Cat poop

[jamesglewisf]

How dangerous is cat poop? If I have a sandbox in my backyard for my daughter, do I need to keep it covered so that cats don't use it as a litter box? Or is that just being paranoid?

[Karenluvs6]

Oooh..yukky!
anything that smells that strong and nasty, should be avoided.
Actually I think that if a cat went in there, you'd probably know about it. I could be wrong, but I think they would spray there before going to the bathroom in it.
Ya know, like marking territory or something.
Blinc would probably know.......she works with animals.
or maybe Kezzer...hmmm...she knows lots of stuff too.

[blinc]

Actually I don't know that much about it! Well, besides the obvious... like worms. The stuff our rescue team is more worried about is the pollution, natural hazards, etc. from the disasters - more then the animals doing us harm.

Anat would be the best bet for cat info I'm guessing. ;)

[kezzer]

I know it's not good because of worms etc. and I know taxoplasmosis is a problem. (I'm not sure if that's the right spellling though) I would keep the cover on, I do on my childrens sandbox. Besides even if it's not dangerous it's still icky!!!!

[In_His_Shadow]

Cats by nature are very clean animals. Although my cat is indoors and we have an electronic litter box now when my girls were younger there were cats outside from the neighbors. My girls had a sand box and within minutes of us finishing it off with sand the cats were circling.

Female cats don't spray that would be the male cats. But, without a doubt if a cat is in the area he will use the sand box because they like to be able to cover their stuff {toothy} unlike dogs.

As far as diseases go it would be no different than the things you have to worry about with a dog.

We just bought some plastic (which actually kept the grass and weeds from growing also) over our girls sand box and we never had any problem there after. They never once tried to claw through it, they just headed off to seek out a more appropriate place to do their business.

CJ

[Anat]

Sorry for the late reply... I just visited this forum for the first time :o I guess I'll visit more often from now on...

Yes, pets' feces in childern's sandbox can be dangerous. I would definitely cover the sandbox. The main problem is, as blinc said, would be worms. Round worms to be more specific. Children are more susceptible than adults and lots of kids get it every year from playing in uncovered sandboxes.Let me quote from the Cornell Book of cats (available from the TCS shop :) - sorry, couldn't resist)


Eggs of the dog roundworm and less frequently cat roundworm, reach the soil in the feces of infected animals. After an appropriate incubation period, they become infective to both animals and humansand remain so for a prolonged period. Children may ingest the eggs while eating soil or playing in feces-soiled areas. In humans eggs may be rejected or hatch in the intestine and migrate to various parts of the body (liver, lung, muscle, eye, or central nervous system)... symptoms include pneumonitis, swollen liver, muscle and joint aches, cough and rashes and skin nodules. Convulsions may occur and if larvae reach the eye, visual deficiencies may result.

Each year in the United States, approximately 10,000 children are infected with ascarids from dogs and cats, and it is estimated that about 750 lose their vision.


This is a serious threat and I'm glad you asked Jim. There's no need to panic, just to take sensible precautions such as covering the sandbox.

[Anat]

As for toxoplasmosis - this is also a parasite, but it's not visible to the naked eye. It's not very dangerous - about a third of the population get it at some stage of their life abd become immune. There's a good chance you had it and didn't even know. Symptoms, if there are any, look a lot like a mild cold.

The only problem is with people with problems in their immune system (such as HIV positive people) that might get a more serious infection or with pregnant women.

If a pregnant woman gets toxoplasmosis during the first three months of her pregnancy, the fetus may be seriously damaged. She might have a miscarriage or give birth to a defected child.

How do you become infected? Mainly through handling or eating uncooked meat.

Cats can get toxoplasmosis from eating raw meat (such as mice and birds that they hunt). If they do, they will shed the toxo eggs in their feces for a few weeks. There is a chance that a person cleaning their litter box may get some stuck on his hands and may then somehow swallow the stuff (pretty disgusting, I know).

The best prevention is for a pregnant woman to avoid cleaning the cat's litter box. If she must be the one to clean it, she's better use gloves and a face mask. Remember that most cats, especially indoor cats that don't hunt, are not carrying toxoplasmosis.

It's really not much of a danger. I had a toxo test done to see if I was immune. Turns out that after more than 15 years of handlung dozens of cats (and lots of feces and other eliminations :)) I never got it! Maybe it's because I like my stakes well-done...

[jamesglewisf]

Thanks for the great information everybody, especially Anat.