Cat crawled into small vegetable garden and start to decompose… destroy or safe garden? - Ask Extension
Hi,
One of our stray feral cats crawled into my small vegetable garden and died there under some of my tomato plants but next to my cucumber and b...
Knowledgebase
Cat crawled into small vegetable garden and start to decompose… destroy or safe garden? #880562
Asked August 07, 2024, 2:17 PM EDT
Hi,
One of our stray feral cats crawled into my small vegetable garden and died there under some of my tomato plants but next to my cucumber and basil plants. The smell I was told was horrid, aka it was decomposing and dispersing toxins. Someone was able to safely bag the cat and someone else came and got the cat.
My question is now, what do I do with my veggie garden? Is the produce safe to consume? Are the plants taking in any diseases or toxins? My cucumbers are huge now that I came back from a 10 day vacation. I have 4-6 cukes ready for harvest but they have sat there for almost a week now since I am unsure how to proceed or if they are safe to consume. And do I dig up my garden? I also have two beautiful basil plants there that are full and ready for harvest. Are these bad too? Please assist!
Baltimore County Maryland
Expert Response
You don't need to remove or replace soil, but crops that might have come into contact with the animal's body fluids should be treated as inedible. We don't have a specific procedure to recommend in this situation, and do not have medical training, but you can use the information (pasted below) that we've shared for other questions about raccoon scat or plant damage in a vegetable garden to be cautious about how you approach potential microbe contamination.
We do not think plants would be absorbing any toxins (if, for example, the cat had consumed rodent bait by eating poisoned rats or mice), but cannot say for certain. It would not be easy or cheap to test for, especially not knowing what specific toxin would be involved that a lab would need to be looking for.
Parasites as well as pathogens would be a concern. Any covered crop (typically eaten raw) that shows signs of damage should be disposed of. Fecal material, if found, can be removed with a shovel or gloved hands. The feces can be buried in another location (not a produce garden), or bagged and sent to the landfill. Plant material that shows signs of animal damage can have those parts pruned back or just not handled for a week or so, since environmental conditions will kill any pathogens. (For example, tomato plants showing feeding damage on one side, might be allowed to produce a crop on the other side. Tomato fruits high up enough that the cat would not have come into contact with them are probably okay, especially if you cook them and don't eat them raw.)
Peel and remove damaged portions of any root crops and cook thoroughly. Dispose of leafy greens and herbs if there is damage to them, especially since basil is not cooked. Cooking thoroughly is an option if any leafy greens grown are collards, kale or callaloo. Gloves should be disposed of. Any tools contaminated with feces should be washed with detergent, scrubbed, rinsed, and allowed to dry. A sanitizer could then be applied. (Follow the label directions.) Hands should be washed, clothes washed if contaminated, boots cleaned of any fecal material so it does not get tracked to other areas.
For the future, which will help keep wildlife like rabbits, raccoons, and deer out (squirrels too, if the fencing forms a roof over the enclosure too), fencing the garden can be a good way to protect crops.
Miri
We do not think plants would be absorbing any toxins (if, for example, the cat had consumed rodent bait by eating poisoned rats or mice), but cannot say for certain. It would not be easy or cheap to test for, especially not knowing what specific toxin would be involved that a lab would need to be looking for.
Parasites as well as pathogens would be a concern. Any covered crop (typically eaten raw) that shows signs of damage should be disposed of. Fecal material, if found, can be removed with a shovel or gloved hands. The feces can be buried in another location (not a produce garden), or bagged and sent to the landfill. Plant material that shows signs of animal damage can have those parts pruned back or just not handled for a week or so, since environmental conditions will kill any pathogens. (For example, tomato plants showing feeding damage on one side, might be allowed to produce a crop on the other side. Tomato fruits high up enough that the cat would not have come into contact with them are probably okay, especially if you cook them and don't eat them raw.)
Peel and remove damaged portions of any root crops and cook thoroughly. Dispose of leafy greens and herbs if there is damage to them, especially since basil is not cooked. Cooking thoroughly is an option if any leafy greens grown are collards, kale or callaloo. Gloves should be disposed of. Any tools contaminated with feces should be washed with detergent, scrubbed, rinsed, and allowed to dry. A sanitizer could then be applied. (Follow the label directions.) Hands should be washed, clothes washed if contaminated, boots cleaned of any fecal material so it does not get tracked to other areas.
For the future, which will help keep wildlife like rabbits, raccoons, and deer out (squirrels too, if the fencing forms a roof over the enclosure too), fencing the garden can be a good way to protect crops.
Miri
Great, this was very informative. Thank you so much!!
Sent from AOL Mobile Mail
On Wednesday, August 7, 2024, 2:55 PM, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
You're welcome!
