Urgent help! Possible Toxoplasmosis

HI everyone. Brought our new kitty who is 9 months old to the hospital last night after noticing for 24 hours that her left eye is cloudy and sometimes she won't open it and she is also sort of jerking her head a bit. The ER Dr. (who I did NOT like) thinks she probably has Toxoplasmosis - however, he did not do any blood work. He put her on a strong anibiotic and we have her segregated from our other cat for now. I'm going to contact my regular vet to see if I can bring her in tomorrow - I thought they could do blood work to test for toxoplasmosis? Do any of you think this sounds like Toxo? She is eating tons, still energetic and playful. A week ago I took her to the vet and he diagnosed her with an upper respiratory infection and put her on Amoxicillin (she was sneezing, lungs wet, etc). The ER Dr. said that was another sign.....just want to know what you all think. The kicker?? My husband and I are trying to conceive so if she is positive we have to put her down Thoughts? Could this be something else?
Thank yoU!

Christine do a read on this page and then using his search engine look for your other symptoms of you kitty


http://www.vetinfo.com/cateye.html

Christine, you won't have to put the cat down even if she has toxoplasmosis and you are pregnant. It's simply a matter of keeping the litter box scrupulously clean, and having your husband attend to that chore, or, if that's not possible, wearing rubber gloves when you do it yourself.
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...=toxoplasmosis

I'm really hoping our regular vet can see her tomorrow. We shall see. Poor thing - she is so young and we just adopted her 3 weeks ago! My husband and I will not take the chance on keeping her if she does in fact have toxoplasmosis. I just can't risk knowing she is positive and having her around me and my other cat. I would HATE myself if something were to happen to my baby...I hope you all can understand that and not judge. I will post after I see our vet....hopefully it's something else.

Originally Posted by ChristineG

I'm really hoping our regular vet can see her tomorrow. We shall see. Poor thing - she is so young and we just adopted her 3 weeks ago! My husband and I will not take the chance on keeping her if she does in fact have toxoplasmosis. I just can't risk knowing she is positive and having her around me and my other cat. I would HATE myself if something were to happen to my baby...I hope you all can understand that and not judge. I will post after I see our vet....hopefully it's something else.

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Before you make any decision, have your gynecologist test you to see if you've already been exposed to toxoplasmosis, as that would afford you and your baby immunity.

I don't have any advice, I just want to send you good vibes that everyone is ok.

People are in fact more likely to contract toxo from handling raw/undercooked meat or gardening (handling soil) than they are from their cat! Please read up on toxoplasmosis--it is harder to catch from a cat than most people think.

I have lost count of how many emails I have received over the years by women panicked by the fact of toxoplasmosis. So many cats wind up kicked outside or in shelters because of the panic when all that has to happen is common proper hygiene habits, and cleaning the litter pans while using rubber gloves (which is what you should do anyway). I use rubber gloves all the time when dumping my litter boxes- as well as when I scrub it. I use a toilet brush to scrub the pans as well.

I got a link to this article from HSUS about Pregnancy and Toxoplasmosis, and thought it might help here: http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/pr...plasmosis.html

Originally Posted by ChristineG

I'm really hoping our regular vet can see her tomorrow. We shall see. Poor thing - she is so young and we just adopted her 3 weeks ago! My husband and I will not take the chance on keeping her if she does in fact have toxoplasmosis. I just can't risk knowing she is positive and having her around me and my other cat. I would HATE myself if something were to happen to my baby...I hope you all can understand that and not judge. I will post after I see our vet....hopefully it's something else.

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I hope it's not Toxo. But if it is, after educating yourself on the subject you still decide not to keep her, please find the kitty a new home instead of putting her to sleep.

I agree with Hissy. There is absolutely no reason to put the cat down - or have her adopted by someone, a better alternative if you are really determined to get rid of her. As long as you never touch her litter (and the chance of a pregnanct woman contracting tox. from a cat is so very remote that is so unlikley. Also, so not allow the cat to go outside (always a good idea anyway with so many dangers for them there) and if the kitty has been outdoors then be careful about pucking up sand and so forth.

I hope all goes well. I think people over react to this illness - it is really a matter of having someone else care for the litter box stuff.