Although fortunately it is becoming less frequent, you have surely heard that being pregnant and having a cat are incompatible, that you should get rid of your pussy so that your pregnancy is not in danger. However, this is not true and the reality is that you can live with your cat perfectly Of course, taking into account a series of hygienic and sanitary aspects that you must apply to prevent getting infected with toxoplasmosis if you do not have antibodies, since this is the main reason why pregnant women are warned about contact with cats.
Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease that can endanger the viability of the fetus during pregnancy or cause damage and alterations to the baby if it is born. Cats are the definitive host, which is why they constitute a route of contagion. Not only do cats act as a source of infection for the parasite, but it can also be carried by contaminated soil, food and water, as you will learn if you continue reading this article on our site. However, we insist, with the appropriate measures there is no danger. That said, read on to find out the answer to the question: " Can I touch my cat if I'm pregnant?".
Is it okay for me to touch my cat if I'm pregnant?
What if I touch my cat and I'm pregnant? Is there a chance of getting toxoplasmosis? As we have mentioned, the warning to pregnant women about being in contact with cats is due to the risk of contracting toxoplasmosis, a parasitic disease that is very harmful to the fetus. However, if you live with a totally he althy cat, there is no problem in pet him as usual. In fact, there are many benefits of cats being pregnant.
A cat transmits peace and tranquility, helps calm stress and anxiety and makes you happier, so living with a cat can help you with the fears and concerns that may appear in the pregnancy. In this way, touching your cat and being with him is not bad. However, during the first trimester your gynecologist will order a blood and urine study in which, among many other things, will check if you have Toxoplasma gondii antibodies, the parasitic protozoan responsible for the toxoplasmosis disease and that your cat can infect you if it is positive for the infection and you do not take adequate hygienic measures, such as cleaning your cat's litter without washing your hands thoroughly afterwards.
In any case, to find out if your cat has toxoplasmosis, you always have the possibility of going to the veterinary center to check whether or not it has the parasite.
Cats, pregnant women and toxoplasmosis
In cats the disease is usually asymptomatic, although in some it can give rise to very diverse symptoms, of an ocular, nervous, digestive, muscular, respiratory, cardiac or skin type, depending on where the parasite. In humans, it is generally an asymptomatic infection that in some cases can produce signs of flu, fatigue, fever, enlarged lymph nodes and muscle discomfort, being more serious in immunosuppressed people and becoming very important in pregnant women.
Pregnant women will not suffer serious consequences if they contract the infection, but if the parasite goes to the placenta it can cause damage to the fetus that can trigger a miscarriagespontaneous, low birth weight, vision problems, affectation of the nervous system, anemia, alterations in hearing and organs such as the liver, spleen, lymphatic system or lungs. That is why doctors always warn about this disease. Now, can touching a cat while pregnant really be a way of contagion?
Contagion of toxoplasmosis in humans
Touching and petting your cat is not a source of infection of toxoplasmosis, but the following situations are:
- Being in contact with toxoplasma-infected cat feces without washing your hands afterwards.
- Gardening or touching soil contaminated by positive cat feces without washing your hands afterwards or without putting on preventive measures such as the use of gloves.
- Eating raw or undercooked meat.
- Handling raw meat and putting your hands in your mouth.
- Eating raw or smoked fish.
- Eating sausages such as ham, loin or cecina.
- Consume unwashed vegetables and fruits.
For this reason, you must be careful with the foods mentioned and with contact with sand of your cat if you do not know its he alth status or soil and land that may be contaminated. If your gynecologist tells you to get rid of your cat, what you should do is change your gynecologist, since it is clear that he is not up to date. To stay calmer, we insist, the most appropriate thing is to go to the veterinarian to carry out an exam and check if your cat has the parasite. Abandoning an animal or getting rid of it is never the solution.
How to live with my cat if I'm pregnant?
Although we know that if the animal is he althy there is no problem, it is normal to wonder what coexistence between cats and pregnant women should be like. Once you have obtained the result of your blood test, you will be able to know if you should take special care in contracting this disease or, on the contrary, if you are protected, you are not at risk of becoming infected. If you are seronegative to the disease, you must carry out a series of cares so that your cat cannot infect you, especially if you know that your cat is negative and is at risk of becoming infected because it goes outside, eats raw food or does not have it dewormed.
In these cases, the first step would be to try not to clean your cat's litter box when he relieves himself. Thus, if you do not live alone, ask someone to do it for you during these 9 months, especially if you do not have the good habit of cleaning the litter box every day, because for the eggs to be infective they must pass at least 24 hours after elimination. If this is not possible, you should clean it with gloves, discard them once used and wash your hands well before touching your face or mouth with them. This is because the source of infection is the feces which contain a huge number of infectious parasite eggs.
You shouldn't do gardening without gloves either, as the soil can contain cat feces with toxoplasmosis and be a source of infection.
When petting your cat, you can do it normally, but be extremely hygienic. In this way, you should wash your hands more frequently and avoid touching your mouth with dirty hands. Otherwise, you can continue to feed, groom and care for your cat as usual.
Finally, it is important to follow a proper deworming schedule for your cat, not only during your pregnancy, but throughout his life. If you carry out the pertinent tests on your cat and obtain a positive result, that is, your cat has toxoplasmosis, it is essential to take the measures mentioned above and, above all, treat the animal to eliminate the parasite. In this other article we talk about it: "Toxoplasmosis in cats".
How to prevent toxoplasmosis in pregnant women?
As we have mentioned, to prevent a woman from becoming infected with toxoplasmosis during pregnancy, she must carry out preventive hygienic and dietary measures to avoid the risks that an active infection can have in the gestational period if you do not have antibodies against the parasite. These measures can be applied to the general population, and it is especially important that they be taken into account by the most susceptible people, such as those who are immunosuppressed or very ill.
Among the preventive food measures we find avoid the consumption of raw meat and fish, as well as sausages such as ham, cecina or loin to power contain toxoplasma cysts. It is also advisable to avoid the consumption of unwashed vegetables and fruits, as they may contain parasites carried by the land in which they have been grown. Therefore, meat foods must be well cooked at a temperature above 70 degrees or frozen at least at -18 degrees for 48 hours. It is equally important to wear gloves when handling raw foods and to wash thoroughly or use food bleach before consuming fresh fruits and vegetables.
Among the hygiene measures, it is necessary to take into account hand hygiene after cleaning cat litter or handling soil or plants, wear gloves when performing these tasks and avoid touching the face, especially the mouth or near it, due to the feco-oral infection of this parasitic disease.
