Is it true that households with cats have higher risk of miscarriage? I remember hearing about this in a biology class in college and have heard that doctors do not recommend getting cats when young children are around or in the works. Anyone know if there is any truth in these claims?
Re: Miscarriages & Cats
Yes its true. It's not the actual cat that is harmful but a parasite that is produced by the waste of the cat. Ask any gyenochologist..here go to webmd and type in search toxoplasmosis..i would put the link but I'm not allowed to since i don't have 25 posts.
Re: Miscarriages & Cats
- Pregnant women shouldn’t change cat litter.
True. Due to a virus in cat feces called Toxoplasmosis.
Explanation: This virus can be very harmful to the pregnancy. But recognize that contact with kitty litter is not limited to changing the cat litter box. Since a cat walks on its litter, the virus can be tracked anywhere a cat walks, including its paws. Due to this, all contact with the cat must be limited and the house must be kept extra clean. Also, because much of our produce is grown outdoors where cats and other animals come in contact with it — even if it’s organic — recognize that this virus may be present on fruits and vegetables.
from: http://www.drphil.com/articles/article/288
also: Toxoplasmosis In Your Cat - And You
scary!! we love our two cats! what will we do?
but what neither article says though, is how many women this occurs in? it just says what the percentage of fetuses getting this infection from the mom is… i wonder how rare this is?
Re: Miscarriages & Cats
i’ve never heard that, thats pretty scary, but i think that it must be a really small precentage of the population that gets infected…i know many people who had cats and went on to have perfectly healthy children
Re: Miscarriages & Cats
Stay away from cats when pregnant !
Re: Miscarriages & Cats
cat litter could have a bug, toxoplasma gondii in it which could cause toxoplasmosis , so one need to be extra coutious if one has any contact with cat litter , esp , pregnant women & kids of all ages , doesn't mean that u'll have a risk if u've pet cats at yr place , but even if u're outdoors like in a park etc there could've been cat litter contamination anywhere , so beware.
Re: Miscarriages & Cats
Thanks, guys.
Yes, I know lots of families that have cats and have gone on to have healthy children, but I had heard this and just wanted to know a little bit more. Thank you for the information.
Re: Miscarriages & Cats
Yes its def true,doctors are always going on about it although i dont know how commonly it occurs.When i was pregnant i went to stay with my parents who live in the uk and they have a cat but mashallah everything was fine. I just stayed away from its litter thats all.
Re: Miscarriages & Cats
Yes its true. Its something every1 kept talking abt but i dont have any pets so it didnt really apply to me.
Re: Miscarriages & Cats
i think the percentage is pretty small too… we would have heard more about it otherwise.
Re: Miscarriages & Cats
wow it is first time I heard this..
Re: Miscarriages & Cats
i hate cats anway...
Re: Miscarriages & Cats
haha :p
cats are lovely!!
i talked to a colleague who basically lives in a zoo, she has so many pets and she said her doc told her not to change the kitty litter, but that was about it. other than that, she wasnt really at risk when she was preggo. i think it depends too on whether you have an indoor cat or if its allowed to roam around outside. ours are strict apartment dwellers- they dont even like going into the hallway!
Re: Miscarriages & Cats
My bhabi lives in a very large house and has 13 cats who are allowed in and out as they please. She has a very beautiful and healthy daughter and another one on the way. Her husband changes the litter and she washes her hands after she pets the cats, and everything is fine. I think it's really rare for anything to go wrong, and when it does, it's because of the litter more than the actual cat.
Re: Miscarriages & Cats
13 cats??!! holy crap, i'm so glad i'm not changing that kind of litter!! can u imagine the sheer volume of poo??? ewww lol
Re: Miscarriages & Cats
It's definitely more than I would want to handle...they have like 5 different litter boxes throughout the house and some of the cats go outside to do their thing...most of the cats that she has were either abused or abandoned or sick and she rescued them, which is really nice of her, still one cat is more than enough for me.