b'Have someone else clean your cats litter box. If you mustclean it yourself, wear gloves and wash your hands withsoap and water for at least three minutes. (Hand sanitizers are convenient, but they wont kill all of the germs.) Keep thelitter box far away from food preparation areas.Monitor your pets play pals. Dont let your pet play with anyanimal that isnt under the care of a veterinarian, as suchanimals are more likely to pass on a fungal infection (or otherdisease), which your pet could transmit to you. Ask someone to take your pet to its vet appointments.This will help conserve your energy and keep you away from animals who may be sick. This is especially important if your pet is getting a live vaccine, such as canine distemper, parvovirus or adenovirus-2 vaccines. Ask the vet or a memberof his or her staff if you are not sure whether the vaccine your pet is scheduled to receive is live. One final point of guidance: be aware of salmonella. Salmonella infection (salmonellosis) is a bacterial disease affecting the intestinal tract and can cause serious illness. These bacteria typically live in the intestines of animals or humans and are shed through feces. While salmonellosis can be passed to people from any animal, it is most common with chickens and ducks, reptiles (lizards, snakes, turtles, tortoises) and rodents (rats, mice, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs). Stay away from these animals as much possible and ask someone else to clean their enclosure or tank. If it is necessary for you to touch or handle them, wear gloves and wash your hands with soap and water afterwards for three minutes. 10 WWW.CANCERCARE.ORG CANCERCARE|CARING FOR YOUR PETS WHEN YOU HAVE CANCER 11'