Toxoplasma gondii: Danger for Baby Mamas

As you may know, pregnant women are advised against cleaning cat boxes for the duration of their pregnancy. You may wonder if OB/GYNs banded together and declared that since pregnant women are busy growing human life in their wombs and all, they might as well be given a free pass from cat box duty for 9 months. Or perhaps it is because if a pregnant woman stoops down to clean the cat box she'll get stuck? These seem like legitimate enough reasons to me, but if you need more incentive to keep pregnant ladies away from cat boxes, try this one on for size: PARASITES! Yep. There is a parasite (a protozoan parasite to be scientifically accurate) named Toxoplasma gondii that can be transmitted in cat poo. Most people who become infected don't get sick because their kick-ass immune system takes charge before the little buggers cause any harm. At the most, they might get flu-like symptoms and never suspect that a cat poo parasite is the culprit. However, if a pregnant women becomes infected for the first time (i.e. she has no previous immunity) she can pass the infection onto her unborn baby. This can result in miscarriage, giving birth to a stillborn baby, or giving birth to a baby who goes on to develop vision loss, mental disability, or seizures. Is that reason enough??

Side note: Recent press has scared cat ladies everywhere by claiming that Toxoplasma gondii causes brain cancer. These rumors have been put to rest. Cat ladies should only worry about their cat negatively affecting their health if they happen to be pregnant cat ladies. Even then, there is no need to avoid your feline friends, just avoid their poo box.