Cats and Your Pregnancy, What you should know Cats and Your Pregnancy, What you should know Many of my clients know that owning a cat when you are pregnancy presents some health risks. I get a call about twice a year from families concerned about their unborn baby and their handling of the family cat. Here's what you should know about cats and your pregnancy.
Toxoplasmosis is the name of a parasite that infects cats and can cause problems for an unborn baby.
Cats can catch Toxoplasmosis in one of two ways. First, cats eat mice and small rodents that have a stage of the parasite encysted into the muscle. When they digest this rodent the infective stage is released into the intestines and it infects the cat. Within 3 days the parasite has taken up residence in the cat's intestine and it is now reproducing eggs called oocysts in the cats stool. This oocyst shedding lasts for 2 to 3 weeks.