CAT LOVERS SITE

Posts Tagged ‘toxic’

Well, this is something I never knew: The saponins in Aloe Vera are toxic to cats AND dogs.

The clinical signs are:vomiting, depression, diarrhea, anorexia, tremors, change in urine color.

Before I moved, I always had quite a few aloe plants.  Guess I was lucky that the cats and dog never chewed on them.

Or at least the leaves, stems and seeds of apples because they contain cyanide. Make sure your kids never eat apple seeds!  The leaves are particularly toxic when in the process of wilting.  Cats love to munch on greenery, but I’m not sure how attracted they are to apple leaves.

Clinical signs in cats, dogs and horses are: brick red mucous membranes, dilated pupils, difficulty breathing, panting, shock.

Crab apples are just as toxic. 

Since the passing of the Clean Water Act in 1988, sewage treatment plants are not allowed to dump sewage sludge into the ocean.  This is because sewage sludge contains all kinds of pollutants:

Synthetic chemicals, more than 500 found including chemicals from medicines, steroids, flame retardants and detergents,

Heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, mercury and radioactive material,

Bacteria and fungi, including 18 human viruses (including Hepatitis A, Polio), 19 different parasites, and 31 different types of bacteria,

Pharmaceuticals, of 72 pharmaceuticals, three (i.e., cyprofloxacin, diphenhydramine, and triclocarban) were found in 84 sludge samples.

Industrial waste such as arsenic, lead, mercury and radioactive material.

Since sewage sludge is too toxic to put in the ocean, the EPA has decided that it would be great to use it as fertilizer. Sludge is now called “biosolids,” and is defined as the nutrient-rich organic byproduct of the nation’s wastewater treatment process.   

It is now used on millions of acres of farmland in the US, or, if you like to produce toxic veggies you can spread it on your home garden, just look for the brand names Milorganite, Nu-Earth, Nitrohumus, and Baystate Organic.

Using sewage sludge, by any name, is expressly prohibited by the USDA’s organics standards.  Here are a few other resources for those who are interested:

Toxic Sludge Is Good For You: Lies, Damn Lies And the Public Relations Industry
John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton
Common Courage Press

Sued and Censored
Michael Moore and TV Nation on Trial for Libel
Texas Observer; March 22, 1996

International Joint Commission
Draft Lake Michigan Management Plan for Toxic Pollutants, Chapter 4

Environmental Working Group
Dishonorable Discharge: Toxic Pollution of America’s Waters

Agency for toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Toxicology Profiles
U.S. Public Health Service

Health effects of heavy metals

I’ll go with the organic food, and organic cat food for my best furry friends!