Recently, there has been misinformation regarding an infection called Toxoplasmosis and its risks.
Rumored risks include danger to cat owners who are expecting, want to become pregnant, or are immunocompromised.Toxoplasmosis can infect both cats and people, and in people can cause affects on the fetus. There are several steps that can be taken to make sure that everyone in the family, including the four-legged members, are safe.
Guidelines to Prevent Exposure to Toxoplasmosis for you and your cat:
- Avoid contact with raw meat, particularly pork.
- Wear gloves when handling raw meat and sterilize utensils when finished.
- Do not ingest rare meat; meat should be cooked to 165 F.
- Wear gloves when gardening and wash hands thoroughly after exposure to soil.
- Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly to eliminate soil contamination.
- Cover children’s sand boxes so that they are not used by stray cats as a litter box.
- Cats should be kept indoors to minimize hunting and exposure to eggs or contaminated water.
- Litter boxes need to be cleaned daily by someone who is not pregnant or trying to become pregnant. Use litter box liners that can be thrown out often.
- Cats should be fed only fully cooked food. Do not feed your cat anything raw that could contain live tissue Toxoplasma cysts.
There is no need to relinquish your cat if you are expecting or trying to get pregnant. For more information, the American Association of Feline Practitioners (www.catvets.com) and the Centers for Disease control (www.cdc.gov) have excellent guidelines on feline diseases and their prevention of spread to people.
