The poisoning of the lawns in my suburban neighborhood is already in full swing. When I go for my daily walks, I can see the granules on the sidewalk. I see the lawn company trucks, and sometimes, I can even smell the chemicals. I am strongly opposed to the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and I don’t understand the obsession with a flawless green lawn. But mostly, I worry about the effect lawn chemicals have on the cats who come in contact with them – and that can happen even if your cats never leave the house.
Consider this: Out of 30 commonly used pesticides,
- 9 are linked to cancer
- 13 to birth defects
- 21to reproductive effects
- 26 to liver or kidney damage
- 15 to neurotoxicity
- 11 to endocrine disruption
These data are for effects on humans. If you consider how much smaller than humans cats are, and that they are likely to ingest some of these chemicals during grooming, I think it’s safe to assume that the effects on cats may be even more severe.
Last fall, I wrote an article for Animal Wellness Magazine about the hazards of these toxic chemicals, and how you can protect your cat.
Click here to read How Lawn Chemicals Affect Your Cat
Our three cats are indoor cats.
We have an acre lot. As long as it’s green and cut, we don’t care about the dandelions, plantane etc. The bees like the dandelions.
IMHO lots of people are too uptight about their lawns and it results in a lot of environmental and collateral damage from the chemicals that are used.
That’s part of the reason I’ve always had my cats indoors, safe and sound.
We don’t use anything on our yard. We don’t even care how it looks as long as it is cut. We have quite a few stray cats in my area that like to visit my yard.