Should I avoid Cat Poo?

[nickelbabyhatcher]

just that - can I use this new PG status to avoid touching the cats' poo and making DH always clean it up?

Absolutely, you must avoid at all costs, cats feaces carries Toxoplasmosis which I believe could prove fatal for your baby.

Make DH sort the litter tray, and avoid digging in the garden (especially without gloves)

Pregnant or not YES!

i think we're alright in the garden, because the cats stay mainly inside.

but I will take the precaution of gloves

Absolutely!

Oh yes!

I regularly use: "Oh, sweetie, can you please change the cat litter? I don't mean to nag and I know you'd get round to it but this pregnancy is making me awfully sensitive to the smell so it would be great it it could be done right now. You know I'd do it myself, but I don't want to harm our baby." and it gets sorted then and there. Shame I can't use the same tactic for the washing up!

I think if you had to do it then it would be fine if you use rubber gloves and make sure you scrub your hands well afterwards. But I think it would be much safer to allow DH to relieve you of that duty.

Yes, definitely, for the toxoplasmosis reason above!

If you tell your midwife you've got cats she can do an extra blood test just to double check you haven't picked it up (please don't worry, will almost certainly be negative but will put your mind at rest).
And if DH goes away and you have to deal with poo you're supposed to wear gloves.

Also it's a really good reason not to have to deal with horrible stinky cat turds for at least 9 months..

I just showed DH the first couple of replies and he "well, we knew about cat poo anyway" and "i'll just sort it out when I get home" (sebastian has an annoying habit of pooing on the newspaper in the mornings when I'm getting dressed.)

I'd forgotten he knew about it - my sis lent me her nhs pregnancy book, whic hsaid about it!

(he does the washing up anyway, Thistle )

my dh cleans our litter tray, lol he hates it.

But I shouldnt gloat tomorrow on my day off I am going to have arm myself with gloves, 2001 spray and anythign else I can get my hands on to hunt the poo that I think our cat has done behind a cabinet, it stinks and I cant find where its coming from. Im going to have to do this as dh is at work all day and needs to be done during daylight so I dont miss any.

Oh the joys!

most def yes - avoid the poo (even in the garden because other cats might poo there). Even as a cat owner you may not be immune to toxoplasmosis (sp?). One of the women on my antenatal thread lost her baby at 18wks due to toxoplasmosis.

On the other hand, I have been changing our litter tray here and cleared half the garden before i realised that i had been picking up cat poo (yuck - it was hidden in the long grass!) so do as i say not as i do!

He definitely must do it. Since being pregnant I make DH clean out the poo each day and her bleaches it with boiling water regularly too (as an extra precaution). I hate it if he leaves for work and hasn't checked the tray and often phone and tell him off! Toxoplasmosis is really serious, so you cant be too careful!

Well you ladies are a lucky bunch - my hubby said that he will get rid of cat for nine months and WILL NOT touch the litter box :) to be fair - it is my cat which he was never excited about getting and he made me promise he won't ever have to touch the litter ;))))

I have had a toxo screening - am negative but for peace of mind also screened the cat and he is negative too (he is always indoors) so risk is minimal if zero.

Which reminds me, I need to clean that bl**y tray now :(

oh, Beesok, sorry your DH isn't more supportive.
but glad that the screens were negative too!

My DH wouldn't get the option of telling me he wouldn't touch the litter tray - they're his cats!

I'm hoping it means he won't be bothered about nappy changing, too, and will do the majority of them.....

I asked my midwives about getting tested for toxoplasmosis (I've got 2 cats), but they refused to get me tested! They said they'd only do it if I developped symptoms, but I imagine that by then it would be too late! I was not impressed

Yes!
I've also implemented a "I can't clean the bathroom, as I'm pregnant" rule in my house. Even though the whole "avoid nasty household chemicals" rule (or is it a rule?) probably refers to things like oven cleaner, I've used "pregnancy privilege' to include bathroom chemicals in that ;) He's gone for it, too.

I didn't have a choice to avoid it it was part of my job to handle (with gloves) blood samples, faeces and other bodily fluids from animals.
I couldn't get tests done either.

From my experiences testing for toxo is not the standard practice in the UK and it's expensive if you go private (£180!) I am not British so had the tests done back home where they are standard practice, testing the cat was me being paranoid and wanting to know and I have a fantastic vet who at the time was 9wks pregnant and totally understood my concerns (she is Canadian though).
On the other hand toxo is relatively rare in the UK - unlike France where it is very widespread for ex. Also bear in mind that most cases of contracting toxo are due to eating raw or undercooked meat, or unwashed salads (some countries are high risk for this like Lebanon where I would not touch a salad in a restaurant if pregnant)....

Oh Hubby got out of the litter tray but he doesn't know what's going to hit him - personally, having worked in a nursery I prefer the litter box to pooped nappies he he he he

BTW nunnie my vet was negative for toxo too and she still continued working with cats etc so honestly I wouldn't worry too much about it...

I got tested because I didn't live in the UK all my life and I had rescued a good number of strays over the years so was sure that I am immune and got a shock when I found out I'm negative!!!

It really comes down to standard hygiene - wear gloves, avoid contamination from raw food, wash hands often, use sanitiser etc and you'll be fine ;)

Oh I don't worry now, it was 4 years ago and DD is fine and well. I wasn't a vet though I worked in a vetrinary diagnostic laboratory.