On Feb. 29, the results of my cat Swirl’s lab tests came back showing that he had giardia. 

I walk Swirl daily with harness and leash in uptown Port Townsend. He likes to nibble grass and his giardia likely came from the local deer herd’s saliva on the grass. The symptoms are vomiting and loose stools with diminished appetite and rapid weight loss.

I pick up deer droppings from my yard, and it appears the giardia is getting worse and worse each week. There’s no mistaking the loose, slightly slimy, greenish blobs that smell very different — much more pungently awful than usual. 

Giardia is transmitted animal to human and vice versa; it spreads rapidly and easily from the saliva. If one pet tests positive, all in the home need to be treated. 

The vet’s care and treatment worked very well; Swirl felt better after about four days of treatment. If you suspect your animal may have it, take them to vet right away, as the decline is rapid, especially for smaller animals.

I posted about Swirl on NextDoor to bring awareness about giardia here. Responses showed some dogs and people had also contracted giardia.

My concern is what can be done for treatment of the ever growing deer herd, now with many ill, to stop the spread. 

If the trap/neuter/return suggestion had been implemented 20 years ago, when it was first suggested, a treatment protocol for giardia would be easier to manage, with fewer to treat. 

Someone who was knocked down by the deer last year said the city’s plan to cut deer population growth is to strictly enforce the fines for feeding them. That over time, the herd growth should diminish. 

My thought is that it will only diminish if they ban everyone’s gardens, kill the lawns, etc. 

A much better solution would be to neuter all the bucks, as there seems to be many more does than bucks. Instead of possibly a hundred years (with the fines plan), we could see steady decline in a few years.

Maybe the city can consult the veterinarians who deal with cattle and larger animals, and Fish and Wildlife, to see what can be done for the deer herds to stop the giardia. 

At this point, it can easily become a health hazard (as if we need another one after the past two years) and the Health Department may also need input. 

I suspect that many of the fawns soon to be born will have giardia.

www.cdc.gov/parasites/giardia/general-info.html

www.cdc.gov/parasites/giardia/prevention-control-pets.html 

Bonnie Masi
PORT TOWNSEND