The health consequences of cats

toast with peanut butter later on. Cold breakfasts may be more appealing than hot breakfasts during the summer months.

Keep cut and washed vegetables and fruit in the refrigerator for ready-toeat snacks. Pair them with hummus, cottage cheese, yogurt or even peanut butter for a healthy and fast snack. Get creative with salads by adding vegetables like beets, bell peppers, broccoli, radishes or shredded cabbage. You can also throw in nuts, tuna, edamame or cooked chicken to add protein. Try adding vegetables to sandwiches like tomatoes, avocado, spinach or lettuce. Cook larger batches of food when the weather is cooler and freeze leftovers in individual meal-sized portions. Then thaw leftovers and skip cooking on hot days when you don’t feel like cooking.

Exploring Local Produce

Cherries, rhubarb, strawberries, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, beans, cabbage and peas are all grown seasonally in Ontario during the month of June. Find local produce by visiting a farmer’s market or farm gate or look for the Foodland Ontario logo when buying from a grocery store. When you buy food that’s locally grown, it’s fresher and tastier as it hasn’t been transported over long distances. Buying local also helps support the community, creates jobs and supports economic growth in Ontario.

Some meals and snacks ideas using seasonal produce include:

- whole grain pasta with fresh vegetables tossed in a tomato sauce or pesto with some grated cheese on top,

- cherries or strawberries added to yogurt or cottage cheese, - blended fresh fruit in a smoothie.

- top half of a whole grain bagel with fresh tomato slices and a hard-boiled egg, tuna or hummus.

Summer Food Safety

Barbequing is a common way of cooking in warmer months. When it comes to barbequing, there are additional safety precautions that need to be taken. Keep these 4 steps in mind: Separate, Clean, Cook and Chill.

- Separate: keep raw and ready-to-eat ingredients separated to avoid crosscontamination. This includes while grocery shopping, in the refrigerator, if transporting foods, and using different plates for raw and ready-to-eat ingredients. Throw out any marinade that had raw meat in it.

- Clean: wash hands in warm soapy water before handling food and after handling raw foods, and wash produce. Clean surface, and wash and sanitize utensils between use on raw and ready-toeat foods.

- Cook: cook meat thoroughly and use a food thermometer to make sure meat reaches a safe internal temperature. Beef steaks and roasts can be cooked to your preferred doneness as long as they were not mechanically tenderized and the outside is cooked.

- Chill: store foods like meat, eggs and dairy products in the refrigerator at 4 degrees Celsius or lower. Cool leftovers quickly and store covered in the refrigerator or cooler at 4 degrees Celsius.

For more information, visit www.healthunit.org, connect with us on Facebook and Twitter or call 1-800-660-5853.

Dog lovers may want to skip this week’s commentary. For cat lovers too, this column may prove a disappointment. A health risk assessment of household cats might be all you need to recommit to a dog.

Cats are the darlings of the Internet. And that may be the safest way to enjoy them.

There can be no doubt that cats provide crucial companionship for many people. Their entertainment powers rival dogs. But here are a few thoughts on the ways cats can have an impact on human health.

First, the killer instinct of cats has a startling effect on biodiversity. About a decade ago, the journal Nature published a study that estimated domestic cats kill 1.3–4.0 billion birds and 6.3–22.3 billion mammals annually! More recently, in Australia, a study found that the hunting success of feral cats, especially in areas affected by wildfires, has contributed to the collapse in population of small mammal species.

While charming household cats may not be successful in killing

Hookworms are another concern. These tiny worms are found in cat feces and in the soil and sand used by infected cats. Humans walking barefoot in contaminated areas can pick up the worms. The larvae penetrate the skin causing red, raised tracks that are very itchy. Fortunately, the worms can’t survive in their human host, so the problem goes away without treatment within a few weeks most of the time.

It’s your choice, choose local larger prey, that doesn’t stop them from trying. It’s amazing to learn that nearly half of house cats have physically attacked their owners!

Most of these incidents are not serious. But when provoked, cats know to direct their sharp teeth and claws to the face of their victims. These are the injuries that result in emergency room visits.

What are some of the other perils of living with cats? Numerous diseases can be transmitted by cats, including bacterial infections. The cats usually become infected by eating contaminated raw meat. Humans touching these cats, their food, toys or bedding – and especially in handling cat poop – neglect to wash their hands. Salmonella can be caught this way.

Other bacterial infections can be caused by flea bites or fights with other infected cats. Cat scratch disease, for example, can be transmitted to humans by the lick of a cat. It’s normally not serious, but infection can lead to fever, eye infection, and more severe symptoms in children and people with weakened immune systems.

Ringworm is an infection caused by fungus spread by touching an infected animal.

Roundworm is a parasitic disease transmitted by swallowing the eggs, something children can easily do when playing in sandboxes and then not washing their hands.

Thanks to laws requiring vaccination, rabies in cats is rare. But watch out for feral cats that may have come in contact with infected wildlife.

Toxoplasmosis may be the greatest concern. It’s caused by a parasite found in soil, water, meat, or poop from an infected cat. Most commonly, people become infected when they do not wash their hands after cleaning a cat’s litterbox. There can be serious health consequences for people with weakened immune systems, including neurological disease. Pregnant women need to stay away from the litterbox and any other areas exposed to cat poop due to the risk of birth defects associated with toxoplasmosis.

With such a disparaging commentary on cats, we are certain to receive a ton of reader mail reminding us about dog attacks, dog-borne diseases, and other dog drama. But long-time readers will know that for us, there is no contest.

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