toxoplasmosis

like i said, its an academic argument. she works in the childcare field and
is often involved with expectant mothers. she told me about her friend's
husband who has been changing the cat litter for 4 years now (her friend
told her husband that she's not supposed to change the litter while breast
feeding either, and has had three children right in a row).

"Jamie Clark" wrote in message
link.net...
Just offer to change the cat litter for her once she is pregnant. Don't
bother trying to WIN this argument. Just go for the bonus points. : )
--

Jamie & Taylor
Earth Angel, 1/3/03

Hi Rob;

I am not 100% sure of the info I am about to give you, but this is how I
understand this whole toxoplasmosis isssue.

An animal (not just cats) can be a carrier of toxoplasmosis, even if it
stays at home (it could have caught it from the mother)

Most (if not all) pregnant women have a blood test at the beginning of
their pregnancy to check for toxoplasmosis (cause it can cause defects).
What many women don't realize is that it is safer to test even before
conception. Also, when I had my dog, I had him checked for toxoplasmosis
at the vet. (it is somewhat expensive, but better safe than sorry)

A pregnant woman can clean whatever she wants to, but most pregnant
women opt not to (just precautions). Besides, usually you wash your
hands with soap after cleaning litter etc. The one thing that pregnant
women are advised to avoid is contact with rodents (such as mice,
hamsters etc) because they may carry a virus (don't remember the name of
it though) that is even transferred via the air. BUT I read that it is a
minute percentage of rodents (especially pet rodents) that carry that virus.

Just remember that this is Info that I gathered & unfortunately, I do
not have anything to support it at the time being. I found it all online
though.

Mona
due 07-31-04

Rob wrote:
I'm just having a little argument with my wife about toxoplasmosis. She
insists pregnant women should not clean a cat litter box because of
toxoplasmosis (note: this is just an academic debate, she is not pregnant).
I think that if the cats are house cats and are not allowed out of the
house, then there is no way they can carry the bacteria, thus pose zero
risk.

I've scoured the net and found sites that try to scare the crap out of
pregnant women, others that say even outdoor cats are a tiny risk, but
nothing that really discusses house cats. I'd like to find a good
documented source to show that house cats pose no risk, or something proving
me wrong. Thanks!

Hey Rob,

me again, I found this article about toxoplasmosis & cats

http://www.womens-health.co.uk/toxo.htm

Rob wrote:

I'm just having a little argument with my wife about toxoplasmosis. She
insists pregnant women should not clean a cat litter box because of
toxoplasmosis (note: this is just an academic debate, she is not pregnant).
I think that if the cats are house cats and are not allowed out of the
house, then there is no way they can carry the bacteria, thus pose zero
risk.

I've scoured the net and found sites that try to scare the crap out of
pregnant women, others that say even outdoor cats are a tiny risk, but
nothing that really discusses house cats. I'd like to find a good
documented source to show that house cats pose no risk, or something proving
me wrong. Thanks!

Rob wrote:

I'm just having a little argument with my wife about toxoplasmosis. She
insists pregnant women should not clean a cat litter box because of
toxoplasmosis (note: this is just an academic debate, she is not pregnant).
I think that if the cats are house cats and are not allowed out of the
house, then there is no way they can carry the bacteria, thus pose zero
risk.

I've scoured the net and found sites that try to scare the crap out of
pregnant women, others that say even outdoor cats are a tiny risk, but
nothing that really discusses house cats. I'd like to find a good
documented source to show that house cats pose no risk, or something proving
me wrong. Thanks!



Cleaning the litter box is a man's job.

Get busy and do it!

--
"Its the bugs that keep it running."
-Joe Canuck

"Rob" wrote in message .. .
I'm just having a little argument with my wife about toxoplasmosis. She
insists pregnant women should not clean a cat litter box because of
toxoplasmosis (note: this is just an academic debate, she is not pregnant).
I think that if the cats are house cats and are not allowed out of the
house, then there is no way they can carry the bacteria, thus pose zero
risk.

I've scoured the net and found sites that try to scare the crap out of
pregnant women, others that say even outdoor cats are a tiny risk, but
nothing that really discusses house cats. I'd like to find a good
documented source to show that house cats pose no risk, or something proving
me wrong. Thanks!

