Cat Crap Showcase - Thinking Outside the Litter Box to Protect Wild Sea Otters!

Did you know that cat crap can give sea otters a potentially deadly disease if it is not disposed of properly? This is a major issue for sea otters along the California coast as well as river otters, but one that most people have never heard about. Reading this website will give you the scoop on this issue and you'll learn how to avoid flushing killer poop into the ocean! We've cut the crap so we don't waste your time. Our goal is to make you aware of the stinky ocean issues and float them to the surface!

PS: This is a great opportunity for the young people out there to school all the adults you know about this issue! Class is in session! Continue reading below to get informed!

Let's talk about why cat crap stinks. There's pretty solid evidence that Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that attacks the brains of sea otters, is transmitted through cat feces. (This is the same parasite that can cause birth defects in humans, so pregnant women should stay away from poopy kitty litter boxes too!) Learn more!
When feces is flushed down the toilet, it goes to the sewage treatment plant with all the other feces in the sewer system. You would think that this parasite would be killed as the waste water is treated, but it survives! Toxoplasma gondii is one tough hombre and isn't affected by sewage treatment process. This means it is just as deadly when it leaves the treatment plant in reclimed-water and splashes into the sea, where it sinks to the bottom and is eaten by such filter-feeding creatures as crabs and sea stars - that are in turn eaten by sea otters. The poor otters might as well be swimming in a toilet bowl!

Think outside the litter box and get the word out! Cat owners and their friends can help. Next time you're scooping the poop be sure to put it in the trash can and not the yardwaste can, either! Frustrated about the situation, but don't own a cat yourself? Don't feel dumped on - You can help too! Next time you see small turds on your lawn pick them up (yeah, right) and dispose of them properly. Seriously, if you hose it down, the stuff will make its way down the storm drain, to the ocean, to the otters, to their brains, and...adios otters!

Click Here for to learn about an alternative solution for what to do with the cat litter!

Help Us Bridge the Gap to Save Sea Otters!
The choices you make every day can help these threatened animals.

-Dispose of cat feces properly and spread the word to all the cat owners you know. Click Here for to learn about an alternative solution for what to do with the cat litter!

Even politicians are taking this cat crap seriously. There's an Assembly Bill being proposed in California that will make it a law that all kitty litter sold must have warning labels on it explaining the danger to sea otters! Read more about this issue at www.seaotters.org

- Use environmentally-friendly home and garden products.

- Recycle motor oil and drive less.

- Join Monterey Bay Aquarium's Ocean Action Team and help protect the waters that sea otters call home.

Visit Friends of the Sea Otter (FSO)
This is an advocacy group dedicated to actively working with state and federal agencies to maintain the current protections for sea otters as well as to increase and broaden these preservation efforts. FSO wants to inspire the public at large about the otters' unique behavior and habitat.

Thanks for helping sea otters! Visit Monterey Bay Aquarium's Sea Otter Research and Conservation section to learn more about what you can do to make a difference.

Check out the Sea Otter exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.


Monterey Bay Live Cam - Watch sea otters in the wild.


Kelp Forest cam at the Monterey Bay Aquarium - Get a view of a sea otters habitat.