Pregnancy and Cats: Cleaning the Litter Box and Avoiding Toxoplasmosis

Who would think there was a link between a cat's litter box and a pregnant woman's growing fetus? Well, there could be. There is a parasite that lives in mammals and birds called toxoplasma gondi and it can be potentially fatal to a pregnant woman's fetus. Toxoplasmosis is a disease that is in the muscles of the infected animal. It's spread when another animal eats the infected animal. Humans can get toxoplasmosis from eating raw or under cooked meat that contains toxoplasma gondi or drinking milk that hasn't been pasteurized. The parasite can live in the milk of animals.

Since house cats can also be carriers of the disease, their feces can shed the parasite. For this reason, litter boxes should be handled with care. While anyone is susceptible to the parasite, pregnant women should be extra careful when handling their pet's feces. As anyone knows, pregnant women are able to pass many things to the fetus through the blood stream, including parasites. In addition to the parasite being in an infected cat's feces, it can also be in soil. Therefore, pregnant women especially should be careful to always wear gardening gloves and wash their hands thoroughly after gardening. If cleaning a cat box isn't avoidable, then the same basic care must be taken. Wear disposable gloves, wash hands and don't inhale any of the dust from the litter box, since it can carry the parasite. Keeping the litter box very clean will also help to prevent the parasite from spreading.