Do Cats Infect You with Toxoplasmosis?

by nona

I have heard that cats cause a disease called toxoplasm or something like that which causes pregnant women to lose their baby. Is that true? About 4 months ago, I allowed a cat from the street to give birth in my home. I loved them so much that i have kept them this whole time. I fed them on raw liver & meat for about 6 weeks and I have read that cats that feed on raw food may be infected. I don't know if i am infected or not.I am only 16. Will that have an effect on my future? I was going to buy a persian cat but now I am concerned about my healh. Please answer me, and if I am infected what should I do? Should i bring another cat or that's enough? And if I bring another one what should I do to prevent it from getting infected? Thanks a lot.


Hi, Nona:

Toxoplasmosis can only hurt a baby if you are pregnant WHEN you contract it from a cat. It's more likely that a woman will get Toxoplasmosis from handling raw meat than from a cat.

There is a test for cats to see if they have been exposed to Toxo. There is also a test for women. Most cats have been exposed at one time or another so most tests will come up positive. That doesn't mean we shouldn't have cats. In fact, cats shed the eggs so rarely, often just once in their lifetime, that if they are already positive and are kept indoors, it becomes even less likely that you could catch it from them.

If you have the test and are positive before you are pregnant, there is no cause for concern. You can become pregnant and have a healthy child.

If, however, you test negative and then become positive while you are pregnant, it can adversely affect the baby. That can be avoided, however, by not touching cat feces while pregnant, not handling or eating meat that is not thoroughly cooked, not drinking unpasteurized milk and a few other things that an obstetrician would go over with a pregnant woman.

Pregnant women with cats usually take great pleasure in watching their husbands scoop the litter boxes for 9 months!!!

To summarize, toxoplasmosis can certainly cause harm to an unborn child, but while cats are the natural host, there are more commons ways of acquiring the disease. However, if one takes the appropriate precautions while pregnant, there is no reason to worry excessively about Toxoplasmosis. I should know. I have had 3 very healthy children, and during my pregnancies and the time the children were growing up, I have had ...oh ....around 20 different cats! No toxo. Just happy cat-loving children and happy cats! (And my husband wouldn't scoop the litters....he knew that it was safe for me to do if I wore gloves! haha)

Thank you for writing,
Dr. Neely