Should I worry about my cat's poop causing mental health issues?

Not all cats carry toxoplasma and of those that do, they do not shed it everyday. The toxo eggs are not immediately infective in fresh faeces but take a day or so to mature and develop before they are spread to people if eaten. Brief contact with faeces which is washed off immediately is not a major concern as the mature eggs would need to be ingested in order to contract it

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! Your Doctor can test you. If you are negative then you should avoid gardening or doing things with the soil as toxoplasma lives there as well. Then I would have your husband clean Cecile's litter box or you do it wearing gloves and wash your hands. I would also keep your cats indoors. As a Vet, I have been exposed, who knows when or how, and I had a normal pregnancy. Below is a link to the CDC's page on toxoplasma. It should answer all of your questions! I hope this helps and I wish you the best! https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/index.html

Toxoplasmosis can be diagnosed by blood work or a fecal examination. However toxoplasma takes 24 hours after a bowel movement to become infectious. So if your sister cleans the box daily, and showers daily, and wears clean clothes daily then the likelihood of contamination approaches zero. I am a veterinarian, and touch cats daily, and had my antibodies tested before pregnancy and I have never been exposed. I hope this helps explain this for you. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

No, this isn't true at all. I have three cats and have had two kids. Now cat poop can carry toxoplasmosis, which causes miscarriage in humans, but that is why pregnant women should not scoop or change the litter box.

I'm sorry to hear about this. Toxoplasmosis is a parasite that is commonly acquired by cats, people and many other animals, but doesn't always cause disease. This means that any animal can be infected and shedding the infective stage, but doesn't necessarily have the disease. Unless Blink is having signs of illness, there is no need to treat the infection. However, it may be worthwhile to have a vet find out if she is in-fact the source of the infection. For your sake, it may be worthwhile to eliminate the infection in Blink, so she doesn't continually spread it. Keep in mind that cat's are not the only source of this disease. Many other animals can carry this parasite and it's often transmitted through undercooked meat. Below are links to a couple of articles that should be helpful for understanding this disease and making future decisions. https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/toxoplasmosis https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/index.html I hope that helps and you get better soon.

Flies don't carry the toxoplasmosis parasite per se, but they can spread contaminated soil or cat feces. Cats can get toxoplasmosis by eating infected rodents, birds, or other small animals, or anything contaminated with feces from another cat that is shedding the microscopic parasite in its feces. In that way, it could be possible that Noushi could get toxoplasmosis if the flies she ate were carrying toxoplasmosis oocytes, but it would be highly unlikely. Keep the fly population under control in your house to reduce any chances. Best of luck, I hope this helps.

Great question! No, it is not shed in cat vomit, it is shed in the feces. When cats ingest infected prey or raw meat, the parasite is released from cysts in cat's digestive tract, where it reproduces and produces oocytes. Infected cats then excrete these oocytes in their feces by the millions, and will begin shedding them three to 10 days after consumed infected tissue. They will continue to shed oocytes for 10-14 days. I hope this helps!