Conference misery::feline_v1

    Your Dr. is a jerk!  My father-in-law is a gynecologist, and he said
    with caution, the cats should not cause a problem.  Since your not
    doing litterbox duty, there shouldn't be any problem at all!  
    
    My father-in-law suggested rubber gloves and a mask for cleaning the
    litterbox during pregnancy.  
    
    And, I'm a breeder with 10-12 cats, and kittens all the time.
    
    I would wonder a little about a Dr. that was that quick to make such a
    suggestion.
    
    cin
    

    Also, you can be tested for Toxoplasmosis....many people already have
    immunity to it.  
    
    Did your Dr. also tell you not to eat very rare red meat....actually,
    not to even touch raw red meat....you can get Toxo just as easily that
    way.
    
    According to my F-I-L, Toxoplasmosis is very rare!
    
    cin
    

    There are several notes on Toxoplasmosis in this file. To find them,
    please enter the following command at the NOTES> prompt:
    
    	NOTES> SHO KEY/FULL TOXOPLASMOSIS
    
    Deb

    I hope this is not too rude, but... your doctor is off his rocker!
    His insistence is *extrememly* extreme. Of course your baby-to-be
    is most important, but I don't think your doctor is doing the right
    thing by telling you to get rid of your cats.

    From what I've read, if your cats are indoor-only (and presumably 
    don't eat mice or other such goodies) and your husband is taking care 
    of the litter box, your chances of contracting toxo. *from your cats* 
    are pretty slim (like none). But I'm not an expert; do some research 
    and decide for yourself. 

    Some notes on this subject are:  52, 2011, 3573. Reading them should 
    give you more information and you can make an informed decision. 

    I'd get rid of the doctor before I got rid of my cats! On second
    thought, I'd find out the facts and try educating the doctor first, 
    since if he's told this myth to you he's probably telling it to other 
    women, too. It's one thing to warn a pregnant woman about the dangers 
    of toxo. and the ways in which it can be contracted, but quite another 
    to outright tell her she must get rid of her cats because they will 
    give her the disease.

    Linda

    P.S. By the way, congratulations and good luck!

    I say the DOC MUST GO...not the cat!  Congratulation on your pregnancy!
    
    

    FLAME ON>>
    
    I'm suprised he didn't tell you about cats suffocating babies too....
    
    <<FLAME OFF
    
    I know of several young moms who have cats.  The husband usually takes
    over cat box duty.....although they don't always do as good as job as
    mom....

Toxo is much more commonly contracted by handling raw meat than through
your cats.  The transmission path through cats to humans is:

	cat eats infected food source such as rodent, bird, or
	other raw meat, or cat gets very involved with the feces 
	of an infected cat...
	human gets very involved with feces of infected cat...

If your cats are indoor-only, and if you do not handle the cat's solid
waste directly in your hands, and THEN touch your mouth or eyes without
washing your hands, you chances of getting toxo this way is virtually
null.

It is, however, wise to eschew activities that could lead to contracting
the disease....let your husband manage all cat litter duties, keep
your cats indoors-only, DO NOT feed raw anything to your cats, DO NOT
eat rare meat, do not handle raw meat with your bare hands (buy disposable
gloves and use them when cooking).

Your doctor sounds insensitive, and like someone who has a "hidden agenda"..
perhaps a deep dislike of cats.  I, personally, would be reluctant to trust
this individual to give you VALID information, rather than information DEEPLY
"colored" by his/her own opinions/likes/dislikes....the information I've
entered here is generally well-known by medical personnel and I doubt that
a competent doctor is so uninformed.  I am concerned about the quality
of medical care you are getting.


P.S.  cats ARE NOT DANGEROUS TO INFANTS - this may come up and it is
an old "urban legend" that cats will suffocate infants - simply untrue.
Be prepared for this one from friends/relatives/doctors.  You should
always be cautious with an infant, as they are fragile, but your cats
are no more danger than a human - and probably much less danger than
a careless human.

    
    Fay,
    
    I'm afraid that your Doctor is living in the dark ages.  My husband and
    I are hoping to get pregnant (I'll do the acutal child bearing;-), and
    my Gyn was very supportive of our owning cats.
    
    I had a toxoplasmosis screen done, to see if I had ever been exposed to
    the parasite, (which is what it is) and came up negitave!!!
    
    I handle the litter box, but do use gloves, (Indoor only cats also.)  
    Dr. also cautioned about red meat and handling any animal feces, 
    (ie barn care, horses, cow, goats, pigs, rabbits, etc.)
    
