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Name: Alone
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hi i am 5 weeks pregnant. i have 3 cats i did have 4 but he died last week :( and 3 cocker spanials and 2leopard geckos i love them all to pieces and couldnt be without them but is it dangerous to keep whilst pregnant
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Name: T-rabbit | Date: Dec 18th, 2006 9:52 PM
Not health at all if you ask a doc. But i worked in a vet through 2 preg. never caught anything. Cat poo is the major concern.

There are certain animals and animal products you should avoid when pregnant.

Cats' faeces may contain a disease that could damage your baby, so:

* avoid emptying litter trays or wear disposable rubber gloves
* trays should be cleaned daily by filling with boiling water for ten minutes
* avoid close contact with sick cats
* wear gloves when gardening - even if you don't have a cat - in case the soil is contaminated with faeces
* avoid lambing, milking ewes and all newborn lambs


This is to avoid a dangerous disease called toxoplasmosis, which can affect the eyes and brains of unborn babies, leading to problems later in life. 

Name: T-rabbit | Date: Dec 18th, 2006 9:55 PM
You've probably heard about the infection toxoplasmosis in relation to avoiding it during pregnancy by taking precautions with certain foods and the cat's litter box. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventing (CDC), some 60 million people in the United States could have toxoplasmosis. Many of them may not even know it because it can cause an infection that either has no symptoms or symptoms that are common to other illnesses.

So what is toxoplasmosis, exactly? It's an infection caused by a microscopic parasite that can live inside the cells of humans and animals, especially cats and farm animals.
How It Spreads

People can catch toxoplasmosis from:

* touching or coming into contact with infected cat feces (cats get the infection from eating infected rodents, birds, or other small animals)
* eating raw or undercooked meat that's infected
* eating uncooked, unwashed fruits or vegetables that have been contaminated by manure
* being born with it (a woman who gets a toxoplasmosis infection while pregnant may pass the parasite on to her unborn child through the bloodstream)

Although the infection doesn't normally spread from person to person (with the exception of pregnant women, who can pass it on to their fetuses), in rare instances toxoplasmosis can contaminate blood transfusions and organs donated for transplantation.
Signs and Symptoms

Toxoplasmosis passes from animals to humans, sometimes without causing any symptoms. When kids do have symptoms, they vary depending on the child's age and the immune system's response to the infection. (As with humans, infected cats often don't show any signs of a toxoplasmosis infection.)

Toxoplasmosis infections in people fall into three basic patterns:

1. congenital toxoplasmosis, in which the child becomes infected before birth
2. toxoplasmosis in an otherwise healthy child (these are the same symptoms a pregnant woman may experience)
3. toxoplasmosis in a child with a weakened immune system

Congenital toxoplasmosis

When a pregnant woman (even one who has no symptoms) catches toxoplasmosis during pregnancy and remains untreated, there's a chance that she could pass the infection on to her developing fetus. Babies who become infected during their mother's first trimester tend to have the most severe symptoms.

However, it's rare that a woman who got toxoplasmosis before getting pregnant will pass the infection on to her unborn baby because she (and, therefore, her baby) will have built up immunity to the infection. It can occur, though, if a pregnant woman who's had a previous infection becomes immunocompromised and her infection is reactivated. Generally, it's probably a good idea to wait to try to get pregnant until at least 6 months after a toxoplasmosis infection.

Up to 90% of children born with congenital toxoplasmosis have no symptoms early in infancy, but a large percentage will show signs of infection months to years later. Others show clear signs of infection either at birth or within the first month of life. Some are born prematurely or are unusually small at birth. Other signs and symptoms, if there are any at all, may include:

* fever
* swollen glands (lymph nodes)
* jaundice (yellowed skin and eyes caused by abnormal levels of a liver chemical called bilirubin)
* an unusually large or small head
* rash
* bruises or bleeding under the skin
* anemia
* enlarged liver or spleen

Some babies with congenital toxoplasmosis have brain and nervous system abnormalities that cause:

* seizures
* limp muscle tone
* feeding difficulties
* hearing loss
* mental retardation

They're also at high risk for eye damage involving the retina (the light-sensitive lining at the back of the eye responsible for sight), resulting in severe vision problems.

If a child is born with congenital toxoplasmosis and remains untreated during infancy, there's almost always some sign of the infection (often eye damage) by early childhood to adolescence. 

Name: T-rabbit | Date: Dec 29th, 2006 12:45 AM
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