dawn of agriculture, believing that the soft earth we cultivate is our way of welcoming them to a pristine public privy. Don’t expect a tip; they’re entitled.

Pregnant women and those with compromised immune systems (HIV/AIDS) face the greatest risk. If an expectant mother gets infected, her child could suffer blindness or mental disabilities later in life. Wearing gloves and washing hands and vegetables before meals would be good hygiene for anybody. Women living with indoor cats, who find themselves in a family way, should ask their good man to empty the litter pans. Toxoplasma cysts (eggs) take 1-5 days to become infective. The whole family will be safer if the feline loo is cleaned on a daily basis. I’ve enjoyed job security as designated pooper scooper since the earliest days of my fatherhood.

Cats are obligate carnivores. If you study their natural food preparation methods you won’t see them searing or sauteing their kills. Rodents are consumed raw, sort of like oysters. If kitties pan-fried or baked mice and rats before feasting, there would be no toxoplasmosis because heating destroys the cysts. If you are a human, intent on adopting a feline diet, I advise boiling varmints before snacking.

Takeaways from today’s lesson: Raw diets for pets can be dangerous but forget teaching your cat to cook. They don’t want to be like us anyway. Adding a dog of any size can discourage visits from the unhoused feline population. Booby traps, like a motion-activated animal deterrent, would effectively drive unwelcome poopers to someone else’s yard while providing entertainment for your long-suffering daughter.

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For help with behavior problems, you can sign-up for a Zoom Group Conference on my website, drjeffnichol.com.

Dr. Jeff Nichol is a residency-trained veterinary behaviorist in Albuquerque. He provides consultations by Zoom group and individually/in-person. Sign up for his weekly blog or post questions (drjeffnichol.com) or by US Post to 4000 Montgomery Blvd. NE, Albuq, NM 87109.