Domestic cats as environmental lead sentinels in low-income populations: a One Health pilot study sampling the fur of animals presented to a high-volume spay/neuter clinic

Aeluro, Sabrina; Kavanagh, Terrance J.

doi:10.1007/s11356-021-14769-7

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 87 publications

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“…For example, when a large episode of mercury poisoning occurred in communities living near Minamata Bay in Japan in the 1950s, local cats were the first ones to show symptoms because they had greater exposure to contaminated fish and accumulated a toxic level of mercury faster than humans ( 3 ). Similarly, cats are studied as sentinels for lead ( 4 ), flame retardants ( 5 ), chlorinated pollutants ( 6 ), and infections such as avian influenza ( 7 ). A feral cat presenting as having been poisoned may indicate a risk to people in the area who could also make contact with the substance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“State of the Mewnion”: Practices of Feral Cat Care and Advocacy Organizations in the United States

Aeluro¹,

Buchanan

Boone³

et al. 2021

Front. Vet. Sci.

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Over the last several decades, feral cats have moved from the fringes to the mainstream in animal welfare and sheltering. Although many best practice guidelines have been published by national non-profits and veterinary bodies, little is known about how groups “in the trenches” actually operate. Our study sought to address that gap through an online survey of feral cat care and advocacy organizations based in the United States. Advertised as “The State of the Mewnion,” its topics included a range of issues spanning non-profit administration, public health, caretaking and trapping, adoptions of friendly kittens and cats, veterinary medical procedures and policies, data collection and program efficacy metrics, research engagement and interest, and relationships with wildlife advocates and animal control agencies. Respondents from 567 organizations participated, making this the largest and most comprehensive study on this topic to date. Respondents came primarily from grassroots organizations. A majority reported no paid employees (74.6%), served 499 or fewer feral cats per year (75.0%), engaged between 1 and 9 active volunteers (54.9%), and did not operate a brick and mortar facility (63.7%). Some of our findings demonstrate a shared community of practice, including the common use of a minimum weight of 2.0 pounds for spay/neuter eligibility, left side ear tip removals to indicate sterilization, recovery holding times after surgery commonly reported as 1 night for male cats and 1 or 1 nights for females, requiring or recommending to adopters of socialized kittens/cats that they be kept indoor-only, and less than a quarter still engaging in routine testing of cats for FIV and FeLV. Our survey also reveals areas for improvement, such as most organizations lacking a declared goal with a measurable value and a time frame, only sometimes scanning cats for microchips, and about a third not using a standardized injection site for vaccines. This study paints the clearest picture yet available of what constitutes the standard practices of organizations serving feral and community cats in the United States.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“State of the Mewnion”: Practices of Feral Cat Care and Advocacy Organizations in the United States

Aeluro¹,

Buchanan

Boone³

et al. 2021

Front. Vet. Sci.

Self Cite

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“…For PCBs and OCPs, dietary intake is considered a major exposure route compared with indoor dust ingestion (Dirtu et al, 2012). In addition to dietary intake, inhalation of contaminated air and dust are the main routes for pets to indoor exposure to organic contaminants (EWG, 2008;Mensching et al, 2012;Peterson, 2012;Aeluro and Kavanagh, 2021). Dust is a relevant exposure pathway for the ingestion of some PFASs in cats because their grooming behaviour has resulted in a high dust intake (Weiss et al, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other sources include products for home cleaning, cosmetics, biocides, textiles, house furnishings, electronic devices, and other household products; indoor activities such as cooking, smoking, and burning incense and candles; the intrusion of materials from outdoors. Exposure routes to indoor pets may include consumption of contaminated drinking water and canned/commercial food; inhalation of contaminated air, and licking of dust (EWG, 2008;Mensching et al, 2012;Aeluro and Kavanagh, 2021). Documented organic pollutants in pet dogs include bromophenols (BPs), dioxin-like PCBs (DL-PCBs), non-dioxin-like PCBs (NDL-PCBs), organochlorine and organophosphate pesticides (OCPs and OPPs), organophosphate esters (OPEs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), PBDEs, perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), melamine and derivatives and novel brominated flame retardant (NBFRs).…”

