Pregnancy and Cats: Don't Get Rid of Fuzzball So Quickly!

Having recently found out that my husband and I are expecting our third child, once again we are asked by well-meaning individuals what we are going to do about our cats. "To do about what?" or "What do you mean?" are usually our standard responses, knowing all too well exactly what they mean.

Let me clarify right here and now: No, we are not going to get rid of our cats. No, we did not force our cats to stay away from me during my pregancy. No, we never had a problem before, during, or after either one of the pregnancies.

Many moms-to-be worry about the dreaded "Toxoplasmosis" and its effects on the baby during pregnancy. While it's true that the infection can be hazardous to the developing fetus, the chances of your actually contracting can be minimized with a few simple precautions.

Toxoplasmosis is caused from a parasite named Toxoplasma gondii. It is a parasite which cats pick up from the stool of other infected cats or from eating raw meat. These parasites are then shed in the stool of the infected cat. A pregnant woman can pick up the infection from the oocysts that may be present in a cat's fecal matter, however, if your cat is an indoor cat and does not hunt or eat raw meat, the risk is quite low. The infection, while it does not affect the pregnant mom, may cause mental retardation, learning disabilities, and blindness in the fetus. Affected infants may also be of low birth rate, with enlarged livers, jaundice and anemia. The neurological diseases involve convulsions, calcifications in certain areas of the brain and hydrocephaly of microcephaly.

If a mother gets the infection during the pregnancy, the risk is not 100 percent that the baby will be infected (It's more in the range of 50 percent). The virulence of the infection is greater, the earlier it is contracted.

Many cat owners have had the infection and not even known it! Mild flu-like symptoms may be indicative of first exposure, or there may never be any symptoms at all. The improtant thing here is that you can be screened for antibodies (the majority of people have antibodies and are not at risk) or you could be cheked for acute disease during your pregnancy with two blood tests to see if you have come into recent contact with the infection.

Changing the litter box is not recommended during pregnancy (which is quite OK with me!). However if there is absolutely no other way for it to get done, wearing plastic gloves and washing your hands well after the task is completed is an absolute must! In addition, this provides a good argument for keeping your cat indoor-only!

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