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Ian wrote:

Everyone acts as if dog crap, or any other type of crap is toxic. Its
not. Just compost it and use it all the same.

It's *not* the same and and never should be used on a vegetable
garden...unless of course, you'd like a nice dose of ecoli
(a single gram of dog feces can contain 23 million coliform bacteria),
roundworm (the adult roundworm lays eggs which are passed onto the soil,
completing the life cycle. If humans ingest the eggs, they hatch in the
intestine and migrate to other body tissue; like lungs, liver, spinal
cord. The larvae can even attack the retinas in the eye), tapeworm,
hookworm, even toxoplasmosis (particularly if you're pregnant) and the
list goes on and on ....read more at:

http://www.extension.umn.edu/project...e-dog-cat.html

In article , wrote:

x-no-archive: yes

Ian wrote:

Everyone acts as if dog crap, or any other type of crap is toxic. Its
not. Just compost it and use it all the same.

It's *not* the same and and never should be used on a vegetable
garden...unless of course, you'd like a nice dose of ecoli
(a single gram of dog feces can contain 23 million coliform bacteria),
roundworm (the adult roundworm lays eggs which are passed onto the soil,
completing the life cycle. If humans ingest the eggs, they hatch in the
intestine and migrate to other body tissue; like lungs, liver, spinal
cord. The larvae can even attack the retinas in the eye), tapeworm,
hookworm, even toxoplasmosis (particularly if you're pregnant) and the
list goes on and on ....read more at:


http://www.extension.umn.edu/project...e-dog-cat.html


In reality these are risks from having a catbox inside the house or having
a dog or cat shitting in the yard; these are the risks of just owning &
touching & living with & in any manner interacting with an animal. By
contrast there is ZERO risk from heat-composted dogshit. Zero risk once it
is composted. ALL pathogens are killed within 15 days at 130 degree F
temperatures (most pathogens die much sooner), & that temperature is
low-end normal temperature in well-mixed composts. Most studies recommend
temperatures of 150 degrees, erring on the side of extreme caution; a
University of Oregon study showed dog & cat poo composts needed only 130
degree F to be completely free of pathogens in half a month! I dunno
about you, but even when I push the envelope time-wise, I don't use my
compost when it is only 15 days old, but if I did, it'd already be
pathogen-free.

Most of the terror-tales implied by the above post are pure nonsense,
though the closest to reality would be the possibility of roundworm
(toxocara) in FRESH turds; it is also the last pathogen to die in the
compost & so therefore the most to be feared. But what does "most to be
feared" really add up to? Just this: THERE IS NO DOCUMENTED CASE OF ANY
COMPOST WORKER INFECTED WITH ROUNDWORMS FROM A COMPOST PILE!!! So where
to people get it? Usually from the catbox inside the house. It's also
carried to humans merely by kissing their beloved pet dog or cat, which
will have the eggs on their faces from frequently licking their asses.

So while the possibility of such infection from a compost pile might be a
far-fetched possibility but it hasn't yet been documented. By comparison
secondary pathogenic exposures (such as airborn funguses) are quite common
& not related to zoonotic pathogens in dog or cat poo. These usually only
cause allergenic response, but serious disease is not impossible from
funguses in composts, though so rare NO municipality regards amateur
composts as a public health hazard & most cities encourage even amateurs
to do it.

Anyone who seriously thinks something that has never been documented to
occur is a big thing to worry about damned well better never touch any
animal ever for as long as they live. That includes not touching human
animals. People carry so many diseases to one another, humans should all
be kept in separate plastic terrariums & never permitted to interact.

But I would love to reinforce extremist horrors about human activity
anywhere near the presence of animals, here is a mere sampling of what you
can get by owning a dog or cat -- & I assure you, the compost is safer BY
FAR so all these nervous nellies I hope I'm making scared shitless to ever
again pet their grandma's cat. YOU'LL DROP DEAD IF YOU PET THE CAT! Repost
of old article:
====

ZOONOTIC DISEASES; or, How Your Cat Is Going To Kill You
by Paghat the Ratgirl:

Cats spread more diseases to humans than do dogs, though any pet
puts a pet owner at risk.

