Toxoplasmosis is an infection caused by a microscopic parasite called Toxoplasma gondii. It’s one of the most common parasites in the world, and it’s best known because it can be passed from cats to people. It’s especially important for pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems. Here are the basic facts every cat owner should know, and how to protect yourself and your family without giving up your cat.
How Do Cats Get Toxoplasmosis?
Cats are the main host of Toxoplasma: it’s the only animal in which the parasite can complete its full life cycle and produce eggs (oocysts). Cats usually become infected by:
- hunting and eating infected mice, rats and birds;
- eating raw or undercooked meat;
- contact with soil or other material contaminated with infected cat feces.
After a cat is infected for the first time, it sheds oocysts in its feces for only about one to three weeks. After that, most cats develop immunity and rarely shed oocysts again. Indoor cats that eat only commercial cat food and don’t hunt are at very low risk of ever being infected.
Signs of Toxoplasmosis in Cats
Most infected cats show no signs at all. Occasionally, especially in kittens or cats with weakened immune systems, toxoplasmosis can cause illness, with signs such as fever, lethargy, loss of appetite, breathing problems, eye inflammation, jaundice or neurological signs. These signs can be caused by many other illnesses too, so if your cat is unwell, see your vet, who can run tests and recommend treatment.
How Do People Get Toxoplasmosis?
Many people are infected at some point without ever knowing it. In healthy adults, toxoplasmosis usually causes no symptoms, or mild flu-like symptoms. But it can be serious:
- during pregnancy: if a woman is infected for the first time while pregnant, the infection can be passed to the baby and cause miscarriage or serious health problems;
- for people with weakened immune systems, for example due to HIV, chemotherapy or organ transplants.
Importantly, people are much more likely to be infected by eating undercooked meat or unwashed fruit and vegetables, or by gardening in contaminated soil, than by handling their own cat. Oocysts in fresh cat feces aren’t infectious right away: they need one to five days in the environment to become infectious.
How to Protect Yourself and Your Family
You don’t need to give up your cat if you’re pregnant or planning a pregnancy. Simple precautions greatly reduce the risk:
- Scoop the litter box every day, before any oocysts can become infectious.
- If you’re pregnant or immunocompromised, ask someone else to clean the litter box. If you have to do it yourself, wear disposable gloves and wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water afterward.
- Keep your cat indoors, and don’t let it hunt.
- Feed your cat commercial food, and avoid raw or undercooked meat.
- Don’t adopt or handle stray cats or new kittens while you’re pregnant, if you can avoid it.
- Cook meat thoroughly, and wash cutting boards, knives and hands after handling raw meat.
- Wash fruit and vegetables well before eating them.
- Wear gloves when gardening, and wash your hands afterward.
- Cover children’s sandboxes when they’re not in use.
If you’re pregnant or planning a pregnancy and you’re worried about toxoplasmosis, talk to your doctor. They can advise you and, if needed, test for previous infection.
Read also: worms in cats.
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