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Loading...Killing Cats is the Wrong Prescription for Preventing Typhus
After a typhus case in April, the city of Santa Ana in California is trying to round up and kill feral cats to prevent the disease from spreading. That might make sense if feral cats spread typhus, but they don’t — fleas do, and they don’t need cats to do it.
In a press release, cat advocacy group Alley Cat Allies cites epidemiologist Deborah L. Ackerman for the fact that in the absence of cats, “fleas are versatile parasites and will simply find another host, as dogs, raccoons, opossums, mice and all mammals as well as birds are potential hosts for fleas.” Hmm, “all mammals”…by Santa Ana’s logic, the town should start trapping humans.
Alley Cat Allies asserts that typhus outbreaks “are rare,” and in at least one case spread through fleas that made their homes on dogs, not cats. The organization urged Santa Ana to follow the example of Los Angeles County, which “advises treating pets for fleas and using humane outdoor cat deterrents to control flea infestations. Instead of killing feral cats, who avoid people by nature,” Alley Cat Allies continued, Santa Ana should “provide community resources for residents to treat and protect their pets, whom they come in contact with every day.”
A report from the Associated Press posted by Silicon Valley’s MercuryNews.com confirmed Alley Cat Allies’ claims that Santa Ana would kill the cats it caught. The write-up stated that Santa Ana police were setting traps specifically for feral cats, and that they will likely “euthanize” the animals they catch “because infections run through colonies and adoption isn’t possible if they are wild and sick.”
KTLA.com Los Angeles reported that according to local officials, “once caught, the cats will be sedated and then euthanized,” apparently regardless of whether they have fleas, let alone typhus-bearing fleas.
The news station recommended the following steps to protect against typhus:
-Pets, yards, and homes should be kept free of fleas by treating pets with flea-prevention medication.
-Eliminate places where wild animals, such as opossums, cats, rats and raccoons, can find shelter.
-Eliminate food sources that might attract wild animals.
-Wear protective gear when cleaning areas that may be infested by the above-mentioned animals.
These tips are designed to distance people from infected fleas rather than catching animals who rarely if ever interact with humans and whose deaths will not eliminate fleas. They make much more sense and are more humane than Santa Ana’s attempt to kill a few feral cats.
Aside from being misguided, Santa Ana’s cat-catching program appears ineffective: there are no reports that the town has trapped a single cat.
Santa Ana’s strange choice of strategy should not minimize the threat typhus poses. Local residents, particularly those with young children, fear an outbreak, however unlikely it may be. Typhus can be fatal if it is not treated with antibiotics. Symptoms of the disease “include fever, headaches, chills, body aches and rashes on the chest, back, arms and legs,” MercuryNews.com reports.
Most media outlets report that there has been only one case of typhus in Santa Ana: a child who had to be hospitalized but was later released. One channel, however, NBC Los Angeles, reported that this was actually the second reported case of typhus in the area this year.
Related Stories:
Mexican Town Offers Money For Euthanizing Dogs
Read more: alley cat allies, animal welfare, health, Santa Ana, typhus
Photo credit: Armed Forces Pest Management Board
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may
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Recent Comments from Causes
Brian, Now you are really play loose with the facts. According to NOAA, Greenland lost 2900 Gt of ice.…
Snakes are NOT pets.
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+ add your ownYes Lauren B.
Sad and unecessary.
However keep going because today an Act of Parliament has been signed out of sheer democratic numbers who protested to ban wild animals in circuses. YeeHah!!!!!!
sad news but thanks for sharing
It's such a shame that we in this country think its okay to teach our children that killing defenseless animals for no real reason is a good thing and that it solves problems...
A righteous man cares for the needs of his animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel...
Proverbs 12: 10 (NLV)
How is this country so smart yet so stupid at the same time?
I cannot believe the ignorance that leads to these inhumane acts. I certainly hope this municipality reverses its decision!
The stupidity of humanity never ceases to amaze me. But when educated nations indulge their fears I am speechless.
"Christians whose eyes are fixed on the awfulness of crucifixion are in a special position to understand the awfulness of innocent suffering. The Cross of Christ is God's absolute identification with the weak, the powerless, and the vulnerable, but most of all with unprotected, undefended, innocent suffering." Rev. Dr. Andrew Linzey
These kittens like all life created by God are here by His design and for His purpose and they have God in their breath and in their being.
Based on the hysteria of a solid American community, China's slaughter of 50000 pet dogs because of a case of rabies no longer seems overly brutal. I mean, hey, NYC slaughtered all the geese because of one airplane accident (211 people in 20 years were killed in airlplane clashes with wildlife. About SEVENTY FIVE HUNDRED - 7500 - people were killed due to human error etc in airplane crashes in only FIVE years. By the way - Canadian Geese never caused more than one otther crash in 20 years)
The point: Selfish, arrogant, and stupid fools that comprise so much of our leadership like to work from the convenience of ignorance and the ease of killing. They don't know, they don't care, and I don't care to know.
The old political "Pogo" comic strip had a great line: "We have met the enemy, and he is us."
as usual americans show just how stupid they really are killing cats to prevent typhus is beyond stupid!!!! kill the fleas not the cats stupid stupid people!!!!!
As usual, Mankind thinks the only solution to a problem is to kill an animal. Whatever will we do when they have finally managed to kill every animal on the face of this planet? Look at and play with stuffed toy animals? Such a pitiful substitute.
Che stupidaggine.
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