Top Concerns about Cat and Litter Box When I Am Pregnant

Many animal lovers, just like you, have a lot of concerns about living with their pets when they are expecting.

The first of these questions ought to be "Is it safe to live with cats when they are pregnant?". Here's the answer and Lionpapa hopes the following advice can help ensure a safe time for you and your loved one. 

Why it is dangerous to clean litter box when pregnant?

Almost all animals carry parasites, while cat is the ultimate host of toxoplasmosis. However, most reptiles and mammals are susceptible to toxoplasmosis, including humans.

Toxoplasmosis spreads in the form of cysts. People may get infected with toxoplasmosis by eating raw or undercooked meat that contains cysts, exposure to infected cat feces, and even from mother to child during pregnancy. Cleaning the litter box while pregnant may put you at risk of infection with toxoplasmosis.

Although most humans show no symptoms if infected, it can lead to serious problems if your unborn child gets it when you are pregnant.

What if my unborn child gets infected?

Toxoplasmosis may spread from you to your fetus in utero if you are newly infected with toxoplasmosis or just before pregnancy.

Although the majority of infected babies are born with no symptoms, with your baby growing up, it may lead to serious physical deformity, from blindness or mental disability to eye or brain damage.

Should I get rid of my cat?

It seems extremely dangerous if you are infected with toxoplasmosis, but for indoor cats, the carriage rate of toxoplasmosis is very low.

Besides, if you had toxoplasmosis in the past and long before pregnancy, you may be immune and your immunity will protect your baby.

There are effective precautions to keep you and your baby safe from toxoplasmosis. If you pay attention to it, your baby can be safe. We will introduce tips to protect yourself and your baby at the end of this blog.

When should I be concerned about toxoplasmosis?

Experts suggest that you'd better be pregnant 6 months after a recent toxoplasma infection.

If you plan to try to conceive and keep a cat at home, before getting pregnant, make some tests to check if you are infected by it. If it is positive, wait about 6 months to prevent toxoplasmosis in your baby.

At the same time, keep in mind that you should not be exposed to toxoplasmosis.

Best ways to protect myself and my unborn child from toxoplasmosis

The easiest and most cost-effective way to avoid exposure to toxoplasmosis when pregnant is to have someone else scoop and clean the litter box. If nobody can help, then wear gloves and a mask to do so.

Use a cat Litter Genie. Cysts in cat excrement are not infectious until excreted in the litter box for 1 to 5 days. So, scooping and cleaning the cat litter box also can protect against toxoplasmosis.

Litter Genie along with Lionpapa’s generic cat Litter Genie refills can seal the toxoplasmosis cysts inside the cat litter pail at the lowest cost.

If you simply dump cat feces into trash cans, you will risk being infected with toxoplasmosis by smelling cat litter.