Pregnancy and Toxoplasmosis

Hi. I just found out I'm pregnant, and read extensively online about the risk of toxoplasmosis. I know all about having someone else clean the litter box, or wearing gloves while doing so, washing my hands thoroughly after handling cats and raw meat, etc. My two cats are indoors (always have been), but I'm worried about germs they spread outside the litter box. Sometimes they track their feces along the bathroom floor, and those same paws travel everywhere in our apartment! I'm totally freaked out by the possiblity of "poop germs" being everywhere (my bed, couch, floors)!! And it's not like I can spray their paws with Lysol--that's just mean and wrong!

Will this heighten my chances for contacting toxoplamosis?

First...congratulations! Second, the fact that your cats are indoors minimizes the chance of them becoming infected with toxoplasmosis, and unless they are having mice to hunt indoors (!), their risk is truly low.

Just to be safe though, it is best to do as you described re you not changing the litterbox yourself, and washing your hands after handling your cats. For any tracking they are doing in the bathroom, consider a cat friendly cleaner to use on the counter or floor (i.e. Xo Plus is cat safe and an excellent deoderizer), have a stash of disposable gloves on hand, and just wipe up that area of your bathroom as needed. For their paws, there are no-rinse shampoos made for cats that you can use, I have one that is a pump spray, bought it at my vets, and it's great for any quick clean up. Again, wear gloves before cleaning their feet.

Congrats as well, but toss the Lysol away as it is toxic to kitties. You can use a hot vinegar rinse (use rubber gloves) or Simple Green to get rid of germs. I have known many a pregnant woman with cats, none that I know of ever came down sick with toxoplasmosis

Thanks for the great advice!!!

You are actually at higher risk of contracting it from handling meat or from gardening (handling soil) than from the cats.

You can actually have your cats tested for toxo as well. I used to be a social worker and an AIDS service agency and several of the cat lover clients had their cats tested to be sure.

Originally Posted by esrgirl

You can actually have your cats tested for toxo as well. I used to be a social worker and an AIDS service agency and several of the cat lover clients had their cats tested to be sure.

Click to expand...

That's a good idea. So, if you cats test negative for it, you have nothing to worry about?

Just to say that I had two healthy pregnancies (and children) whilst having three cats. I was aware of the risk and didn't change the litter while I was pregnant (good excuse!), and washed hands after playing and cuddling them, before eating etc. Maybe I should have taken extra precautions, but I never had any problems. Congratulations and enjoy your pregnancy.

You can also have yourself tested for taxo. If for some reason you test pos then I believe you are safe from becoming re-infected... i may be wrong so talk to your doc about this.

Also, as someone else said you are at much higher risk from undercooled meat, gardening, and also unpasturized (raw milk) cheese.

The oocysts that cause taxo are not airborn, you can only become infected if you direcly ingest the organism. Also, oocysts don't do whats called "sporolate" for 2 to several days after the cat poops. That means even an infected cat's poop is not infectious for at least 2 days after pooping.

If you follow basic precautions you really have nothying to worry about, worry more about that undercooked hamburger.