Pregnant women should not pet cats: myth or truth?

As soon as you see the coveted two lines on the test and announce your new position to your loved ones, be prepared for a real information attack. You will have to listen to a lot of advice, often very dubious. One of the most incomprehensible prohibitions for expectant mothers is the ban on communicating with cats. There are several reasons why pregnant women should not pet cats, but not all of them are really weighty and justified.

The main reasons for the ban

All the reasons why pregnant women should not pet cats can be divided into two groups - medical and mystical. Doctors may prohibit the expectant mother from communicating with cats in the following situations:

• the woman does not have antibodies to toxoplasmosis;
• there is a suspicion of worms in the cat;
• the cat has bald spots on its skin or other signs of illness;
• stray animal.

As for mysticism, everything is more complicated. A cat is a mysterious creature and is often credited with connections with otherworldly forces, and playing with it can promise trouble for the expectant mother and baby.

Signs and superstitions

Among the most common reasons why pregnant women should not have any contact with cats:

• You cannot play or pick him up - the child will have many enemies.
• You should not pet cats, especially fluffy ones - the newborn will develop subcutaneous hair (“bristles”) on its back, which will interfere with restful sleep. It will need to be removed with milk or rolled out by a healer.
• You can't look a cat in the eye - it will steal the soul of an unborn child.
• You should not be allowed to lie on the breast - the milk for feeding the baby will spoil.
• An animal should not be placed on a pregnant woman's stomach - something bad could happen to the baby.
• You cannot kick or offend a cat - this sign predicts a difficult birth for a pregnant woman, problems with the child’s legs (clubfoot, ankle deformities) or the appearance of other physical defects.

It’s really not worth hitting an animal, not so much because of signs, but because of the possibility of harm. For educational purposes, this method will also not be effective. Cats do not have a feeling of guilt; accordingly, they do not associate their behavior with an educational “slap”, but perceive it as an encroachment on freedom. In this way, you can quickly ensure that your pet harbors a grudge and even takes revenge in his own way.

What is toxoplasmosis and how do you get it?

Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease. People and animals suffer from it, but they are all only carriers, the final owner is the cat. It is in the body of our pets that Toxoplasma can multiply, and their eggs are excreted in feces and can be stored in the ground for years.

You can also become infected with toxoplasmosis from other animals, for example, by eating poorly cooked pork or lamb. But contact with cat feces or even animal fur is the easiest way.

Most people experience this disease in childhood. Usually it is very mild, almost asymptomatic. But if at the moment the human body is weakened, then toxoplasmosis can occur in more complex forms:

• Spicy. It is characterized by an increase in temperature to 38.0-39.0, enlarged lymph nodes under the arms, as well as weakness and pain in the muscles.
• Cerebral. It is characterized by severe headaches, high fever, and paresis. In difficult situations, paralysis and coma are possible.
• Congenital. Leads to severe delays in the baby's psychomotor development, deafness, jaundice and rash, too much small head volume.
• Ocular. Characterized by pain in the eyes and deterioration of vision up to blindness.
• Common. It occurs without damage to the eyes and brain, but can affect any organs, even causing their failure in difficult situations.
• Chronic. This form of the disease leads to neurotic reactions in the patient, loss of memory and nausea, as well as constipation and bloating. Specific myositis and myocarditis are also observed.

How dangerous is toxoplasmosis during pregnancy?

Toxoplasmosis is absolutely harmless for expectant mothers who have suffered from this disease long before conception. Fortunately, the majority are like that. Once a person has been ill, he acquires strong immunity for life. But, if a woman has not previously had toxoplasmosis and does not have antibodies to it, then this disease will be very dangerous. Moreover, it is much more difficult for an unborn baby. The longer the pregnancy, the higher the likelihood of fetal infection:

• in the first trimester the risk is 15%;
• in the second – 30%
• in the third – more than 60%.

At the same time, the severity of the disease decreases over time. If a woman is unlucky enough to contract toxoplasmosis in the first trimester, there is a high probability that the pregnancy will end in miscarriage. But even if you manage to carry the baby to term, he will most likely be born deeply disabled. If the mother becomes infected just before giving birth, the baby’s disease is asymptomatic in 90% of cases.

Diagnosis of toxoplasmosis

The presence of toxoplasmosis in the body is determined using an analysis for immunoglobulins of class G and M (IgM, IgG):

• If a woman has stable IgG levels and no IgM, she has been ill for a long time and is immune to the disease;
• If there is only IgM, the infection occurred recently and the likelihood of infection of the fetus is high;
• If both immunoglobulins are present, the woman became infected quite a long time ago (about a year ago), but the infection is currently active. It is necessary to monitor indicators over time.
• There are no immunoglobulins - the woman has not encountered toxoplasma before and must take all precautions to avoid becoming infected during pregnancy.

