News Briefs for the Week of March 3, 2002
By Marcella Durand for Cat Facts
- Beware of Toxic Flea Fighters
Before you buy that flea collar for kitty, make sure it doesn't contain diazinon, an organophosphate pesticide that can affect his nervous system. Diazinon, used in 93 flea and tick control products, including flea collars and insecticidal dust, is being phased out of production, due to concerns about its effects on the nervous systems of cats, dogs, humans and even birds. Cats, however, are more susceptible to diazinon poisoning than dogs.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agrees that diazinon poses a danger to pets, and has given retailers a deadline of December 31, 2002, to sell their existing stocks of indoor-use products containing diazinon. But these potentially toxic products will be available until then, which is why it is important to read the label carefully when you buy any flea or tick control product.
Signs of diazinon poisoning include behavioral changes, muscle tremors, twitching, diarrhea, salivation, breathing difficulties and, in severe cases, paralysis and death. If you think your cat has been poisoned by a flea or tick product containing diazinon, call the EPA's National Pesticide Telecommunications Network at (800) 858-7378 (after calling your veterinarian, of course!).
- Cats Bring More Comfort to the Chronically Ill
You're sick. You're lonely. You feel lousy in body and soul. The last thing you feel up to tonight is taking the dog out for a walk. Instead, you curl up with your cat, taking comfort in her warm, quiet friendship.
It's no longer a question that dogs and cats can help chronically ill individuals combat depression and isolation. However, a new study conducted by the Center for Animals in Society at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, suggests that, for extremely ill people, a cat may be the better choice. A survey of 63 male pet owners with AIDS found that they "received more comfort from their cats," says Lynette A. Hart, PhD, one of the researchers who conducted the study.
"Apparently, for these participants, cats were more effective than dogs in eliciting love, making the person feel needed, and serving as a source of constancy. Much of the pleasure of being with dogs is associated with shared activities that may be physically demanding, including taking walks or traveling with the dog, whereas cats provide similar comfort and companionship with less effort, and they may be kept entirely indoors," says the study. All the men surveyed were clients of Pets Are Wonderful Support, a San Francisco organization.
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