Can I keep a cat while pregnant? What should I pay attention to when keeping a cat while pregnant?

Many people keep cats before they get pregnant, but after they get pregnant, the adults in the family don’t allow them to keep cats, saying that it will affect the baby. In fact, the baby will only be affected if the cat has Toxoplasma. You can find out whether the cat has Toxoplasma by taking it for a toxoplasmosis test.

Can I keep a cat while pregnant?

The biggest factor in keeping a cat during pregnancy is that you are most afraid of being infected with Toxoplasma gondii from your cat at home. The main factors for cats to be infected with Toxoplasma gondii are eating raw meat and infection from stray cats and dogs. Humans are infected with Toxoplasma gondii from cats mainly through contact with cat feces. If you already have a cat at home before you get pregnant, as long as you make sure not to feed the cat raw meat and give the cat regular physical examinations and vaccinations, there will be no problem. Most people keep cats in pens, so they are almost naturally isolated from the outside world of cats and dogs. Things like shoveling poop, bathing cats, and taking care of cats can be completely handed over to your husband, so as long as you keep a cat in the correct "position", there will be no problem even if you are pregnant.

Precautions for keeping cats during pregnancy

1. Regularly give your cat a comprehensive checkup, and do a good job of deworming and related immunizations inside and outside the body. This includes Toxoplasma antibodies. Cats only get Toxoplasma once in their lifetime, and the eggs are excreted only for 14 days. Only if you happen to be pregnant during these 14 days and the eggs are in your mouth will there be problems. This way you can ensure the safety of keeping cats during pregnancy.

2. Cats should be kept indoors. Do not let cats go out to hunt, because cats are mainly infected with Toxoplasma gondii by eating infected mice or birds, or eating food contaminated with feces.

3. Do not touch cat feces. Pregnant mothers should not touch cat feces during pregnancy, and ask other family members to clean the pets in time. Wash your hands before and after meals, and after touching cats. Do not kiss cats for the time being.

4. Pay more attention to diet. Pregnant mothers should not eat raw eggs or undercooked meat. Cutting boards and knives for raw meat and offal should be separated from those for cooked meat and vegetables and fruits. Raw vegetables and fruits must be cleaned thoroughly before eating.

Mode of infection

Cats are infected with Toxoplasma gondii mainly through infected cat feces and by preying on mice and birds. Cats that are kept indoors and do not eat live animals or raw water are not easily infected.

Only cats infected with Toxoplasma for the first time will spread eggs within the first two weeks of infection. The feces of infected cats contain Toxoplasma cysts, and cats excrete cysts in their feces for a short period of time after infection, only 10-20 days. Cystic cysts need to develop in the outside world for 1-2 days or longer before they become contagious, so cat litter or cat feces should be removed daily, and cats should not be allowed to eat food that may be contaminated with Toxoplasma.

Toxoplasma gondii

If a pregnant woman has a primary infection during pregnancy (i.e. the first or initial infection with Toxoplasma gondii), it can be transmitted to the fetus through the placenta. Congenital infection is the most important route of infection. If the pregnant woman has been infected before pregnancy, there is no longer a risk of infecting the fetus. If infected with Toxoplasma gondii in early pregnancy, the incidence rate is low, but the possibility of miscarriage will increase. The incidence rate of infection in the middle and late pregnancy is higher, and the symptoms are not obvious, but it may cause harm to the fetus. The main route of infection of Toxoplasma gondii is "disease from the mouth", especially eating raw meat will increase the risk of infection.