Please reassure me about toxoplasmosis

[WinkyTinky]

We recently got a cat who is now around six months old, and stays in the house, so no contact with other animals. DS12 has had a sore throat and cold symptoms and feeling sick for a few days which I put down to the usual bugs picked up at school. But I can't get the thought of the possibility of toxoplasmosis out of my head. I have felt a bit unwell this week too, and it coincides with both of us getting a few scratches off the cat. I have inevitably googled the symptoms and they do seem to fit with how we're feeling. Is it a common thing for cat owners? Or am I seriously overthinking things?

😂😂😂

It's a bug, it's the time of year of it. Even if it was toxoplasmosis, in most people it's just a mild bug. It's only dangerous to pregnant women and immune suppressed. A lot of people will have had it without knowing through food, gardening, etc anyway. It's really not something to worry about.

I've had cats most of my life and have no idea if I've had toxoplasmosis or not, and even if have, there's no knowing where it was from anyway. Something like a quarter of people in the UK have had it.

Also for your kitten to get it in the first place, they'd most likely have to have eaten raw meat that was infected, eaten an infected animal etc. Not likely for a 6-month-old house cat. Further, you would then have needed to have contact with its faeces and then ingested it, such as cleaning the litter tray, touching poo matter and washing hands. I'm assuming you wash hands after changing the litter?

@doodleschnoodle Ok thank you. I'll switch my daft brain off for the night 😅

Thanks @Scar88 I was only asking.

Toxoplasmosis tends to be in the poo so unless you are handling the cat litter with bare hands.....

It's the thought of him pooing, kicking the litter about and possibly stepping in it, then coming to us for a cuddle which turns into a full blown claw attack 😫

My cat was very very ill with toxoplasmosis. He was kept on a drip for 3 days at the vets. We nearly lost him. However he went on to make a full recovery and is still with us 8 years later currently snoring his wee head off in his basket. You would know if your cat was ill with it.

@MrsMoastyToasty so, and please forgive my stupidity, can you only get ill if the cat is also ill? I had assumed toxoplasmosis was something within cats that didn't affect them, but it would be bad if passed on to a human. I know nothing about cats!!!

@MrsMoastyToasty I'm glad he's ok!

Its only a risk with outdoor cats

Cats catch it from infected birds or rodents (mine is a hunter).