Pregnant women and cats: everything you need to know

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What is toxoplasmosis?

Toxoplasmosis is an infection that’s caused by a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii. One of the ways in which you can contract the disease is by coming into contact with cat feces, which is why you will probably have heard that pregnant women shouldn’t clean the litter box without taking precautions.

More details about toxoplasmosis

Why is toxoplasmosis so dangerous for pregnant women?

While an infection with Toxoplasma gondii is pretty harmless to most people and rarely causes symptoms, pregnant women can transfer the parasite onto their unborn child. Unfortunately, this can lead to malformations and even miscarriage. Luckily, some simple preventative measures can hugely lower the risk of getting infected.

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How big is the risk of contracting toxoplasmosis from a cat?

Well, it’s actually pretty small. According to research, toxoplasmosis is much more often contracted by eating undercooked meat or raw veggies, or even simply by gardening. So, while it’s important to pay attention to hygiene, you are not all that likely to catch the infection from your cat. Here’s why:

1. Only cats that hunt outdoors, and indoor cats that are fed raw meat are likely to become infected. After all, cats contract the disease by eating infected meat.
2. Cats can only transfer the disease to you through their stool. What’s more: cats are only infective the first time they are exposed to T. gondii, and only for 2 weeks. As outdoor cats are likely to become infected for the first time in kittenhood when they eat a juicy mouse momma cat caught them, an adult cat that has always lived outdoors is less likely to infect you than an adolescent feline or a cat that was only recently allowed outdoors.
3. Any T. Gondii parasites in cat stool are in a dormant state, and they only become infective when they “wake up” – which happens 1 to 5 days after the stool left the cat’s body. So, if you clean your litter box daily, you are extremely unlikely to catch toxoplasmosis.
4. In order to contract toxoplasmosis from a cat, you have to come into contact with cat stool and then, without washing your hands, touch your mouth (or otherwise transmit fecal matter to your digestive system). This isn’t very likely to happen and good hand hygiene can further reduce any risks, along with the preventative measures listed below.

How to prevent contracting toxoplasmosis from a cat?

• Don’t pet stray cats.
• Don’t allow your cat on your bed.
• Ask your partner, friends, or neighbors to help with litter box duties.
• If you must clean the litterbox yourself, wear rubber gloves and thoroughly wash your hands afterwards.
• Have your cat’s litter changed every day.
• Keep your cat indoors if possible.

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