Is it bad to have a Cat in the home while you pregnant?

Question

or when the baby is still very small?

Answer 1

u can get toxoplasmosis from cats. it is either lethal for foetus or child may be born retarded. toxoplasmosis can't have any symptoms on cats, so u can't know whether your cat is carrying it or not. when a child is born a cat can sneak and sleep on baby's face and suffocate a baby. there was an article about it in my local newspaper.

well, nobody mentioned toxoplasmosis here. people re very ignorant. i suggest instead of wasting your time here try to find on internet this word. also u might ask your nurse about it. my nurse gave me a brochure when i was pregnant about all dangers of having pets

Answer 2

No. As others have said here, the only concern is the litterbox. There is the chance that if a cat had "toxoplasmosis" that could be passed to you if you were careless in handling the litterbox. First, the cat would have to have it. Next, you'd have to pick it up by being careless in handling the box. Toxoplasmosis has been linked to birth defects. I have done some work related to this but it was a long time ago. If I remember corrrectly (and you could look this up) the exposure may have to be early in the pregnancy. Anyway, the advice given to women is to ask someone else to handle the litterbox. You can feed the cat. If a cat were infected it is the stool that would be the worry.

Answer 3

No. Cats, or any other kind of animal are good to have. Don't scoop the litter box, because the chemicals in it can be harmful. You can go buy on of those self cleaning ones, but those are a bigger pain in the butt than just scoopin it yourself. Have someone else do it. If you aren't married, or don't have any one else in the house, do what I do. Have a neighborhood kid do it. He's saving up for an X-Box, so I pay him $15 a week to come over and scoop my litter box, and wash my car.

Anyway, unless you develop gestational allergies, then don't worry about the cat. The chances of kitty smothering your baby in the crib? Minimal. You know your cat. If your cat is the kind that sleeps on your head, maybe you want to close the nursery door. When I was a baby, we had a cat that was like my blanket for ten years. We had cats, dogs, ferrets, rats, mice....

Answer 4

I've actually answered this question a few times in the cat section, and the answer is no! There really is only one possible danger, and that is toxoplasmosis, an infection which is caused by sporazoan parasites often found in cat poo. However, simply wear rubber gloves when cleaning the litter tray,( or get someone else to do it) and the danger of contracting it will be nil. Both my sister and I, and a good many of my friends, had cats all through our pregnancies with no problems whatsoever. All the other stories you may have heard about cats and babies really are just that, stories, and have no truth to them at all.

Answer 5

My 14 year old cat died recently. My kids grew up with him from birth and loved him dearly. It was really a great thing.

Of course, cats are different. He was a great, tolerant cat. Not aggressive or mean.

So, typically, it is not bad, it is good, although you may have a few scratches in the toddler phase.

Be sure to follow the advice given here - don't clean the litter box while pregnant or nursing.

Answer 6

The biggest risk is toxoplasmosis. This is a rare but serious disease that can affect your unborn child. You can be contaminated by accidentally ingesting cat feces.(You can also get this by eating undercooked meat) Don't change the litter box while you're pregnant, let someone else do it. As far as when the baby is small, just make sure the baby doesn't have access to the litter box. You'll be just fine.

Answer 7

I would suggest being careful around a litter box. Have someone else clean it while you're pregnant. You don't want to breath any litter dust.
After you have the baby, just keep the cat away from the crib. Don't let a cat lie with an infant.

Answer 8

Don't change the litterbox while you are pregnant. Your immune system is weaker, and you could develop toxoplasmosis from the litterbox. It is a disease that would pass on to your unborn child and could cause blindness and mental retardation later in life. If you have to change it, wear gloves, wash your hands and change it daily to reduce the risk.

You have to be careful too when mixing cats and infants. The cat will like to cuddle up to the warm body and could unintentionally suffocate your child. They also don't know what to do when a baby cries and may try to lie on their face.

Be careful and don't get rid of your cat just because you are pregnant!

Answer 9

Coming from a "cat person", the others are correct - it isn't the cat, it is the litter box you need to be concerned about while pregnant.

Have someone else handle the litter box until the baby is here.

Answer 10

No, it's not bad - unless you or the baby are allergic. I heard that it's bad to handle cat litter when you're pregnant, but other than that don't think there's a problem.

Answer 11

Yeah....they suck the breath out of the baby at night or because they baby's breath is so warm they huddle on its face and smother it.

old wives tales meant to send fear through Victorian-era females. Remember...these rumors were around when women couldn't work, vote and fainted at the drop of a hat.

just be careful though. When kids learn to walk..they're attracted to kitty. Kitty watches from afar but kids "lumber' as they walk. that scares the crap outta a cat and they may spring at the kid out of fear or self defense.
Just be aware that can happen so I'd remove the cat from the room while junior may be out and about.