Letting Fluffy roam free is bad for her and for us
A recent Venting post that roaming cats aren’t dangerous compared with dogs is untrue.
Most cat owners are or should be aware that cats can carry the parasite toxoplasma. The parasite is excreted in cat feces — cats are the only animals it can reproduce inside.
Women of child-bearing age are warned not to handle their cat’s litter — too bad for the rest of us who find the stuff in our flower beds.
Toxoplasma can cause birth defects, blindness, even dementia and death, and has been linked to schizophrenia and other psychotic disturbances. Yet cats are allowed to wander, putting us at risk.
Toxoplasma can also be passed on via meat, from animals exposed to cat feces, or from contaminated water, which is why we are always warned not to eat undercooked meat.
Some British experts want toxoplasma to be made a notifiable disease, since it is so dangerous to babies in utero and to those with immune systems weakened by age or illness.
People who think cats need to be outdoors for their health and well-being are wrong. Wandering cats can be exposed to feline leukemia and parasites such as ticks and fleas, while vehicles, humans, dogs and coyotes can injure or kill them.
Cats also get into garbage cans, defecate in flower beds and sandboxes, kill wild birds and cause traffic accidents.
If you care about your cat, don’t allow it to roam the neighbourhood.
Furthermore, as the City of Edmonton’s website notes, “cat owners are required to make sure their pet does not wander onto other people’s property without permission. The fine for an at-large cat is $100.”
I recommend that cat owners check the city’s website, edmonton.ca/bylaws, and the city’s Animal Care and Control Centre, as well as read the helpful brochure Responsible Cat Ownership.
We take our cat out into his garden in a harness. He is safe and still gets fresh air, eats grass and catches mice.
Why should we have to thwart feline wanderers by buying chemicals, adding netting or pipes to fence tops, burying chicken wire in our flower beds, or being ready with a water pistol? Why do we have to do all this because of misguided or lazy pet owners?
Keep cats inside except when you can supervise their activity. They’ll be better off, and so will everyone else.
Ruth B. Hempsey, Edmonton