Pregnancy and cats!

[From123]

I have two indoor cats and have done for the last 4/5 years. My one cat decided to run away for a few hours around 2 weeks ago, I noticed that he had diarreah for a day or two but being pregnant and paranoid I googled what could be wrong and saw a post for worms.

I’ve cleaned the sides, bedding, vacuumed etc but I am a paranoid mess. They don’t come in the bedroom and we keep them out of the kitchen but they have been know n to follow me and jump on the sides which I then wipe down.

My husband has given them both wormer tablets and he hasn’t noticed any worms in the poo etc.

Ive quickly eaten eggs this morning which some of the consistency was stringy because I overlooked the egg, anyway, cat was sitting on the floor and a bit of egg fell on him which I thought he ate. I got up to go into the kitchen, turned and could see white on his back screamed thinking it was a worm but looking closer it was egg, my husband picked it off and said it was egg also. I am terrified of catching worms off him, what if it gets in my food? Like this morning the egg consistency made me question my breakfast.

help! Any advice on what to do? I have OCD and this has made me worried sick.

I'm not sure I see any risk at all here. The cats are indoor (except for one escaping for a few hours) and they have been wormed. Even if they had worms, the risk is very very low to you. And worms can be treated during pregnancy in the very unlikely event you ever did catch any. The diarrhoea has been cleaned up, and I'm assuming you washed your hands afterwards and that your husband is changing the litter box. As long as you wash your hands before eating if you've been cuddling or stroking the cats, it's fine. Even if they got on the kitchen counter, I'm assuming you chop things on a chopping board and prepare food on plates anyway that've come from cupboards.

Are you still seeing someone for OCD? Maybe some CBT would help right now? Pregnancy ramps up anxiety with all of the hormones. I've been anxious about things and I can be over the top about germs, but I have to remind myself increased anxiety is very common in pregnancy and I need to try and logically think of there is a risk

Also I still kiss my gorgeous pups head and give him lots of cuddles. He lays on top of the covers in my bed. I did all through my last pregnancy, and looked after and petted a friends cat, and all was fine. Pets are safe. The biggest risk is food - make sure your salad and fruit is well washed, meat is properly cooked etc, and stuff is stored properly in the fridge.

To be honest the biggest source of germs is probably my toddler!

The risk of you getting worms is very minimal, and even if you did there is absolutely no danger to you or your baby and they can be easily treated during pregnancy. It’s completely normal to have some anxiety during pregnancy but yours does seem to be higher than usual. You can speak to your midwife and they should put you in touch with the mental health team who can help you manage these. It’s really important to try to get control over them before baby is born.

The risk from cats is not really worms, which are easily treated, it’s toxoplasmosis. However, most cat owners have already been exposed and are self immunised. As an extra precaution, you can avoid litter tray duty (always a bonus!) for the duration of your pregnancy.

Hello,
@A1b2c3d4e5f6g7 Yes, I do all the above just still worry, I want my baby to be okay, I panic over everything unfortunately, it is exhausting but midwife is aware. I love my cats and up until a few months ago they were in my bed but we stopped just to get them used to it, plus, I had morning sickness and they tend to get up a lot in the night to play etc.

@PickledScrump I have already discussed with my midwife but was given a different midwife as mine is off work who is lovely but the referral to mental health were meant to rearrange an appointment for me and didn’t, I did think about this the other day!

@Babdoc yes, I know about that and haven’t actually changed the litter trays since finding out, my husband does this

@From123 I get it honestly I do. I've had Covid during this pregnancy, and I worry about things like Hand Foot and Mouth from my toddler as he brings everything back from daycare and some of those illnesses can cause miscarriage.

Definitely see if you can get CBT either through midwife or privately. It is exhausting feeling anxious and worried.

@A1b2c3d4e5f6g7 @Babdoc @PickledScrump I’ve been home today and cleaning, i got a piece of kitchen towel to pick something white off the floor but it has hard consistency it wasn’t moving etc, how do I know if it’s worms? So paranoid! They’ve never had them before (if they even do now)

Cat worms would be far too small to see one on a kitchen floor and pick it up with kitchen roll.

Honestly, you've more chance of catching worms off your baby once it starts nursery than from your cats.

@From123 as pp said they aren’t something you’d see on your kitchen floor or pick up with a kitchen towel, they’re really small. Also wouldn’t be hard. Worming tablets only take a few days to work so even if they did have them they would be gone by now. Please see someone about these anxieties sooner rather than later.