Toxoplasma gondii be gone!

Seriously, is there anything more gross than cat poop? (Well, maybe dog poop—we’ve got that covered in GreenWays; see page 14.) Many of us have an ongoing problem with neighborhood cats pooping in our yards. Picking it out of the grass and wood chips is just the worst. Feline feces is not only disgusting, but dangerous to humans and other animals. Cats are the definitive host of Toxoplasma gondii, the most common single-celled parasite in the developed world. The nasty little bugger affects our psychomotor performance, can cause all kinds of issues for pregnant women and even is killing off sea otters via untreated sewage. To help reduce the spread of the parasite, cat owners are advised to keep their animals indoors, feed their cats commercial food rather than raw or undercooked meat, and always bag cat feces—never flush it. If you don’t have a cat, try to avoid strays, wear gloves when gardening or handling soil, and insist that your cat-owning neighbors clean up after their animals.