This is a guest post by Brava Mamma.
~~~
A month before I got pregnant, my husband and I rescued the little one in the picture above. We were driving home from dinner and had to stop at Walgreens for a few things. When we pulled up to the parking lot, we saw a girl holding the tiniest kitten we’d ever seen. As we walked by her, I commented on how cute the kitty was (a mix of Siamese and Tabby). The girl told us that she had found the kitten in the bushes of her apartment complex and was trying to find a home for her.
My husband and I had never seriously talked about getting a kitten (even though I grew up with a cat), especially since we were trying for a baby and I had read all the hype about cats and pregnant women (apparently, they don’t mesh).
But one look at her little blue eyes, and we were both hooked.
In hindsight, she has prepared us for a baby more than we ever thought she would. When we first brought her home, she was so tiny she could fit into my hand, and needed to be bottle fed every three hours. Seeing my husband wake up at 3 am to go bottle feed a kitten assured me that I won’t be solely in charge of middle of the night feedings when the baby arrives. We also needed to make sure she was pooping (gross), and we actually did a triumphant dance when she finally had her first blow out.
And speaking of kitten poop, that’s actually the topic of this post. See, cats get a bad rep with pregnant women because their feces can carry toxoplasmosis, a parasite which is no-bueno for baby in utero.
When I found out I was pregnant a month after bringing the stray kitten home, I freaked out (as I tend to do a lot). A google search actually accentuated my fears, because pregnant women are advised not to get kittens, and especially not stray ones, who were abandoned in the bushes of some random apartment complex.
Before dropping her off at the local shelter, I called the vet to ask him about Toxo. He assured me that in 35 years of practice, he’d never encountered a cat with the parasite. To reassure me even more, he told me that we can test the kitten for Toxo and if she did have it, he could board her for the 6 weeks it takes for the bug to get out of her system.
$150 dollars, and a big needle in my kitty’s neck, assured me that our little furry friend was not a carrier of Toxoplasmosis. So the kitten got to stay.
Even if you don’t want to get your cat tested, here are some facts about Toxoplasmosis:
1) It is rare, but pregnant women should still be cautious. You can also contract the parasite from raw meat or undercooked meat. Make sure those steaks are well-done (sigh) and that you wash your hands with anti-bacterial soap after touching raw meat. It’s also a good idea to use separate cutting boards for meat and veggies, and make sure to sterilize andor disinfect any surfaces that come in contact with raw meat.
2) If you have a cat, don’t freak out. The main issue with cats is that the parasite Toxoplasma gondii can live in their digestive system and lay eggs. The eggs are released into the cat’s feces, and from there, you’d have to ingest the feces to contract the parasite. Now, I know no one is eating cat poop, but you should still take the following precautions:
– have someone else clean the litter box.
– make sure the litter box is cleaned every day (those eggs need gestation time in the poop, so if you get rid of them ASAP they won’t have time to fester).
— if you must clean the litter box, wear gloves and thoroughly wash your hands afterwards.
– wash your hands after touching the cat
– try to keep your cat indoors – it’ll be a lot less likely to contract the parasite if it is indoors. The only way a cat can get toxo is by eating an animal that has it. So if your kitty is an outdoor cat, be careful that it is not killing birds or other small animals.
– Don’t feed your cat raw meat. Stick to real cat food.
3) Wear gloves when gardening, as sometimes outdoor kitties use your garden as a litter box, unbeknownst to you.
4) If you have a sand box, keep it covered when your child is not playing in it – sandboxes are ideal restrooms for outside cats, so make sure yours is safe for you and your kiddies. Also, avoid public sandboxes during your pregnancy.
For more information on Toxoplasmosis, click here and here.
Do you have a cat and did you worry about toxoplasmosis while pregnant?
clementine / 878 posts
We have a cat, but I’m not too worried about toxo because she’s never been outside (I’ve had her since before she was born – I took in a pregnant stray and kept one of the kittens for myself and found homes for everyone else).
But, I also hate cleaning the litter box, so I told DH the litter box was his job once we started TTC
honeydew / 7504 posts
We just adopted a cat about 2 months ago. We brought her home and within a week she developed an infection in her eye. We took her to the vet and the vet didn’t test her for toxo, but was pretty sure that was the root cause of the infection. We had to treat her for 4 weeks with antibiotic pills, eye drops, and eye ointment. She’s all better now, but since we’re ttc, hubs is on litter box duty till further notice!
We still don’t know how she contracted the toxo. I called the shelter where we got her from and they said no other cats were showing signs of infection. She’s strictly an indoor kitty, and as far as we know she hasn’t been hunting/killing any critters in our house.
pomegranate / 3414 posts
We have two cats (I had them before marriage), once we got the BFP with both my pregnancies litter box duty switched to DH. He complains the entire time but does it because it is what is best for the baby.
kiwi / 614 posts
I was given much more strict guidelines by my doctor. In addition to staying away from cats and not eating undercooked meats, I am not to eat any raw vegetables or fruits without first disinfecting them for 15 minutes in white vinegar and water. So I have not been able to eat a salad at a restaurant for months. It has been quite a pain. I also have to get a monthly blood test to make sure I haven’t contracted toxoplasmosis.
hostess / wonderful apple seed / 16729 posts
Great info. Thanks for posting. Thanks for a sharing your vet’s perspective, too!
bananas / 9118 posts
We have 3 cats, and my husband and I are both in the veterinary field. I have worked with animals for my 15 year career, and much of my time has been spent working with strays and shelter animals.
When we found out I was pregnant, my doctor immediately ordered several toxo titers on me because of my exposure risk- when the bloodwork returned, we found that I had little to no chance of previous exposure.
My doctor and I had both read that approximately 30% of veterinary professionals have had exposures, so we were very surprised at my lack of results. Another thing my doctor had brought up was that regionally, Arizona and Colorado where I have worked have very few parasites (due to lack of moisture) compared to other parts of the country.
GOLD / wonderful grape / 20289 posts
I’m not a cat person, but wow is your kitty adorable! Glad she found a good home with loving parents!
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
I’m not a cat person either, but she’s beautiful! Glad she gets to stay
guest
I donn’t have cat and am not a cat person. I am neutral toward cat. On my 20-week USG, I thought I would be going home joyful knowing the gender of my baby. Well, we should be happy coz we were having a boy. But, a few more scan showed that there’s acalcification in two spots (heart and diagphram). I freaked out because it could be a sign of down syndrome. I was told to get a blood test. It took a week before I got the result, it was the longest week of my life. I was very stressed out. Fast forward a week later, was told that i was toxo positive from past infection. I don’t know how I got it, perhaps from hanging out way too much at my aunt’s house who had cat. Ever since then, I have to get USG every month until my due date just to make sure the calsification was not growing. Thank God, baby was born healthy. I am glad you get to keep your cat
GOLD / pineapple / 12662 posts
Your furbaby is gorgeous!
I have two kitties (much to DH’s chagrin, but I was a *package* deal, yo), and now that they are a part of DH’s life, he adores them so much more than he ever thought he could. He was a dog person, but now he is both a dog and a cat person, just like me. It always amazes me at just how much love and joy is added to our lives from our little critters . . . makes me that much more excited to welcome our baby girl into our home.