To those unfamiliar with the challenges faced by sea otters, perhaps the most curious provision in AB2485 is a requirement that cat litter sold in California contain a statement to discourage flushing the litter down the toilet.
Recent research has shown that a parasite in cat feces is one of the primary killers of sea otters. The parasite, toxoplasma gondii, may find its way to the ocean -- and to sea otters -- when cat feces are flushed.
Between 1998 and 2004, 52 percent of dead sea otters found on the beach and 38 percent of live sea otters along the California coast were infected by the parasite, according to a paper published last year in the International Journal for Parasitology. In 17 percent of dead otters examined by the state Department of Fish and Game, the parasite was the primary cause of death.
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Why not accompany your story with ways people can help. How are you trying to educate people if all you do is post every anti-cat article you find?
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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 polution of ground water.) I have a small covered 5-gallon pail, lined with a plastic liner, which I use to hold the daily scoopings. The cover holds in any odor, and it's a simple process to remove and tie the bag every few days for disposal. I spray the empty pail with Petrotech Odor Removal before putting in a new plastic liner. The scoop fits right inside the can for easy storage.
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 T. gondii 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 T gondii parasite, it will prevent further spread through their feces. If they are not carriers, it will help them from acquiring the parasite.
As a cat lover as well as a lover of all animal life, it will be interesting to learn what develops as the researchers dig further into the evidence. This whole subject is of close personal interest to me. We live "on the water," and our storm drain drains directly into the bay behind us, which eventually drains into the San Francisco Bay. We have two charming river otters (pictured above) who cavort on and around on our dock on occasion, giving us great entertainment and joy. It would be horrifying to learn that they, too, could become sick because of the runoff from our neighborhood.
From (http://cats.about.com/cs/parasiticdisease/a/seaotters_2.htm)
Your suggestions seem responsible, until I recall those 300 feral cats you claim to have abandoned into the wild to kill or be killed again.
Where are they depositing their feces and urine, in a child's sandbox, perhaps, or a neighbor's vegetable garden?
Well they're certainly not flushing them down the toilet.
You continue to have your blinders on to the fact that many were removed and put into homes and in a few years many will have lived their lives.
I could just as easily "abandon" them and they would continue to eat and poop. Now they can't reproduce in-between bowel movements.
Our ancestors started this and we'll correct it with compassion.
Well they're certainly not flushing them down the toilet.
No they are not, and you are responsible for where they are pissing and shitting, whether it is a child's sandbox, a neighbor's vegetable garden or in their car.
You continue to have your blinders on to the fact that many were removed and put into homes and in a few years many will have lived their lives.
I have told you repeatedly I have no problem with the ones you place, as long as the owners agree to keep them indoors, but the others should never be abandoned!
I could just as easily "abandon" them and they would continue to eat and poop. Now they can't reproduce in-between bowel movements.
No, but they can sure eat our fauna like crazy, or be ripped in half by dogs and would not had you turned them in!
Our ancestors started this and we'll correct it with compassion.
Where's your compassion for our fauna God/nature put into our ecology, and your fellow man whose ecology you choose to pollute?
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