Wife hates my cat

How do I pesuade my wife that cats don't cause 'fecal contamination' all over the house? She seems to think they step in their poop, and that their litter always has tiny poop particles on it, so the cat's paws track poop germs everywhere.

Snickers will wait till I scoop out the box before using it again, that's how fastidious she is. We probably have more contamination from or own bathroom.

Does she put the lid down when she flushes the loo? Does she clean her mobile and keyboard daily (proven to be dirtier than toilets)? Does she scrub, not just wash her hands after going to the loo?

If the answer to any of these is no she's spreading more poo than the cat.

The only 100% demonstration is to wash cat paws, collect the water and send it to a lab.

Most likely they will find no detectable coliforms.

Another point is that I imagine everybody wash hands before eating, so even the house is full of cat "byproducts" and you dig bare hands into, there is little chance to get contaminated.

An workaround is to install a "cleaning unit" (water+vinegar) near the litter and to put the cat's paws into after the job.

I'm so sorry that your wife has that mentality!! It may be useful to have her read some articles concerning the human and gut microbiomes. I'll list a few for you both to read down below. But the bottom line is, bacteria are everywhere. Especially in your home, YOUR bacteria, HER bacteria, the CAT'S bacteria. Literally everywhere. And it's ok. It only becomes a problem with poor hygiene (and I'm taking a big risk assuming you both wash your hands before eating, showering, washing used dishes/utensils, wash clothes, etc etc) and there's an over growth of BAD bacteria. Bad bacteria are those to really get you sick, like infectious e. coli. 

Also, there have been studies showing that human families will share bacterial populations because they live together and interact so much. Same goes with pets.

Is she worried about toxoplasmosis? It's true that cat's can be carriers but unless she's pregnant or you two thinking about having a baby I wouldn't worry about it. Then you could order a test for the cat and her. It's only really dangerous if a pregnant woman acquires it for the FIRST time. After than antibodies are made and it's not as dangerous for the developing fetus.

Anywho, like the other posters said, she's probably contaminating more surfaces with her poo than the cat. If she's really, really worried she can use unscented "sensitive" baby wipes to use on your kitty's paws and bum. I'll admit I was like her at first, but after a few weeks of being a first time cat owner, I realized my cat DOESN'T step on the poo, and cleans himself pretty well. Honestly, the wipes will not get rid of bacteria (even gut bacteria if present) 100%, but if it makes her feel better why not?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/19/germiest-surfaces-quiz_n_6373662.html

http://theconversation.com/your-microbiome-is-shared-with-your-family-including-your-pets-30877

http://www.ubiomeblog.com/what-happens-to-your-microbiome-if-you-own-a-dog/

Curious, was your wife on board with getting the kitty or has she changed her mind since it's arrival? At any rate, yes the litter box is the cats toilet and just by the nature of that, there will be germs. Healthy cats only use their boxes a few times a day. The cleaner you keep it, the less germs will be spread, the less smell you have and the cat will appreciate a clean toilet to do it's business in. Did you know that cats spend at least 30% of awake time washing themselves? They are clean animals just by their nature. When you keep their things clean you encourage those behaviors, which benefit all of you. I hope the 3 of you can live peacefully, if not consider rehoming kitty, the stress isn't good for any of you and can cause kitty health problems on down the line.

cats are considerably more fastidious than humans when it comes to personal hygiene. I'd tell your wife that she is far more likely to be spreading bacteria likely to cause human illness than the cat (which is true). 

But then if my wife felt like this about cats, I'd be looking to get my wife re-homed.

Id dare to say that is not about cat's poo. It is about a certain view about the hygene.

So rather useless to table arguments about cat's versus human bacteria.

In my opinion the point is to make sure that there are sufficient cleaning options in place, as if the cat would spread bacteria. I bet this is the solution: cleaning the cat's paws somehow. Does not matter it has little biological sense. But does matter for the peace of mind.   

I don't think adding to your wife's anxiety about germs is the way to go here. Cats are clean animals and humans have been living with them for centuries. They have germs and spread germs, but they aren't generally dangerous germs--just life germs. 

Gareth said:

 
cats are considerably more fastidious than humans when it comes to personal hygiene. I'd tell your wife that she is far more likely to be spreading bacteria likely to cause human illness than the cat (which is true). 

But then if my wife felt like this about cats, I'd be looking to get my wife re-homed.

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Perhaps but a cats saliva is fairly nasty. Not komodo dragon nasty but not exactly clean either.  lol

To Wife,  "Honey, I know it bothers you but for months now but Snickers and I share drinking cups all the time and you've never gotten sick from me."  hehe

JClark said:

 
Perhaps but a cats saliva is fairly nasty. Not komodo dragon nasty but not exactly clean either.  lol

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Dogs actually have far more nasty bacteria in their mouths than cats.  And owners let dogs lick their faces, ewww.

Humans' mouths aren't exactly clean either and from what I've found, it's a tossup as to whether cats' mouths or humans' mouths are nastier as they pretty much share the same bacteria colonies.

And there's things even nastier.  How many of us wash our hands consistently after handling money?  All sorts of crazy stuff lives on money that make our mouths look clean.  The flu virus can live on cash 17 days, and think of how many hands that dollar bill is passing through in that amount of time.

And our kitchens.  There's so much nasty stuff on kitchen counters that it's actually safer to lick our toilet seats.  And who here actually microwaves the sponges and washcloths once a day?  Yet you pretty much have to do that if you don't want your counters to be germ warfare breeding colonies.

So I gotta feel sorry for the OP.  His wife doesn't have a word to say about dogs, but is freaking out about a cat's paws?  Doesn't talk about her kitchen hygiene practices but focuses on feet?

She's clearly not a germaphobe if all she's focusing on is the cat's paws, so she just hates the cat and is trying to find any ridiculous excuse to get rid of the cat.  Next thing you know, the OP will hear no end about the cat trying to steal her breath or the cat being responsible for the robins going away for the winter.