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Cats held a special place in Carson's heart.

By Bernard Unti

It is terribly ironic that the most appalling tainted pet food scandal in our nation's history has coincided with the centenary of Rachel Carson's birth. Carson's love for wildlife and marine life is well known, but she also had deep feelings for domestic animals, especially cats, who had a central place in her home life. The recent controversy over the contamination of pet food with the additive melamine is another reminder of the many threats to animal health that have yet to be effectively addressed. It is all too easy for animals to be exposed to dangerous herbicides, pesticides and other products commonly used in the household and outdoor environments.

While most associate Carson's indictment of reckless use of pesticides with the impact of such chemicals on wildlife, "Silent Spring" (1962) also underscored the dangers they posed to domestic animals, including pets. As Carson discovered, in virtually every area in which the misuse of pesticides had been documented, domestic animals sickened and died in the same terrible way that wild animals and birds had. Carson also called attention to the ready availability and poor labeling of highly dangerous products for household use, where they would pose serious, ongoing threats to the well-being of companion animals.

Carson was one of the first to observe that cats were particularly sensitive to insecticides. In late 1959, in an incident chronicled in "Silent Spring," indiscriminate use of aldrin (a chlorinated hydrocarbon compound used to combat the Japanese beetle) resulted in the sickening of numerous cats and dogs. In Illinois at about the same time, the pesticide dieldrin claimed ninety percent of farm cats during the first season of its use.

"Under the philosophy that now seems to guide our destinies," Carson wrote, "nothing must get in the way of the man with the spray gun. The incidental victims of his crusade against insects count as nothing."

As a young girl growing up in rural Springdale, Pa., Carson had cows, pigs, chickens, dogs and cats all around her. Influenced by the nature study movement that took hold in the early twentieth century, her mother taught young Rachel a regard for all living things. Throughout her life, Carson went out of her way to help lost or injured animals, and she was rarely without one or two cats in her home.

Carson often mentioned her cats in correspondence or conversation, and her editor Paul Brooks observed that she "would sometimes talk or write about them as if they were human beings." In the mid-1950s, responding to a letter from the Cat Welfare Association, Carson wrote, "I have always found that a cat has a truly great capacity for friendship. He asks only that we respect his personal rights and his individuality; in return, he gives his devotion, understanding, and companionship. Cats are extremely sensitive to the joys and sorrows of their human friends, they share our interests."

Cats were her constant companions during late night writing stints, sitting or dozing on top of her documents and manuscript sheets. The death of any animal in the Carson household was an occasion for deep mourning. In fall 1963, knowing that she herself had not long to live, Carson expressed relief that her last cat had predeceased her.

Today, Carson's warning about the risk of over reliance on dangerous chemicals is as relevant as ever, and the empirical evidence linking insecticides to illness and death in companion animals continues to accumulate. In the years since Carson's death, the vulnerability of domestic pets to potentially toxic substances in flea dips, lawn chemicals, household items and food products has unfortunately increased. When it comes to these assorted threats, companion animals, who can't read warning labels or signs, are as dependent as ever on the goodwill and vigilance of caring human beings.

Bernard Unti, senior policy adviser and special assistant to the president, received his doctorate in U.S. history in 2002 from American University. His book, "Protecting All Animals: A Fifty-Year History of The Humane Society of the United States," is available from Humane Society Press.