Most pregnant women are warned about not changing the cat’s litter box.
The reason is a microscopic parasite called Toxoplasma gondii. This parasite
can infect almost any mammal but needs to spend part of its lifecycle in cats.
The cat gets infected by eating small, infected mammals and then the parasite
multiplies in the cat’s gut and is excreted in the stool. The mammals become
infected by eating the cat’s stool and the cycle continues. The parasite doesn’t
usually cause problems in adult humans who become infected, but if a pregnant
woman becomes infected, the parasite can travel through the blood stream, cross
the placenta and infect the baby in the uterus. This can cause serious
neurologic problems and blindness in the unborn baby.
If the cat is an indoor cat, there isn’t much risk as long as you don’t
have a mouse problem. If the cat
is an outdoor cat, infection is easy. Our cats used to leave squirrel feet or
bunny kidneys on our front step every morning. Outdoor cats are hunters.
Humans become infected by exposure to cat stool. Mothers are advised to
not change the litter box or, if they do, to wear gloves and wash well
afterwards. But they should be careful to wash their hands after any cat
contact and also both before and after preparing any food (the parasite
can be present in raw meat). Another less obvious source of infection is
the sandbox. I built an open sandbox for my daughter and realized that she
couldn’t use it because every cat in the neighborhood used it as a litter
box. A pregnant woman who doesn’t
own cats might not be concerned about allowing her older child to play in a
sandbox or playground, but that child could come away with the parasite on his
clothes and hands and easily infect the mother. Mom could also be exposed when
she is gardening. “Wash up” after any outdoor activity is good advice for both kids
and their pregnant moms.
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