Some dangerous diseases carried to humans from cats are most to be feared
in immunocompromised people (individuals with HIV or anyone receiving
chemotherapy or anyone otherwise allergy-prone or asthmatic). Some
diseases spread by cats are tropical hence uncommon in America or
England. Yet others are very common & all persons with pets are at risk.
Many bacteriums (but few viruses) as well as parasitic diseases spread
readily to humans from cats, especially cats manifesting overt symptoms of
illness such as diarrhea.

I've asterisked the more probable risks for the average catlover who would
not need to be paranoid to take precautions. The list was otherwise just
hastily composed from a net-search & relying mainly on laboratory sites
for the individual diseases listed below, & a couple more generic sites
(i.e., Lorraine Shelton's abbreviated overview he
http://home.earthlink.net/~featherla.../zoonoses.html)
but only IF they included apropos veterinarian journal citations (i.e.,:
M. R. Lappin's "Feline zoonotic diseases" in Vet. Clin. North Am. Small
Animal Practice, January 1993 , pages 57-78).

I share this with you because in part it is fun to scare people, &
people afraid of composts are bound to be especially easy to scare. BOO!

*1) Afipia and Rochalimaea henselae. Popularly known as "cat scratch
disease" one study found 40% of cats in a shelter carried the Rochalimaea
bacteria; the incidence of Afipia is not as well established. Cat scratch
fever is spread not just by scratch but also by cats' fleas. In humans it
causes systemic illness and lymph node lesions & is scarey shit especially
for immunocompromised individuals. Aggressive antibiotic treatment is
always effective in healthy young adults at least. The national incidence
of cat scratch fever in humans is high.

2) Anthrax. And you thought only the mail was scary.

3) Brucellosis. Nasty: acute or insidious onset of fever, night sweats,
undue fatigue, anorexia & weight loss, headache, and arthralgia.

4) Capnocytophaga canimorsus septicemia from cat scratch.

5) Feline pneumonitis has been proven contagious to humans in rare cases.

6) Cowpox spreads to humans through cats.

7) "Creeping eruption" a tropical disease cats can spread.

8) Dipylidium caninum. Most tapeworms are species specific & not
contageous to humans, but canine tapeworm has been known to spread to
humans from both dogs & cats.

9) Leptospirosis can spread from cats & dogs to humans. It causes severe
illness (fever, yellow skin, rash) & if untreated ends in meningitis,
kidney & liver disfunction & death. It is spread primarily by animals --
pets & livestock -- to humans in shared water, sneezes, contact with
infected eyes or nose, or even just abraded skin contact. Swimming in
ponds that may have animal urine run-off is especially risky. Fortunately
for Americans & Brits it primarily a problem in Africa, but in warmer
climates anyone who works or lives with animals is at risk.

10) Neisseria canis infects humans from cat or dog bites. Think gonorrhea.

*11) Pasteurella multocida, potentially a bad one & fairly common.
Believe that chestnut about your kitty's mouth being
cleaner than your own so it's okay to kiss each others' mouths? Over 70%
of normal healthy cats have pasteurella in their mouths. It easily spreads
from cat saliva to human bloodstream which can be achieved from your
having chapped lips or from getting bitten by a cat. It is likely spread
direct to lungs from sneezing cats as well. Fever following a cat bite
requires immediate & aggressive medical attention or kiss your arse
goodbye.

12) Yersinia pestis & other Yersinia spp. Think bubonic plague. It can be
spread by cat bites and cat fleas.

13) Pneumonic plague. Also bubonic, i.e., your worst nightmare of
sickness: septic disease, meningitis, coma & death. A case reported in the
American southwest which was fatal to the human was traced to cat.
Public parks in California have been shut down because of infected
feril cats.

14) Poxvirus. Though in some cases the cats may actually have gotten it
from their owner, a typical case would be the cat gets it from harrassing
infected squirrels then carries it home to its people.

15) Q-fever pneumonia (Coxiella burnetii) is carried to humans from
parturient cats or cats exposed to ticks. A spore form exists, closely
related to Legionaires disease, & can be carried just by breathing in the
vicinity of infected animals, even from contaminated fur. It's nasty.
Outbreaks have occurred throughout the US and Australia, everywhere
really. It can become chronic & in the elderly can result in death.

16) Rickettsia felis passed to humans from cat fleas. Think Typhus.