Treatment of toxoplasmosis is possible, but in the early stages it does not make sense, since both the disease and the medicine negatively affect the development of the baby. Usually, if the pregnancy is less than 24 weeks, doctors recommend induced termination. At later stages, the drug Rovamycin is used. It is well tolerated by women and reduces the risk of transmission of infection to the baby.

Precautions that pregnant women should take

Firstly, if you have animals, they need to be checked by a veterinarian for parasites and given all the necessary vaccinations.

Next, for prevention, you need to regularly give them anti-worm medications.

If you feed your pet meat, it should not be raw or undercooked to again avoid infection with parasites.

You should use gloves to wash your animal's litter box. It’s even better to have a family member take on these responsibilities during your pregnancy.

Of course, you should always wash your hands after handling an animal.

You should not pet or touch animals outdoors.

A dog's highly developed senses are akin to extrasensory abilities. Four-legged pets notice changes in the mood of their owners, changes happening to them. And therefore, it is quite realistic to assume that dogs are able to sense a woman’s pregnancy. It remains only to find out whether this is really so.

Prevention of infection with toxoplasmosis

I would like to reassure particularly suspicious expectant mothers who did not have time to get toxoplasmosis in childhood. If they have managed to avoid infection so far, it appears that their lifestyle eliminates the possibility of infection. To protect yourself from toxoplasmosis, you just need to follow basic hygiene rules:

• Avoid eating thermally unprocessed meat products and fish. It’s better to forget about rare steak during pregnancy, but sushi and rolls are especially dangerous. The products from which they are prepared may contain parasites that cause toxoplasmosis and more.
• Do not try raw minced meat in the kitchen. Of course, it’s difficult to fry cutlets without knowing well whether the minced meat is salted or peppered, but you’ll have to act at random or entrust the “tasting” to other family members.
• Wash all vegetables, fruits, herbs, etc. thoroughly.
• If there is a cat at home, entrust another family member with cleaning its litter box and try to minimize contact with the animal or even give it to another family for a while.

Following these simple rules will minimize the risk of infection.

One way to protect yourself from toxoplasmosis is to screen your domestic cat for this disease and treat it if necessary. But such studies are expensive and are not carried out in all cities. This function is most likely available to residents of large cities where there are wide-profile veterinary clinics.

Women whose blood contains mature antibodies to toxoplasmosis may not worry about infection. They are no longer in danger.

Is it possible for pregnant women to have a cat and live with a cat?

It is possible to live with a cat during pregnancy. However, it is worth observing safety precautions. Street cats can be considered the most dangerous. That is, if you live in a private house and you have a cat that walks on its own, then limit communication with it. According to statistics, almost all street cats suffered from toxoplasmosis; the causative agents of the disease can be in the feces for another 2 years after the illness.

If you want to have a kitten, be sure to vaccinate it against toxoplasmosis. You should not pick up the kitten. You should not have street cats, most likely they are infected. Buy kittens from trusted sellers with all documents and necessary vaccinations.

Is it possible for pregnant women to have a cat and live with a cat?

Precautionary measures:

• If you have an indoor cat, do not let her go outside during pregnancy. Keep her at home. There is a high risk of catching the disease on the street.
• Get yourself tested for TORCH infection. If you have ever had toxoplasmosis, the test will determine this. If you are found to have had toxoplasmosis in the past, your risk of infection is reduced. You are immune to the disease. But despite this, the fetus in the womb can become infected, and this is very dangerous.
• When purchasing a kitten, vaccinate it against toxoplasmosis and ask for a vaccination certificate from the parents. This will keep you safe.
• If the cat is a yard cat or you live in a private house, do not let your pet into the house, do not pet it or come into contact with excrement.
• Don't touch feces. If there is no one to clean up after your cat, use gloves.

When to worry:

• If your pet is very small and suddenly starts sneezing or feeling unwell, these may be symptoms of toxoplasmosis infection. If this is the case, take your pet to a doctor.
• Get tested for TORCH infection. Basically, a venous blood test is taken, which determines the amount of antibodies. If there are a lot of antibodies, this is dangerous; most likely, the infection is new. The fetus is in danger. Toxoplasmosis causes fetal malformations and even death.
• If there are no antibodies to toxoplasmosis in the blood at all, this is bad. In this case, you should completely forget about contact with cats.
• The best option is “seropositive” women. These are pregnant women who once suffered from toxoplasmosis, but are now healthy. They have immunity, so there is no risk of infection.

