DEAR DR. FOX: I disagree with your frequent statement that TNVR (trap, neuter, vaccinate, release) is not effective. Cat overpopulation is a problem brought on by humans not spaying and neutering their cats. Just think if we didn’t TNVR cats: We would have millions more.
I will continue to TNVR in order to help bring down the population in my city. -- S.H., Tampa, Florida
DEAR S.H.: I appreciate and respect your dedication to solving this problem, though we disagree on methods. For other readers who may not be fully informed on this issue, I will again cite a study I have referenced before.
As I wrote in a 2020 column: "The City of Saratoga Springs, Utah, conducted an analysis on 'The Science of Feral Cats' to help it understand and effectively address feral cat issues in the community. This extensive report found that 'overwhelmingly, science does not support TNR programs as an effective method to reduce feral cat populations' and that such programs 'fail to adequately mitigate the significant threat to public health or alleviate the negative impacts on wildlife that feral and free-roaming cats pose.'"
For additional documentation on this issue, see my post: drfoxonehealth.com/post/releasing-cats-to-live-outdoors-humane-environmental-and-one-health-concerns.
TOXOPLASMOSIS-RELATED HEALTH ISSUES IN ELDERLY PEOPLE
Keeping cats indoors and giving them regular veterinary wellness examinations are the best ways to help prevent the spread of toxoplasmosis, a disease caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. The domestic cat is the definitive host that harbors and spreads this parasite to humans and other species when allowed to roam free.
In a groundbreaking study recently published in the Journals of Gerontology, a group of international scientists report the potential contribution of infection with this parasite to the signs of frailty in older adults, including exhaustion and muscle loss. (See "Toxoplasma gondii IgG Serointensity Is Positively Associated With Frailty" by Hira Mohyuddin, M.D., et al, Journals of Gerontology: Series A, 2023.)
Another review on the effects of this parasite on humans concludes: "Toxoplasmosis could play a substantial role in the etiopathogenesis of mental health disorders." (See "Negative Effects of Latent Toxoplasmosis on Mental Health" by Jaroslave Flegr and Jiri Horacek, Front Psychiatry, 2019.)
Other studies have correlated toxoplasmosis infection with an increase in impulsive acts of violence, which forensic psychiatrists and criminologists should consider.
A WONDERFUL BOOK: 'COYOTE CONVERSATIONS'
My daughter, Camilla Fox, founder and CEO of Project Coyote, sent me the book “Coyote Conversations: Photos and Poems from the Field.” The author, Mark Surls, is a volunteer with her organization. I have never been touched so deeply by any other book of poetry, coupled with exquisite photography of the wild and the free, like this one.
Our lives, and all meaning, are embedded in this sacred matrix that we call wilderness. In it, we are never lost, but rather find ourselves -- as well as respite and healing from our captivity in the industrial wilderness of the technosphere, which is supplanting, transforming and annihilating the biosphere and the spirit of the wild feral.
Surls’ inspiring book opens the door to our kinship with the coyote, calling to end this tragedy and insanity.
(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.
Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)