Alpaca Heritage Sale

Educational Articles

Feral cats are a problem in many rural and suburban areas. It is estimated that there are over 73 million pet cats in the United States, about 35% of these pets are kept exclusively indoors, leaving about 45 million cats to roam free. In addition there are millions of feral cats roaming free. The problem is that cats carry toxoplasmosis, a disease that usually doesn't bother the cat, but can cause problems for both humans and alpacas.

I first became aware of toxoplasmosis when I was pregnant with my first child. The doctor asked if I had a cat or if I did gardening. He suggested, since I didn't have a cat, that I should wear gloves when gardening to avoid contracting toxoplasmosis.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), toxoplasmosis is caused by a single-celled parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. The primary routes of infection are through contact with infected cat feces or from eating raw or under-cooked meat. We don't have to worry so much about the alpacas eating meat, but they can come in contact with cat feces, especially if there are feral cats that have access to your pasture.

The infection in cats is best avoided by keeping the cat indoors and feeding them dry or canned cat food. Cats become infected by eating raw or undercooked meat, including mice! In other words, if the cat is outdoors, it will likely contract toxoplasmosis. Most outdoors cats, such as feral cats, contract toxoplasmosis when they are young. The organism is then spread, according to the CDC, through their feces for a few weeks after they are first infected. Since the cat rarely has symptoms from toxoplasmosis infection, most pet owners would not even know their cat was infected. There are no good tests available to determine if the cat is passing the parasite in its feces. However, according to the Winn Feline Foundation, doctors have succeeded in identifying Toxoplasma gondii-antigen in serum of cats. The Winn Feline Foundation points out that most cases of toxoplasmosis in cats is only communicable to humans through eggs shed in the feces, for about 2-3 weeks. It is only during the initial infection that the eggs are shed and the disease can be contracted by other animals or humans.

As alpaca caretakers, we need to be concerned about the threat of toxoplasmosis, not only from our pet cats, but from feral or stray cats who live in the vicinity of our farms and who may use our pastures as their liter box. Dr. Norm Evans, in his book "Veterinary Lama Field Manual," has a section devoted to toxoplasmosis in lamas. Dr. Evans points out that there are confirmed cases of toxoplasmosis in lamas and the lama community should be aware of the hazards both to their animals and to themselves so they can take proper precautions.

In alpacas, the disease can result in pneumonia, seizures and/or abortion according to Dr. Evans. The book, "Caring for Llamas and Alpacas," by Clare Hoffman, and Ingrid Asmus agrees that toxoplasmosis can cause abortions in alpacas and llamas. Both authors agree that precautions are necessary if there are cats around your farm, whether pet cats or feral cats.

It is recommended, if you have pet cats, to make sure they eat only commercial cat food or thoroughly cooked foods. Cats should not be permitted to roam where they can eat wild animals such as moles and mice. Farm cats should not be allowed in food storage areas to avoid contamination of alpaca feed.

As for feral cats, that is another problem altogether. These poor animals, through no fault of their own, were either abandoned by owners or born from an abandoned cat. The life of the feral cat is sad indeed as they often suffer from diseases because of not receiving preventive veterinary care. These animals are born, live, breed and die in a short time frame generally and in the process can carry rabies, toxoplasmosis, and other diseases to other animals, including us humans and our alpacas.

If you know you have feral cats in your area who frequent your pastures, it might be wise to remove them. In this I've had some personal experience. There are feral cats throughout the woods around our pastures. The cats are fed by two of my well meaning, but misguided neighbors who think they are helping the cats by feeding them, but who are in all actuality propagating misery. Just this past summer, a mama feral cat and her two surviving kittens took up residence in a hill just behind my second pasture. Mama didn't come into the pastures, but the smaller kittens easily fit through the 2"x 4" fencing and made our pasture their toilet. When I found the cat hills, I knew I had to take action. We bought a hav-a-heart trap and set it. Within a few days I had captured both the kittens and mama. Taken to the humane society, mama cat was too wild to be rehabilitated, but the kittens at least had a chance of rehabilitation to human care and a loving home to care for them.

One organization that is working to keep cats, wildlife, and humans safer, encourages cat owners to keep their cats indoors. Called "Cats Indoors!", this group works to educate people and encourage communities to adopt cat control laws. Though some claim that a well fed cat will not kill birds or wildlife, this organization has scientific study data to show this is just not true, well-fed cats do kill birds and other wildlife. In the process, the cats can contract toxoplasmosis and transmit the disease to humans and alpacas alike.