Is a cat bad for a pregnant woman?

Question

My roomate is pregnant and I worry that my cat will have an bad influence on her. Is cat bad for a pregnant woman?
Therefore, while she is in my room, I would close my door to keep my cat out. But I still worry my cat's litter would influence her. Is it possible?

Answer 1

Toxoplasmosis is a disease caused by a single celled protozoan. Although the organism can be found in many species of mammals and birds, the cat is the only species that ingests this parasite (by eating raw meat or unwashed vegetables) and then spreads it via its feces. Toxoplasmosis is a concern because it can cause harm to the developing human fetus if the mother is exposed during pregnancy.

Although many women are told by their physicians to avoid contact with cats during pregnancy, it is important to know that cats are not a high risk source of toxoplasmosis infection. Many more people are exposed to the parasite by ingesting raw or undercooked meats, and avoiding meat or cooking it thoroughly is a better way to avoid the disease than steering clear of felines. Common sense hygiene and a few extra precautions should be practiced by the pregnant woman who has a cat.

Your veterinarian can perform a fecal analysis and blood test to determine if your cat is infected. Following these tests, keep the cat indoors; if you allow your cat to roam outdoors she could subsequently pick up the parasite from the bird and small animals she may prey upon (another good reason to keep her indoors!). Since it takes 1–5 days following defecation for the infections stage of the parasite to develop, if you empty and disinfect the litterbox daily you should not be exposed to the infection.

Pregnant Women Should Follow These Precautions
Do not eat any raw or uncooked meat.
Have your cat tested by your veterinarian to be sure she is free of infection. Then keep her indoors so that she won’t eat infected meat. Also, do not feed your cat any raw meat.
If you can, let someone else change the litterbox daily. If this is not possible, wear rubber gloves and wash your hands thoroughly following the daily task.
Avoid contact with cats other than your own and stay away from sand boxes and gardening soil in which fecal contamination may exist

Answer 2

Of all the things to stress over, this rates way down at the bottom.

Cat litter won't hurt anyone unless you slip and fall on it, or try to eat it.

Cat's won't hurt a pregnancy. If she was highly allergic you woulndn't want her to be taking medicines for it while pregnant unless the doctor ok'd it.

If you're worried about the toxomoplasmosis, most cats don't even have it, and most people have already been exposed to it if they gardened or handled raw meat (most people are immune to it). If she's not cleaning your cat's litter box and not washing her hands afterwards, toxomoplasmosis isn't a concern.

If she likes the cat better than you, then yes, he can be a bad influence on her....but you can talk so you can win back into her graces.

Enjoy both the cat and your room mate. And stop stressing over things this small.

Answer 3

You must be thinking of toxoplasmosis.



Between 30% and 60% of the world population is estimated to carry a Toxoplasma infection. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that overall seroprevalence in the United States as determined with specimens collected by the third National Health and Nutritional Assessment Survey (NHANES III) between 1988 and 1994 was found to be 22.5%, with seroprevalence among women of childbearing age (15 to 44 years) of 15%. During the first few weeks, the infection typically causes a mild flu-like illness or no illness. After the first few weeks of infection have passed, the parasite rarely causes any symptoms in otherwise healthy adults. However, people with a weakened immune system, such as those infected with HIV, may become seriously ill, and it can occasionally be fatal. The parasite can cause encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and neurologic diseases and can affect the heart, liver, and eyes (chorioretinitis).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxoplasmosis
Pregnancy precautions:
Congenital toxoplasmosis is a special form in which an unborn child is infected via the placenta. This is the reason that pregnant women should be checked for Toxoplasma antibodies. A positive titer indicates previous exposure and immunity and largely ensures the unborn baby's safety. If a woman receives her first exposure to Toxoplasma while pregnant, the baby is at particular risk. A woman with no previous exposure should avoid handling raw meat, exposure to cat faeces, and gardening (cat faeces are common in garden soil). Most cats are not actively shedding oocysts and so are not a danger, but the risk may be reduced further by having the litterbox emptied daily (oocysts require longer than a single day to become infective), and by having someone else empty the litterbox.

Treatment is very important for recently infected pregnant women, to prevent infection of the fetus. Since a baby's immune system does not develop fully for the first year of life, and the resilient cysts that form throughout the body are very difficult to eradicate with antiprotozoans, an infection can be very serious in the young.

Answer 4

Despite what some people have said here, it is not a wives tale, it can be dangerous for your roommate's unborn child if she handles the litter box. That doesn't mean you have to get rid of you cat or anything. Just make sure the box is cleaned daily (by you) and encourage your roommate to wash her hands after handling your cat. It's not the cat, but the cat feces that can be the source of the infection.

Answer 5

There is no need to worry.

The only thing is that pregnant women should not clean the litter box out while they are pregnant. There is a possiblity that bacteria from the cat's feces could cause problems with the pregnancy. That is why the back of litter boxes say that you should not clean the litter box if you're pregnant.

As with any animal, she should wash her hands after petting it. Hope this helps! =)

Answer 6

Hi
no theres nothing to worry about owning a cat and being preganant. The only thing is that i would recommend that the preganat lady does not change the litter tray while she is preganant, this is just an extra precaustion, but apart from that having acat around might be good for your friends blood pressure as they are very calming creatures to have a round.

Answer 7

The cat itself will not harm a pregnant woman. If the cat is one that goes outdoors, she should not be the one to clean the litterbox, as cat feces can contain a parasite that causes toxoplasmosis; it is not harmful to the mother, but can cause serious problems with the developing fetus.

Answer 8

what in the world would the litter do to influence her????There is nothing wrong with owning a cat and being pregnant

Answer 9

don't let her scoop the litter box. that is the only thing potentially harmful for her

Answer 10

only of you come into contact with its feaces, wear gloves or get your husband to clean the litter tray.