Toxoplasmosis/ cat/ pregnancy

[Butfirstpassmethecoffee]

i have a cat who has recently discovered a love for catching rats, bringing them in, and sometimes eating them (sorry I know this is gross!)

im absolutely freaking out because of the risk of toxoplasmosis... What can I do to minimize this?? Is there a big risk??

my partner does the litter tray.
the cat is flea and wormed up to date.

im spraying the area with disinfectant and washing my hands lots. But he sits on the sofa etc, and im just freaking out then I’ll get toxoplasma. He used to sleep on the bed but I’ve tried to stop that but he does jump up. I’m 8 weeks pregnant.

I was just reading today that you can't get toxoplasmosis from just owning or petting a cat. It's the poop that's a problem, and even then, you can wear gloves. I have six cats!

My cats also had a tendency to eat mice/rats, but I enclosed my garden with one of those brackets and mesh systems and it hasn't happened since. They can no longer go to wherever they used to to hunt, thankfully. No birds caught, either! Win win.

We have two outdoor cats. Both of which are very loving, they predominantly eat mice and whatever else they can catch.
They also poo and pee all over the hayand straw we use as bedding for the rabbit hutch and chicken coop. And all over my garden, they also love to spray over anything in the barn.
I have a blood test monthly for toxoplasmosis, and even though I'm inadvertently handling cat sh and p, I've always come back all clear.
I'm sure just having a cat and having good hand hygiene doesn't automatically mean you'll catch toxoplasmosis.
You're doing raking all the right precautions, now tru to relax and enjoy the rest of your time with your cat and your pregnancy! 😊

I had toxoplasmosis years ago after walking on a beach on holiday and maybe had a cut/remains of poop on the beach.....it is VERY rare!

When I was ill I was the star of the doctors practice as none of them had treated it before in real life so I was a very exciting specimen.

Anyway - point is, how many people in the UK own cats - millions. How many get toxoplasmosis - very very very few. If partner is dealing with the liter tray there should be no reason to worry at all - just dont eat any raw bacon 🤣

I thought most of the toxopl reservoir was in birds not rodents...

Most people who have lived with cats long term already have had toxopl (probably as a child...) & aren't at risk if they then become pregnant, it's 'new' infections that is risk in pregnancy. And only via cat faeces, like others said.

Toxopl is also commonly transmitted from encountering cat faeces residue in soil (or sandpits), contact with wild birds or their faeces, raw milk products...

I continued to volunteer with injured wildlife whilst pregnant. My midwife said it was fine if I washed my hands well and wore gloves for dirty jobs. I think toxoplasmosis is in the poop of predators so I made sure I didn't touch poop directly and washed my hands a lot. If DH was about it was his job to scoop the neighbourhood cats' poop off our gravel. If he wasn't about I did it carefully and washed my hands. Toxoplasmosis must be rare as I'd dealt with wildlife and cats for years and when my blood was screened for antibodies it showed I'd never had toxoplasmosis.