How much of a worry is Toxoplasmosis ?

[Pinky333777]

I'm 6wks pregnant, and work for a family who have asked me to care for their 7 or so cats while they're on holiday throughout August.
I've already agreed to do so, and they are now aware I'm expecting.

How much of a worry is toxoplasmosis??

I've read online pregnant ladies should avoid cleaning litter trays - but obviously cat sitting 7 kitties I'll have a few to clean daily!

Should I give my apologies and not look after their lovely kitty cats, or do you think I'd be ok with a little extra hygiene habits?

Buying disposable gloves and face masks has crossed my mind!

I'm sure many cat owners care for cats and have very healthy pregnancies.

Is this just another thing to be overly worried about?

Opinions very welcome x

From what i know it can be dangerous to the baby, i did my cats litter trays though wearing gloves and face mask and i was fine

Have you looked after cats before? You may have already had it

I believe that the poo only becomes toxoplasmosis-ified if left in the open air for longer than 24 hours. However I read that somewhere online so it could be wrong. I've cleaned litter trays out everyday throughout my pregnancy so far (now 27 weeks) and I've done a fair bit of worrying about it. As long as you wear gloves and wash your hands thoroughly then you should be fine.

I'm pretty non-hysterical about pregnancy risk lists but am always very careful around cat litter etc. I grew up with cats so may well have been exposed in the past but in any case I'm still careful.

I am also pretty lax about pregnancy risks and ignore most of the advice apart from things that can cause harm to baby, e.g. listeria, mercury and toxo.

but have been very careful about this one - we have an indoor cat and DH does the tray all of the time. On the odd occasion I have had to do it as he has been out etc, I have used gloves and handwashed like a crazy person afterwards.

I am sure that you will be fine but I think you do need to take precautions - gloves and handwashing etc... The complications to a pregnancy can be very serious.

I also try to take a realistic view of the risks, and while I clean our cats' litter tray if my DH is away I would not look after other people's cats if it involved cleaning litter. I just wouldn't want the extra risk when it wasn't totally necessary.
It's true there shouldn't be a risk if the poo has been there less than 24 hours. However if the cats are young there's more of a risk because when they contract toxo for the first time they excrete tons of it.
You can get a blood test to find out if you've already had it - we'd had cats for 4 years but I hadn't. I think they can usually test the blood they took at booking in, so don't necessarily need another appointment, ring your midwife and find out.

I had a chat with my midwife about this. We have an indoor cat. At the beginning of my pregnancy dh was away for 2 weeks.

Midwife said as an indoor only cat the risk was low low low. But to wear gloves and hand wash thoroughly.

During the time he was away I also had to take catface to the vet. Vet also advised the same.

So as long as you're careful wear gloves (Amazon sell boxes of disposables) and thorough handwashing you'll be ok.

Pinky The likelihood is, if they're older outdoor cats, they'll have already been infected with toxyplasmosis (sp?!) in earlier life and so any poo would be bug free. However, if they're kittens, the risk much higher.

Do whatever you feel comfortable with but clearly if you go ahead, do wear gloves etc.

I think this thread is quite helpful;

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/pregnancy/1603476-My-toxoplasmosis-experience-to-share-with-others-who-may-go-through-the-same-thing

Firstly you may have toxo antibodies already.

If you don't the cats have to have toxo at the moment to pass it on to you. Then you need direct contact with the infected faeces, so wearing gloves and washing hands should help.

I had no toxo antibodies with either of my pregnancies but continued doing our cats, that was my choice though and you need to decide what risks you are willing to take.

I'm on my second pregnancy and although my husband usually cleans out the litter tray, I do have to do it sometimes. I remember reading up about it during my first pregnancy and I wear gloves, remove all the litter within 24 hours if it's been used, leave some boiling water in the empty litter tray for about 10 minutes to kill off any bugs, and then refill it with new litter. And wash my hands thoroughly afterwards.

I really wouldn't look after someone else's seven (!) cats during the early stages of pregnancy. No way.

Thanks for all of your input guys.

You see, I nanny for this family... so chances are if I'm going to have been exposed I would have already!
I have a cat of my own, and have cleaned for the cat clan at work for a couple of years now.
I think I will invest in the gloves and maybe a face mask (perhaps ott, perhaps not) as even if I don't cat sit I'm still going to be in their house caring for their children before the go on holiday.

It's good to know that once you've contracted it you are then immune.
I'm very hopeful I'm immune already.
I will ask the midwife about getting tested when I have my first appointment in a few weeks.
I'll also chat with the family.... They've had three children, all while being surrounded by cats, so the must be aware of the risk!

Thanks again x

It's only if cat faeces have been inthe air for over 24 hours and the cat is infected with it.
The research completed on toxoplasmosis shows so little effect from cats that it doesn't even make the bar graph. I'll see if I can find the picture.

You are much more likely to contract toxoplasmosis from undercooked meat or gardening. It really is a tiny risk.
Go with gloves and mask and you should be completely fine.
I've been lambing sheep who have been infected with toxoplasmosis and I am not immune. I was lambing sheep until I was 5 weeks pregnant and my midwife would only test for it if I became unwell (flu like symptoms).

Be careful. Don't assume you're immune already. Population immunity is about 15%. I'm not immune despite having cats from kittens and eating meat blue!