Section: Pollutants Of Concernmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Spain, these have been found in plasma and hair samples (Ruiz-Suárez et al, 2015b;González-Gómez et al, 2018). Cats have been investigated as possible sentinels for exposure to various chemicals that are potentially harmful to humans, including flame retardants (bromine, phosphate, etc.,) (Poutasse et al, 2019;Aeluro and Kavanagh, 2021), perfluoroalkyl substances (Bost et al, 2016), and chlorinated pollutants (Ruiz-Suárez et al, 2015a).…”

Section: Pollutants Of Concernmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pet cats, the better sentinels for indoor organic pollutants

Ding

et al. 2022

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Pets are the most intimate companions of humans, as pets and people share most of their lives indoors. Based on the connections between pet animals, humans, and the environment, pet cats and dogs are often recommended as sentinels for the detection of environmental contaminants and for comorbidity tracking. However, their suitability as sentinels is yet to be established. Persistent organic pollutants and environmental hormones have replaced particulate matter (PM2.5) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in causing indoor air pollution. This review summarises the differences in the types and concentrations of indoor organic environmental pollutants detected in pet dogs and cats. This includes an analysis of the main exposure routes of different types of pollutants. To identify which of the two pet species are better sentinels, cats and dogs were compared based on their metabolic capacities of various indoor organic pollutants. In addition to PM2.5, a range of organic compounds including polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), bromophenols, perfluoroalkyl substances, organochlorine pesticides, fungicides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, phthalic acid esters, organophosphate pesticides, organophosphorus flame retardants, and melamine have been detected in both dogs and cats. Pets often accumulate PBDEs from dust; however, traces of PBDEs are present in their diet. The indoor pollutant contamination levels in internal cats were generally higher than those in dogs. Cats accumulate organic pollutants associated with indoor environments, but they are sensitive to their toxicity because, unlike dogs, cats cannot metabolise most of the accumulated pollutants. Moreover, cats share similar clinical symptoms of thyroid diseases in humans. Based on the above observations of detection of indoor organic pollutants, it could be said that cats are better sentinels than dogs.

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“…While testing canine hair, Jafari [ 61 ] observed a strong positive linear correlation between the contamination of the soil and the hair with chromium, copper, lead, and mercury, and to a lesser extent with zinc, and a negative correlation with arsenic. Promising results were obtained by testing feline hair too, for environmental lead pollution [ 69 ]. Aeluro and Kavanagh [ 69 ] found higher lead concentrations in the hair of female cats than of the males, but the authors report that these animals were more exposed (spent more time outdoors) compared to the males.…”

Section: Pets As Sentinels For Environmental Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pets, Genuine Tools of Environmental Pollutant Detection

Hegedus,

Andronie,

Uiuiu

et al. 2023

Animals

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In a shared environment, our companion animals became unintended sentinels for pollutant exposure consequences, developing even earlier similar conditions to humans. This review focused on the human–pet cohabitation in an environment we all share. Alongside other species, canine and feline companions are veritable models in human medical research. The latency period for showing chronic exposure effects to pollutants is just a few years in them, compared to considerably more, decades in humans. Comparing the serum values of people and their companion animals can, for example, indicate the degree of poisonous lead load we are exposed to and of other substances as well. We can find 2.4 times higher perfluorochemicals from stain- and grease-proof coatings in canine companions, 23 times higher values of flame retardants in cats, and 5 times more mercury compared to the average levels tested in humans. All these represent early warning signals. Taking these into account, together with the animal welfare orientation of today’s society, finding non-invasive methods to detect the degree of environmental pollution in our animals becomes paramount, alongside the need to raise awareness of the risks carried by certain chemicals we knowingly use.

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Domestic cats as environmental lead sentinels in low-income populations: a One Health pilot study sampling the fur of animals presented to a high-volume spay/neuter clinic

Cited by 7 publications

References 87 publications

“State of the Mewnion”: Practices of Feral Cat Care and Advocacy Organizations in the United States

“State of the Mewnion”: Practices of Feral Cat Care and Advocacy Organizations in the United States

Pet cats, the better sentinels for indoor organic pollutants

Pets, Genuine Tools of Environmental Pollutant Detection

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