Hello there!

I have two cats. They are 5 and a half and 6 years old. Neither of them is vaccinated but they are always indoors (for the last 3 years at least). I have started giving them the pill against toxoplasmosis. I want to know what the risks are, because I intend to get pregnant. My gynaecologist said I should give my cats away but this is something I don´t want to do. Has any of you got pregnant while having a cat in the house? What precautions did you get? Did you have any problems eventually? Please, help. Any information is valuable.

no risk,first of all the cats should be sick of toxoplasmosis then you should eat their faeces " i don´t think you´ll do it! so notging problem! maybe you should pay attention when you clean their litter but if the cats stay indoor i don´t think they coul get sick! but a very important thing is to vaccinate them! good luck! and don´t listen to who tell you to give away your cats, are just ignorant people!

Thanks for answering

Yes, I will vaccinate them as soon as possible. I have already had prenatal blood tests for toxoplasmosis and I don´t have antibodies for it, but still I am worried.

you get the antibodies the time you get sick, if you don´t have them it´s cause you never get sick! don´t be worry the only vehicle for toxoplasmosis are the faeces, it´s very difficult get sick for a house cat that doesn´t go outside!and like i said in that case you should eat his faeces. however there are a lot of information on internet about toxoplasmosis, a lot of doctor make phsicological terrorism

I have a healthy 2 year old Daughter and another one due October 6th.

I also have 2 cats. Oscar is an inddors/Outside cat. He is out of a nite mostly due to not being able to keep him locked up. He is vaccinated but has only been done as he was a stray.

Lord montague is also the same as oscar only i have had him from birth and he is 8. He has had reagular vaccinations.

The only precautions i took with the cats was that i didnt clean their kitty litter trays or go anywhere near their Litter Trays.

I was also careful that if they did scratch me or bite me ....that i washed the broken skin with anibacterial wash.

My cats continued to sleep on my bed and would even lay on my tummy whilst bubby is kicking.

My 2 year old love sthe cat very much and they have adapted to each other rather well (we do have our moments still)

My family advised me to "get rid of the cats" when i was first pregnant. I didnt listen to them and we all live happily and healthy.

Good Luck!

and like i said in that case you should eat his faeces.
Wait...what?

and like i said in that case you should eat his faeces.
Wait...what?
sorry i forgot n´t you shouldn´t!

and like i said in that case you should eat his faeces.
Wait...what?

and like i said in that case you should eat his faeces.
Wait...what?
sorry i forgot n´t you shouldn´t!
wait i re-read it was right in that case you should eat his faeces to get sick...

Doesn´t matter if the cat is an inside or outside cat. Firstly, when I got pregnant, my doctor asked if I had a cat. Then he gave ME a vaccination against toxoplasmosis - I never observed any special securities.
Secondly:What´s more: you should think about washing fruits and vegetables you eat - it is more probable you´ll get toxoplasmosis while eating dirty food than from the cat. A girl I know lost her baby to toxoplasmosis last year - they never had a cat and no one in that family has any contact with animals at all.

I know about 6 people who were pregnant and have now beautiful healthy kids. They have all cats (and dogs and some even chickens) and they didn´t take any special precautions and did not get ill.

Doing simple things, like keeping hands clean, use gloves if you have to clean their litter tray and wash your fruit are good things to do.

We are living in a far too sterile environment already and this scare mongering about pets is unhealthy!

Just be very aware when cleaning litter trays. Either get someone else to do it if possible, or wear rubber gloves. As long as you´re careful you´ll have no problems whatsoever with being pregnant and keeping your cats

It´s quite scary how many friends I have who´ve been advised to give up their pets when pregnant because of scare stories about illness, or cats suffocating babies. (I´ve never actually heard of this happening, but it always seems to be churned out by people who think people shouldn´t have children and cats in the same home)

it´s amazing any of us lived to be adults since I´m sure many of us grew up with cats and dogs. :

Thank you everyone! More or less I had read about what you said cause I searched the net for information but none came from a person who was pregnant while having cats. You don´t know how relieved I am for not having to give up my precious pets. Thanks again for everything!!!

