Just discovered a winters worth of kitty-you-know-what in my raised beds, and I was in the mood to plant my lettuce, just to see if I could get away with it so early. I'm NOT in the mood any more. I figure that cat manure is not one of your healthier organic fertilizers....aren't there a lot of pathogins in it, like germs and parisites and stuff? UGHHH.

I thought if I make daughter go out and pooper scoop the worst, and have Hubby use the propane torch and burn it off. Do you think that that would de-contaminate it? I would have to think that my salad greens were seasoned with invisible diseases waiting for a host....

-- Leann Banta (thelionandlamb@hotmail.com), February 28, 2000

Answers

Leann, now adays it would be hard to find soil that cats havent used before. I would scrape out all cat mess, and lots of fresh compost and water well[ let the micro organisums clean it up] and plant in about 2 weeks.If it realy bothers you use clear plastice over garden [water soil first] wheigh down and leave in place a couple weeks,this will sterilize your soil then add compost and start garden[wire put over beds helps keep cats uot until plants are large].

-- kathy h (saddlebronc@msn.com), February 28, 2000.

Leann, yes there are some things you can catch from cat manure, mostly parasites. But the reality is, you'd have to work at it to catch most of them. A couple of years ago, I was extremely ill and one of the tests they ran was a parasite check. Nothing. I've been around animals all my life, never use topical antibotics, rarely use Bandaids, eat stuff straight from the garden, etc, etc, etc. Even I was surprised that I had none.

The propane torch would kill a lot more than anything in the cat manure. It would also kill all the good microscopic critters in your soil. Just shovel up the worst of it.

I know this isn't going to make you happy, but I have a barn cat who helps me plant. I dig enough little holes for however many plants in a container. The cat manures in each little hole, I sprinkle a bit of dirt back in so the young plants don't get too much of an immediate jolt, and plant. Amazing how many holes she can do. Gerbil

-- Gerbil (ima_gerbil@hotmail.com), February 28, 2000.

Better outside than in, if you ask me. I have LOTS of cats and have found the only way to halfway keep them interested in something besides the compost heap and my best garden areas, is to give them their very own sand box- outside. They love it.

I agree with the wire-over-the-top and the Nature-will-take-care-of-it schools of thought. All good soil has some pretty disgusting components if you stop to think about it. A diamond was once a rotting dinosaur and some ferns, too, right?

Do you wear gloves when you work in the soil? That, and making sure your pets are healthy and as parasite free as possible might ease your mind some.

Gerbil, my cats dig UP the plants to fertilize them. How did you manage to find one who understands the correct timing of the planting principle?

-- Sylvia (slydy@intrstar.net), March 01, 2000.

I guess I just raise a better breed of barn cat. Gerbil

-- Gerbil (ima_gerbil@hotmail.com), March 01, 2000.

NOTE: Leann, forgive this nosey question, but are you pregnant? There ARE some things you can get from cat feces that are not good to have when pregnant.

Have you talked with your (a) vet about the dangers and myths about cat poop? I just remembered a pregnant vet telling me about the only dangers she worried about from handling cats on a regular basis, was when she was pregnant and she solved that by always wearing gloves.

Gerbil, my cat; your cat- duel in the barnyard at noon...

-- Sylvia (slydy@intrstar.net), March 02, 2000.

Sylvia is right, there is a disease, although I just staggered out of bed and can't think of its name-toxoplasma sorta. However, a pregnant woman who has been around cats and is in an area where it exists has most likely already had it (mild flu-like symptoms). If in doubt, there is a test that any doctor can run to check to see if the woman has the antibodies. If she does, there is no danger to the fetus. If she doesn't the steps to avoid infection are simple.

Oh, and Sylvia, noon it is. Winner (my cat) takes the catnip. Gerbil

-- Gerbil (ima_gerbil@hotmail.com), March 02, 2000.

Nope, I am not pregnant (just middle aged with four children, one 20 and the others teenagers!), but I wanted to be careful. You folks are making me feel better. I have this huge pile of year old cow manure (our neighbor has long horns), maybe I can just cover it up thickly with that, and cover that up with some purchased soil...kinda like the lasanga gardening in MEN a few issues back. What do ya all think???

-- Leann Banta (thelionandlamb@hotmail.com), March 02, 2000.

Leann, your latest idea sounds good to me. Go for it. Gerbil

-- Gerbil (ima_gerbil@hotmail.com), March 02, 2000.

Gerbil, can I borrow your cat, mine could use the good example ;-)

On a more serious note, I wound up having to build hardware cloth "lids" for my raised beds, I can set plants easily if I mulch heavily, but seeds were impossible to protect. Once the plants are well established I can mulch, and that seems to end the problem. I also put all of my leaves on the beds in the fall, by spring, I just push them out of the way and transplant. The cats seem to think that it is too much trouble to dig through the layers to find the dirt, so they use the path instead. ;-P

-- Connie (connie@lunehaven.com), March 03, 2000.

We (thankfully) only have one cat, but it is rather disgusting to be digging around in the garden with your bare hands and encounter fresh cat manure. Yuck. And I love my cat, too. Haven't figured out how to keep her out, though, as our garden is rather large. Maybe I'll try to teach her to help instead of hinder, as Gerbil's cat does! (Were you serious, or just spoofing us?!?)

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), April 13, 2000.