can cats get toxoplasma gondii (toxo) from eating lizards?

Question

i am pregnant. my cat is indoor but we have a cat door that goes to the screened porch where she sometimes gets a lizard.

Answer 1

I haven't heard of cats ever catching toxoplasmosis from lizards, however, they can get it through birds and rodents. Chances are that your cat already has toxoplasmosis (most cats do) and that you've already been exposed to it, although most people become exposed to toxo through eating undercooked meat and not through cat feces. The CDC estimates that 60 million people in the U.S. carry the parasite. Toxoplasmosis affects the developing fetus if the mother is exposed to the parasite for the first time during pregnancy, so it's fairly likely that you've already been exposed and don't have much to worry about. Talk to your doctor about getting a serological screening performed to see if you have immunity to the parasite and have therefore been exposed. If the results come back saying you have been exposed there's little to worry about. If you have not been exposed have someone else clean the cat box for you.

Answer 2

Toxoplasmosis affects cats that ingest raw meat or prey that contains the microscopic parasite, or ingest material contaminated with the stool of an infected cat. So if your cat is eating lizards, she is probably exposed to the infection

Prevention is fairly simple:

Try to keep the cat indoors so she is not exposed to the parasite.

Avoid handling free roaming cats that show any signs of illness.

Avoid contact with soil in which cats may have defecated.

It takes at least a day for any organisms passed in the stool to become capable of causing infection, so change the cat's litter pan every day. Wear rubber gloves or have someone else do it. (There are self-cleaning litter pans that make the job a little easier.)

You and your cat should both be tested for toxoplasma antibodies, because if they are present in the blood, the risk of transmitting infection to the baby is greatly reduced.

Answer 3

No, it is carried thru warm blooded critters exclusively.

Toxoplasma is a genus of parasitic protozoa whose definitive host is cats but which can be carried by the vast majority of warm-blooded animals, including humans. Toxoplasmosis, the disease it causes, is usually minor and self-limiting but can have serious or even fatal effects on a fetus whose mother first contracts the disease during pregnancy or on an immunocompromised human or cat. It belongs to the phylum Apicomplexa and Toxoplasma gondii is the only known member species of the genus Toxoplasma.

Answer 4

We live in the desert and my cat even when it was a stray in our backyard eats lizards. The vet did not seem to be concerned. Now she lives mostly indoors, going outside to sun, she has lots of food and seems to use them more for play than food.

Answer 5

I don't think that cats can get toxo from lizards. Funny that people are always worried about cats when it comes to toxoplasmosis. Most people who get it get it from handling raw meat!

Answer 6

i am not sure speak to your vet. but as a pregnant woman you should not be doing the litter tray to be on the safe side. i think most cats get toxo from dead mice and another source of contimination is under cooked pork

Answer 7

i dont think so cats eat alot of animals and dont get sick