Toxoplasmosis

Publicity about Toxoplasmosis occurs because of the possibility of it being shed in the feces (stools) of the cat. The disease may cause congenital deformities in human infants, if a woman is infected during early pregnancy by cleaning a cat’s litter box and coming into contact with fecal material in the box. It is rare for humans to actually contract Toxoplasmosis from their cat. Most human cases are acquired while handling raw meat during food preperation. (Wash your hands, knives, counters and cutting boards with soap and hot water after preparing any raw meat.)

Cats generally acquire the disease from eating meat, too, though usually of the mouse or shrew variety instead of beef or pork. Cockroaches and birds can carry Toxoplasmosis too, or a cat may acquire the disease from its mother before birth or via the feces of another infected cat. The Toxoplasma eggs are produced by the adult stage of the organism, shed in the stool and picked up by the next host.The eggs take one to five days to hatch in the litter box or in the intestines of a new host.

Most infected cats show no sign of disease. The protozoa live for a time in the intestines of the cat but usually do not cause actual illness. The cat’s immune sytem gradually gets rid of the Toxoplasma organisms. Cats that do become ill may have mucoid or bloody diarrhea, fever, pneumonia, enlarged lymph nodes, hepatitis, eye lesions, anemia, muscle inflammation, or possible seizures.

Although the disease may be fatal, it usually responds to several weeks of therapy with antibiotics. Cats may recover and develop a strong immunity against the disease, but a few cats will harbor the disease for a long time, flaring up with symptoms when they are stressed by circumstances or other illnesses. Treatment involves medication for a minimum of three weeks, and then re-testing the blood titer of the cat.

Toxoplasmosis infection may be diagnosed by doing blood titers twice a few weeks apart or, more rarely, by finding Toxoplasmosis organisms in the stool of the ill cat. A titer measures the antibodies produced by the immune system of the cat in response to the infection. A single positive titer test for Toxoplasmosis may show a cat has been exposed to the Toxoplasmosis organisms. If the titer for Toxo is much higher at the second test a few weeks later that means the cat has recently been infected and is building up immunity to the disease. Many times the veterinarian will start treatment for the disease if he or she suspects it, while waiting to be able to do the second blood test 2-3 weeks later.

Cats only shed Toxoplasma organisms in their stool during the first few weeks of an infection. Once their immune system overcomes the infection they are no longer contagious. Thus a pregnant woman can only pick up this infection from cleaning her cat’s litter pan if the cat happens to contract Toxoplasmosis and shed protozoa in the stool during the first few months of her pregnancy, and if she herself has never before been exposed to the disease . People, too, take a few weeks to develop good immunity against the disease and then are immune for life. Most cats and 80% of humans have been exposed to Toxoplasmosis and are already immune to it.

Some human physicians recommend testing cats for Toxoplasmosis. This is usually a waste of money. The woman should herself be tested first. If she has a titer she already has immunity to Toxoplasmosis and she can’t become infected with itr If she doesn’t have a titer then she could possibly pick up the infection during her pregnancy and cause problems for her developing fetus. Then she may want to have her cat tested too.

Again, the cat may need to be tested twice, two weeks or so apart. A negative titer means a cat has never encountered Toxoplasmosis. If that cat does contract the disease during the first trimester of the woman’s pregnancy, he or she could then shed protozoa in the stool for the woman to pick up. Indoor cats who don’t hunt mice or eat raw meat are unlikely to do this. A second blood test later on would show if this had indeed happened. A positive titer that is not rising means the cat has already developed immunity and can’t shed live Toxoplasmosis organisms in the stool. A rising titer means recent infection and, again, the cat could be shedding Toxoplasmosis in the stool.

Confused? This is why most veterinarians simply recommend having another family member clean the litter box during early pregnancy, or wearing rubber or latex gloves!

2. Feed only cooked or processed meats and other foods.

3. Empty the litter box DAILY. Remember, it takes 1-5 days for the eggs to hatch and be infective. If the box is cleaned at least every 24 hours the disease can’t be spread.

4. Pregnant women should NOT handle cat litter boxes, even through there is NOTHING to worry about as long as the litter box is emptied daily!

5. Wash your hands after handling the litter box.