There is always some risk, but it's low. If mice ever come into your
house, then your house cat can contract the virus by eating the mice.
However, the cat is only contagious during the active infection, which
lasts around 2 weeks. After that, they are immune from the disease,
and don't shed the stuff in their poop. If a human is exposed to
Toxo, they too will become immune, and immunity can be measured with a
blood test. When I had my pre-pregnancy physical, I had the blood
titre, where it was discovered that I was not immune from Toxo. When
I was pregnant, I took two precautions - I wore rubber gloves when
scooping, and I made sure the boxes were scooped, either by me or my
husband EVERY day. Evidently, the eggs or whatever it is, hatches
after a few days and gets more contagious. After scooping, I washed
my hands while wearing the gloves, then I took the gloves off and hung
them up to dry. I then washed my hands again without the gloves.

My midwives told me to wear gloves and to wash up carefully, but told
me that the risk of toxo was very, very low. Evidently you are more
likely to get toxo from raw meat than from cats, but YMMV.

Search for posts by Mary S. that contain the word toxoplasmosis. Her
husband got it while she was pregnant. Their cat contracted it from
eating raw chicken that had been left on the counter.

Cathy Weeks
Mommy to Kivi Alexis 12/01

libbymom04 wrote:
In my opinion it is better to be safe than sorry when it comes to your
unborn children. I personally put my cat outside when I found out I was
pregnant. The research I did when I was pregnant I found that any cat
could put you at risk even if it is a small percent.

You put your cat outside to fend for itself?

lol...I think this lady might be putting one over on her hubby! That said,
I'm ttcing and you better believe I don't do the litterbox even though we
have indoor cats...I'll take any excuse!
Actually, the childcare workplace is probably far more dangerous relatively
speaking(check out info on Fifth Disease for example if you want a good
scare for the day)
That said, change the darn litter box....she's going to be carrying a human
being around in her...it's a decent trade!


"Rob" wrote in message
...
like i said, its an academic argument. she works in the childcare field
and
is often involved with expectant mothers. she told me about her friend's
husband who has been changing the cat litter for 4 years now (her friend
told her husband that she's not supposed to change the litter while breast
feeding either, and has had three children right in a row).

"Jamie Clark" wrote in message
link.net...
Just offer to change the cat litter for her once she is pregnant. Don't
bother trying to WIN this argument. Just go for the bonus points. : )
--

Jamie & Taylor
Earth Angel, 1/3/03

"V." wrote in message
...
lol...I think this lady might be putting one over on her hubby! That
said,
I'm ttcing and you better believe I don't do the litterbox even though we
have indoor cats...I'll take any excuse!
Actually, the childcare workplace is probably far more dangerous
relatively
speaking(check out info on Fifth Disease for example if you want a good
scare for the day)
That said, change the darn litter box....she's going to be carrying a
human
being around in her...it's a decent trade!



Oh don't even mention Fifth Disease to me - my daughter came home from
school exposed - by me! Lol. Long story and what a pain.




"Rob" wrote in message
...
like i said, its an academic argument. she works in the childcare field
and
is often involved with expectant mothers. she told me about her
friend's
husband who has been changing the cat litter for 4 years now (her friend
told her husband that she's not supposed to change the litter while
breast
feeding either, and has had three children right in a row).

"Jamie Clark" wrote in message
link.net...
Just offer to change the cat litter for her once she is pregnant.
Don't
bother trying to WIN this argument. Just go for the bonus points.
: )
--

Jamie & Taylor
Earth Angel, 1/3/03

Yes I put the cat outside. I wasn't about to put my child in any danger!
Not to mention I didn't want to have a cat in the house with my baby in it
also. Don't get me wrong, I love my cat, and took good care of it outside.
She is fine, I think she likes it better.

libbymom04 wrote:
Yes I put the cat outside. I wasn't about to put my child in any danger!

And with appropriate precautions, you wouldn't have,
even with the cat inside. Now the cat, on the other hand,
is in much more danger outside. Outdoor cats have an
average lifespan of only five years.

Best wishes,
Ericka