This is madness! If you are worried just ask someone else to clear out the cat lit tray while you are pregnant - that´s all. If cat **** is so bad for pregnant women then there would be a major world panic and they´d have to avoid parks, the countryside, homes with cats etc. Sounds like your doc is either being very overcautious or hates cats.

I was once told to give up running as I had had an achilles problem. I worried and panicked and ignored the advice a few months later I asked the doctor what his warning had meant when clearly it was fine. He told me he knew it would be fine but if there is ANY RISK at all ie 25 million to one they still feel the need to ´warn you´. You´ll be fine. Kimmy´s Mum xxxxxxxxxxx

sorry i forgot n´t you shouldn´t!

wait i re-read it was right in that case you should eat his faeces to get sick...
Oh, ok. I was very confused for a minute I understand now.

Id get your partner to change the litter! lol. I have had horses abort from toxo, its passed through the poo of kittens and pregnant cats. I dont know much about it in humans. only i was told not to go near kitties poo!

First of all, I´ve got a perfect baby without having Toxoplasmosis, just asking my husband to clean the cat lit while I was in pregnancy... However I don´t think that catching Toxoplasmosis is so simple... I have not it, even if I´ve been working in a cat recovery for 3 years. Don´t eat pork salami or ham, and wash the vegetables, DON´T GIVE AWAY YOUR CATS! KISSES.

No, this isn´t necessary to give up your kitty. If you have a cat & become pregnant it is strongly recommended that you speak to your doctor, midwife or obstetrician about this, they may recommend a blood test which will check for antibodies to toxoplasmosis. If you have antibodies, you have been exposed to toxoplasma gondii at some stage in your life. This means your immune system has already built up a resistance therefore you are very unlikely to become re-infected.

it is most likely your gyno isnt a cat person, because he/she should of provided you with information to avoid getting it not just saying to give away ur cat.

The most common way a cat will become infected with toxoplasmosis is from eating the oocysts present in the tissue of chronically infected prey such as rodents & birds and usually occurs in cats under 5years, but in rare cases has been found in older cats.

As with humans, it is also possible for cats to become infected from eating raw or undercooked meat.

Cats aren´t the only source of infection to humans. They can also become infected via improperly cooked meat, improperly washed vegetables, drinking untreated water (from a stream or river for example) & gardening.

*Avoid cleaning the litter trays, if this is not possible wear gloves & a mask. During my pregnancy I would also change & wash my clothes after cleaning litter trays.

* Ensure litter trays are scooped at least once a day.

*Ensure your meat is cooked thoroughly. This means it is no longer pink in the middle, the juices run clear & it has been cooked at 160F.

* Wash your hands after handling animals.

*Wear gloves in while gardening.

*Wash fruit & vegetables thoroughly before eating.

*Wash your hands after handling raw meat, fruit & vegetables.

*Wash your hands before eating.

*Don´t let your cat hunt.

*Cover sand boxes to prevent cats defecating in them.

*Don´t drink unpasteurised milk.

*Thoroughly cleaning chopping boards & utensils. Use separate boards for fruit/vegetables & meat.

*Keep the litter tray away from the kitchen & other eating areas.

im trying to fall pregnant too, our kitties are like our children so we cant get rid of them.

you will be fine just reaserch things you need to do to avoid the illness so you know what actions to take.

best of luck with falling pregnant i hope all works out for you

I had both my pregnancies with my cats sleeping in my belly, my daughters are now 22 and 15 and healthy cat lovers. I just took them to the vet and made a toxo test, I only recommend not to feed them raw meat or let them browse in the garbage.
By the way I live in mexico city and eat tacos and junk food, my toxo levels were higher than my cats, you can have as much as 10%, only if you have 30% levels is starts to become an illnes.