Is it possible for pregnant women to have a cat and live with a cat?

Cat worms - a threat to pregnant women

One of the reasons why pregnant women should not pet cats is the high probability of infection with worms. You can safely play with pets that do not go outside and eat only special food. In other cases, even if the cat is regularly dewormed, the likelihood of catching worms remains.

Of all the parasites that live in a cat’s body, only hookworms do not take root in the human body. They live in the intestines of kittens, attaching their teeth to its walls.

Can live in the human body:

• Roundworms – roundworms and toxocaras. They readily settle in the human gastrointestinal tract, causing many diseases. They release toxins and allergens into the human intestines, and also destroy it and disrupt the absorption of beneficial elements, causing vitamin deficiency and anemia.
• Threadworms are nematodes. They cause mechanical tissue damage, inflammation, anemia and allergies. Granulomas form at the sites where the larvae die.
• Tapeworms. Rarely settle in adult pregnant women, more often attacking children and cats.
• Echinococcus. A very dangerous parasite common to humans and cats. Echinococcosis often leads to death. It forms cysts on internal organs, which are difficult to detect and treat even with the modern level of development of medicine.

The main danger of cat worms during pregnancy is that all anthelmintic drugs are contraindicated for expectant mothers. This means that treatment will have to be postponed until childbirth or at least until the third trimester. Meanwhile, helminths will slowly destroy the body, disrupting well-being and negatively affecting the development of the fetus. Although they cannot directly affect the child, anemia and vitamin deficiency caused by parasites will do their job.

To eliminate the possibility of infection with worms from cats, you should avoid any contact with stray animals. After playing with your family, be sure to wash your hands with soap.

It is very important to monitor the health of your pet and carry out preventive deworming on time. It is also not recommended for expectant mothers to clean the cat litter box.

Do cats feel a special state?

Cats and kittens are able to sense humans well. That is why they can lie down on a sore spot, come up and warm up to a person when he is in a bad mood, and so on.

The animal does not leave the owner

Animals understand perfectly well that a new life is born inside a person; cats, who themselves have already become mothers, feel and understand this especially well. This may sound stupid to some, but animals not only feel, they are able to understand it with their minds.

In addition, they sense smells and temperature better than humans, so the girl is given away by such obvious things as:

• Toxicosis;
• Increased body temperature;
• Frequent urination;
• Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea;
• Changing vaginal changes.

The animal becomes more restless and follows the expectant mother everywhere, as if watching her and protecting her.

Other dangerous diseases transmitted from cats

During pregnancy, it is very important for a woman to avoid any diseases, because treatment options during this period are very limited. From cats, an expectant mother can catch not only toxoplasmosis and worms, but also some other diseases:

• rabies;
• lichen (trichophytosis, microsporia);
• chlamydia;
• campylobacteriosis;
• salmonellosis;

There are even more rare diseases, for example, tularemia, listeriosis, erseniosis, pasteurellosis. Fortunately, meeting them in modern conditions is unlikely. Of course, petting a stray cat with suspected rabies would hardly occur to a pregnant woman. Diseases such as campylobacteriosis, tularemia or salmonellosis also occur with pronounced symptoms. Many of them are also not transmitted by simply stroking an animal; closer contact is required.

But there are two diseases that occur unnoticed in an animal, and it is quite possible to catch them by picking up an animal:

• Ringworm. At the initial stage, it appears in the form of small bald spots and is not noticeable. For a pregnant woman, this disease does not pose a serious danger. But treatment will have to be postponed until after birth. And during this time, hair and nails can be very damaged, and a long recovery will be required.
• Chlamydia. Sometimes it occurs in cats in a latent form and can be transmitted to humans by airborne droplets. The likelihood of this is very low; household infection occurs in people in only 5% of cases. How many of them are from cats is not known, but definitely less than 1%. The danger of chlamydia is that it can be transmitted to the baby in the womb.

In fact, catching something from a cat, even a stray one, is much more difficult than on the subway at rush hour or on a stuffy minibus. But it’s better not to take unnecessary risks and limit contact with any unfamiliar animals.

Is it possible to clean a cat's litter box?

It is in the cat's litter box that contains a large number of germs and infections that can be dangerous for a pregnant girl. This includes not only toxoplasmosis, but also worms.

Kitten with baby

If there is another person in the house, then it is better to entrust this difficult task to him. It is better for a pregnant woman to completely minimize contact with all kinds of secretions. If you cannot entrust this task to anyone else, then you need to use gloves and a protective mask.