When Your Cat's Fecal Droppings Become A Danger In Your Garden

Cats like making gardens their own toilet and for some reason, the owner doesn't care much because there is nothing wrong in that. In fact, a cat that does her business outside the house is more likeable than one that does it inside. However, there is a reason to worry when your cat makes a potty in your garden. You should be worried of the fecal droppings because they contaminate the soil with different parasites like roundworms and toxoplasma. The latter in particular is no good news because it causes toxoplasmosis.

Dangers Of Toxoplasmosis

Toxoplasmosis is an infectious disease caused by toxoplasma, a parasite that spreads from animals to humans; in cats, one of the routes the parasite uses to access the human body is through the cat's waste. Once the eggs of the parasite have shed in the cat's waste, they become so resistant and can contaminate the soil for years. Reportedly, the short-term effects of the disease pose no deadly threats to humans.  You may experience sore throat, fever, headache, swollen lymph nodes and muscle pain. The diseases may also affect your eyes and result in partial loss of vision in one or both eyes.

If you have a compromised immune system, however, the disease can cause serious problems. In AIDS patients, for instance, the disease leads to central nervous system dysfunction. Pregnant women should avoid coming into contact with cat feces due to the parasite's devastating birth effects which include passing of the parasite onto the foetus.

Preventive Measures

Fortunately, the disease can be prevented. One measure is to keep the cat out of the garden. Cats don't like snakes and hence if you can place an object in your garden that imitates the shape of a snake, you can keep the cat out for as long as you wish. For instance, you can place hosepipes of short lengths among your plants to look like snakes.

Cats are also not fond of fluctuating light patterns. Hence if you can string some CDs together and hang them in your garden, the shifting light reflected by the CDs can scare the cat away.

Even if you can keep your cat out of the garden, it is still wise to look after yourself when you are doing some work in the garden. Wear gloves to minimize the risk of being exposed to soil contaminated with toxoplasma and maintain high personal hygiene standards by washing your hands every time you come out from the garden.

For more information, contact contaminated soil removal companies.