Parasite in feral cat feces becomes a threat to marine life
By Jasmine Perry
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HONOLULU (KITV) — A beloved 10-year-old Hawaiian monk seal named Kaʻale was found dead in the waters off Nanakuli back in May.
Confirming that his cause of death was toxoplasmosis which is found in feral animals.
“It’s not the cat’s fault, but they let it get out of control. We never had a feral chicken, feral cat problem, probably going, I’d say 1990s backwards, but the state is famous for squawking about things, but they’re reactive and they’re not proactive, and it’s evident,” said Matt Holck, Kailau resident.
Feral cats can be seen across the island from Diamond Head to Hawaii Kai especially along our shorelines. Now their feces are causing our problem for Hawaii’s marine animals.
“We are losing a lot of our endemic species, whether plants or animals. How do you live to protect the past while going into the future? Hawaii doesn’t have a good reputation. Sadly,” said Holck.
Feral animals like these cats could carry a parasite if spread through their feces they could cause an infection known as “toxoplasmosis” which can be fatal to our ocean species.
“Once they are in the environment, they last indefinitely. Scientists have actually not been able to figure out how long they can survive in soil and water, but we’re probably talking about years, not days, weeks or months, and they can survive in very harsh conditions,” said Stephanie Kendrack, Vice President of Community Engagement Hawaiian Humane Society.
Toxoplasmosis killed a beloved Native Hawaiian Monk Seal on Oahu’s Leeward Coast.
To prevent further fatalities, Hawaii State Senator Chris Lee said the Department of Land and Natural Resources has taken action to create a cat shelter and sanctuary such as the one on Lanai for feral cats.
“So that’s a place where you can take some of these animals that are out in the wild in places where they can endanger a lot of our native species,” said Chris Lee, State Senator and Chair Committee District 25.
Senator Lee tells me that steps have been made to rapidly control the problem.
“We’ve had discussions for years about what we do about feral cat populations, feral other animal populations that are having impacts on our native species, especially our endangered species that we know are facing all kinds of threats,” said Senator Lee.
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