April 12, 2006

By TOM RAGAN
SENTINEL STAFF WRITER

Warning: Avoid flushing kitty litter down the toilet. The feces in it, even the most microscopic, can kill sea otters, a federally protected and endangered species.

That could be the future warning on all cat litter products across the state — the result of a proposed Assembly bill aimed at educating the public on how dangerous cat feces can be when not disposed of properly.

"It's called toxoplasma. It's a parasite that can be found in cat feces. And it's a major killer of sea otters," said Patricia Conrad, a professor of parasitology at UC Davis. "We're hoping people will start to bag their litter and dump it in the garbage."

The bill, the first of its kind to appear in Sacramento, also would increase fines from $15,000 to $25,000 for intentionally killing sea otters and establish a checkoff on income tax returns to fund more research and protection programs.

Known as AB 2485, the bill is the concoction of Assemblymen Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, and John Laird, D-Santa Cruz.

The sea otters, whose numbers were once as high as 20,000 in the mid-19th century, now number about 2,300, mostly along the Central Coast.

The dwindling population from Morro Bay to Davenport earned them a place on the federal Endangered Species list, according to Sue Andrews, director of the Marine Mammal Center in Moss Landing.

Their shrinking numbers also granted them protection under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972.

But for a six-year period between 1998 and 2004, roughly 50 percent of dead sea otters that washed up along the Central Coast's shores were infected by the highly resistant parasite, toxoplasma, according to a paper published last year in the International Journal for Parasitology.

It was a key fact that Jones and Laird relied on to craft their bill, which last week passed the Assembly's Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee.

The proposed legislation is headed to the Assembly's Revenue and Taxation Committee before it goes to the Assembly floor.

So far, there's little opposition to the bill, which came into being after Jones visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium one day last year with his 5-year-old son, Will, who started crying when he learned the sea otters were dying due to the parasite, which is so strong it can survive wastewater treatment.

"He and my daughter were terribly upset," said Jones. "He said, 'Dad, you need to do something about the sea otters. That began my research into the issue, and it hasn't stopped since."

Jones quickly joined forces with Laird, a well-known environmentalist who's received awards from the California League of Conservation Voters.

Andrews of the Marine Mammal Center, said she thinks the proposed bill is a good one.

"It could help," she said. "It's certainly not going to hurt."

Parasitology expert Conrad said the feces don't just make their way into the Monterey Bay through the sewage system.

There are plenty of stray cats whose poop seeps into the waterways by way of storm drain, especially during rainy days.

"The whole point of the bill is to exercise caution when it comes to your cat," she said. "It could help save the life of a sea otter."

You can find this story online at: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2006/April/12/local/stories/09local.htm