Keeping a clean litter box is an important responsibility for Pono Cat Parents. Dirty litter boxes may make cats look elsewhere in your house to do their business. Regularly scooping, changing the litter, and cleaning the litter box and surrounding area will make sure your cat knows where to go. When you scoop the poop and toss the litter in the garbage, you are also helping to keep our islands clean and protecting endangered Hawaiian monk seals and Hawaiian crows.
A Poopy Problem
Toxoplasmosis is a disease that results from infection with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. It is one of the world’s most common parasites, but can only multiply in the gut of a cat. This means that your cat could play a role in spreading the disease if its poop gets outside or into waterways.
Toxoplasmosis in the environment
Toxoplasmosis can affect livestock and wild animals. It was one of the factors that led the ʻalalā, Hawaiian crow, to become extinct in the wild. They are now only found in conservation breeding programs. In addition, toxoplasmosis is one of the leading causes of death of the endangered Hawaiian monk seal in the main Hawaiian Islands, which is the part of the seal’s range where it overlaps with cat populations.
Learn how the Toxoplasma parasite spreads in the environment >
Toxoplasmosis in your home
People can become infected by this parasite as well, so it is always recommended that people cook meat thoroughly and wash their hands after cleaning a litter box or working in the soil. People with normal immune systems rarely develop signs of illness from toxoplasmosis, but immunocompromised people, children, or pregnant women can develop more severe disease. That is why the CDC recommends that these individuals avoid contact with cat feces – give them a pass from scooping the poop!
PRO-TIP: Never flush your cat’s waste down the toilet—dispose of it in the garbage. The Toxoplasma parasite can withstand wastewater treatment processing.
A Simple Solution
The good news is that disposing of pet waste in the garbage—and many of the other actions you take as a Pono Cat Parent—reduce the risk of toxoplasmosis! Cats typically become infected by eating infected animals, such as mice or small birds. So when you keep your cat indoors , you take the risk of infection down to near zero. The mice and small birds living outside thank you as well.
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