I was wondering if cats living in squalor can pose a health problem to those around them. I have a neighbour with mental health problems who keeps a large number of cats. She does not clean up after them and there is sometimes a horrendous smell of urine and faeces that comes out of her home and invades our homes. She lives two flats away from me and I can sometimes smell her home through the pipe work. This has been going on for years. Others have told me that cats can cause health problems but I wasn’t sure. Any ideas?
Very interesting question..probably one that needs to be researched especially in this person’s case. I would imagine that the urine and feces that she does not clean up could become very unhealthy to be around..even breathing the air. Has anyone reported this situation to the humane society or is there an association where you live that would get involved and help resolve this problem? I would be worried also. The only thing that I have ever heard of concerning cats causing health problems to humans other than the obvious “allergies” is that when a woman is pregnant, doctors recommend that the pregnant woman does not change the litter box..they suggest having someone else do it. The reason for this is because how some cats eat mice and other rodents that carry diseases and of course it goes through the cat’s digestive system and ends up in the litter box. When I was pregnant with my 22 year old son, the doctor asked me if I had a cat at my first visit. I didn’t, but I was curious why he asked. He told me that there is a condition or disease called Toxoplasmosis that a pregnant woman can pass to her fetus if she comes into contact with the feces of a cat that eats mice. Now this has been a long time ago and I haven’t heard anything else about it since but I am sure there is plenty of info about it on the internet. Oh yeah, when my 13 year old son was 5 months old, he developed a red, swollen bump under his arm..in the armpit area. I took him to the doctor immediately and they asked if we owned a cat..no again(not a cat person)..or if he had been around any cats. I told the doctor that he had never been around a cat and they said that they were going to run some tests to see what was going on and that they would also test him for “Cat Scratch Fever”. Until then I thought that there was no such thing. They said it can be fatal though. Fortunately, he didn’t have it and I knew he had had no contact with any cats but it was still scary and it ended up being an infected lymph node or gland.
I apologize for my long answer..but these are the things that I am aware of and I hope this helps some. I would hate to have to live there near that mess…I hope that you can find someone that can fix the problem..this can’t be healthy for the person that lives in the house with the cats or you since you can smell it so strongly through the pipe work. It just seems like it could cause some sort of respiratory problems if you are breathing it. I hope it works out for you.
all kinds of allergies…
sneezing
Google “toxoplasmosis”
Edit to “ez m” below:
Leptospirosis? Weil’s Disease? From cats? Are you on drugs?
toxoplasmosis – in their faeces, can cause miscarriage in pregnant women. Either this or a different disease in their faeces can cause blindness
Phone the RSPCA to have them removed. . These cats should not be being kept like this.
leptosperoeses
If they scratch your eyes they could blind you
Well, keep in mind that it may not be the cats, but the dirty conditions that breed disease as well. Not cleaning up feces will attract mice and rats (who will eat it).