*17) Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter enteritis. C. jejuni is
similar to Salmonella but twice as bad & easily mistaken for appendicitis.
It is a growing health problem throughout the world & cases in some
regions exceed those for Salmonella. It spreads very easily from catbox to
human; cats fed raw meats will be most likely to spread it; & even just
handling raw meat then not washing your hands before you eat an apple
could do it as it's very contageous. The disease manifests as C. enteritis
when it infects the small intestin & is one of the chief diseases
generically known as "traveller's diarrhea" inducing the phrase "don't
drink the water." But you'd also have to not eat the eggs, cheese, milk,
or poultry -- nor let your kitty eat them.

*18) Salmonella spp., very common, typically spread by cat stool with the
litterbox being the source of human sickness, & the majority of cats fed
raw meat or which have access to roadkill or which capture wild birds (&
mostly sick birds are apt to be caught). Salmonelosis does not
frequently kill but severe cases certainly can do so, especially in the
elderly, & one form, Salmonella typhi, does commonly kill.
Of the commonor household variety thought of as "food poisoning"
there are as many as four million cases a year in the US alone. Cattle,
pigs, poultry, & household pets are common sources of infection.

*19) Leptospira spp. Frequently carried to people from livestock, but also
from pet cats. Common throughout the world but typically misdiagnosed or
generically diagnosed as "flu" though it is not the flu & it can kill. It
spreads easily through urine; dogs & cats, livestock, & wild animals are
all frequent sources. Though pets may in some cases get it from their
people rather than other way around, it would be more typical for the pet
to have contacted an infected rodent or its urine & then pass it on to
people.

20) Trichinellosis is a parastic worm. Cats get it from eating raw game of
almost any sort (probably shared raw with the cat by the "man of the
house" who is proud to have killed something in the woods). Everyone knows
it's carried by raw pork but it is also to be found in fox, dog, wolf,
horse, seal, walrus, bear & other game animals; you're at risk if you eat
any of these things undercooked. And there are incidents of humans getting
it from eating infected cats! So don't eat your cat.

*21) Ringworms, probably the most common infection acquired from cats;
many cats are asymptomatic & infect a great many neighborhood children
without ever being suspected.

22) Psittacosis, can spread to humans from common chlamydial eye and
respiratory infections in cats, though this would require the cat to have
had dangerous exposure to infected hardbilled birds before it could carry
anything to its people. Best known as "parrot disease" it causes pneumonia
& death in humans. Because of protections more for the poultry industry
than for humans or pets, Psittacosis is mostly under control in the US.

*23) Roundworms. Not uncommonly spread to humans, especially children, via
roundworm eggs passed in stool, meaning the catbox is the usual culprit,
though children can get it from direct facial contact with the cat.

*24) Toxoplasmosis, a coccidia that can cause birth defects in unborn
babies. It spreads to humans via eggs (typically in the catbox) & cats
that are fed raw meat are apt to be carriers. Pets are the second main
cause of Toxoplasmosis-caused human birth-defect, the greater risk comes
from humans eating raw or undercooked meat themselves. This is a much,
much worse disease risk from feeding raw meats than is Salmonella because
Salmonella recovery is more certain, but I asterisked this one less
readily because in absolute numbers it is not so high as Salmonella caught
from pets. Both diseases, however, would justify INSISTING people NOT feed
their cats raw meat because it puts humans, even unborn humans, at risk of
permanent injury. To the list of irresponsible behaviors of pregnant
women (smoking & boozing & mainlining heroin) has been
added cat ownership.

*25) Cryptosporidium's oocysts spread to humans (& to other cats) via the
catbox but Cryptosporidium is also spread from direct contact with the cat
(or any exposed pet). Cats may get this parasite merely from drinking
water outside, as it is common even in wholesome watersheds. It is one of
the "emerging diseases" in the United States that is getting worse each
year. It induces copious spewing of watery diarrhea, fun huh. It is is
life-threatening in immunocompromised humans.

26) Canine coronavirus does not spread from dogs to people but one
preliminary study suggests it may spread from dogs to cats then to people.
It may go undiagnosed as anything but a bad cold.

27) Dermatophytes (skin funguses).

* 28) Bartonella henselae. Can cause severe disease. The
infection has resulted in the amputations of human limbs,
encephalitic brain damage, & death. Though more
commonly the fever passes quickly without long term
effect, chronic fever disease is not unknown, contracted
just from cat bites or scratches.

For all these reasons & others, there are many standard warnings that
pregnant women, anyone with an artificial heart valve, & immunocompromised
people, not be exposed to cats at all.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/