    Never did he say my Kitties had to go.  In fact although his warnings
    sounded scarey, he reassured me that "toxo" is VERY rare in the US or
    other developed countries where good hygiene is practiced.
    
    I'll be visiting the Dr. next friday, I'll ask him for a pamphlet, (if
    one exists) on the subject and would be very happy to mail it to you. 
    Maybe you could give it to your Doctor and he could stop passing out
    outdated information.
    
    Also, go to your local library and look up toxo in Gray's Anatomy, it
    has a lot of info.  No one should give up six furry family members on
    the advise of someone who, IMHO, has an axe to grind against cats.
    
    Congratulatins, and Good Luck, Please keep us posted on what you find
    and what success, if any, you have in educating this Doctor.
    
    We really car what happens to you and your whole :-) family.
    
    Feline Angry at Your Doctor,
    
    Sue & Panther & Spot
    

    
    By the way, WELCOME TO FELINE  and congratulations on your baby !
    
    How are you holding up?  I, too, must admit that I find the things
    your doctor is saying a little drastic.  It's not unheard of to
    be very aware of the problems caused by toxoplasmosis, and I
    would suggest that your wash your hands A LOT.
    
    Guess by now you must have figured out that you may not have
    as much of a problem as your doctor thinks you could have !!
    
    It might be an idea to go to the library and so some research
    and then bring what you find to your next appointment.  Another
    idea might be to call 5 or 6 vets and see if they have any 
    information that might be helpful.  
    
    I wish I could offer more, but all I do know is that if you handle
    litter and don't wash carefully, you could have a problem.
    
    As folks have suggested, you can be tested for toxoplasmosis - 
    maybe your doctor will order this test for you.  Please let us
    know what you find out - maybe there is new information that we
    have not heard yet.  
    
    Good luck and maybe introduce your 6 kitties !!  Sounds to me that
    they are very special !!
    
    E.T.

    oh, some additional notes that may help would be:
    
    52 and 2011 were mentioned earlier in this note.
    1940.25,  2573, and  3811
    
    
    E.T.

    thank you all so much for your respoSES!
    
    The doctor did order a toxo test along with the plethora of other
    ones I had done yesterday :-))
    
    I too feel he may have a personal problem with felines, and on the
    other hand he is one of the best gyn's in the business.  
    I do think he need an update on the situation, or at least read
    the literature he is giving out whihc said very much what you
    folks have written here concerning toxoplas'... which confused me
    terribly because he is telling me get rid of the lot in
    one breath then handing me a report to read that says the situaion
    is not bleak if you do this and that like no litterbox cleaning unless
    you have gloves..no raw meat etc.
    I am concernind as to how many other women he spooked with his
    insistence.
    
    I have always said that when we have a baby the babies first
    words would probably be KITTY KITTY..and I still think so :-))
    
    
    Fay
    
    
    

    
    
    ATTA GIRL, Fay !!!  We're rootin' for YOU and your common sense!
    
    Don't forget to introduce your babies (the furry ones first).
    
    E.T.

    We live with 10 cats and have raise two children now 1 and 5 yrs.
    old.  No toxo problems ever developed (my wife never ate the litter).
    My vet said eating the litter is the only way a modern person could
    contract it from cats. Get new OB there's no telling what else he
    believes. Our  OB was supportive of our keeping life normal even
    with cats.

    I'm a single mom and was a single *expectant* mom living alone with my
    indoor-only kitty.  Moon had been my only "child" for nine years and I
    wasn't about to give her away... so I did the kitty box duty as always
    (lifting the solids into the toilet; changing the whole thing as
    necessary).  Nobody *I* know gets in up to their elbows while
    completing that task.  I decided I had other things to worry about so I
    clucked and nodded placatingly when people gave me the toxo-lecture. 
    And I figure you'd need to strap meat compresses over broken skin
    before you'd have a real risk in food preparation... I just did a Lady
    McBeth number with *hot* *soapy* water every time, though I felt like
    an obsessive idiot doing it.
    
    If you really want to feel sanitized about the kitty box (and relieve
    some weight in the hip pocket area), get kitty box liners (Tidy Cat 3,
    for example), which are heavy (scented!) plastic bags, a little smaller
    than Tall Trash size.  Put the kitty box IN the bag, push the bag down
    into the box and put litter in.  When it's time to remove litter, pull
    the bag back over the litter box (it's easier than it sounds),turning it 
    inside out with the TOXO-LITTER now on the INSIDE!!  Twist tie, toss,
    and blow a raspberry at your former OB-GYN!
    
    Alexandra's first word *was* "kitty"!!  (Came out "dit-doo".)
    
    Leslie, Alex and Moon

    For the records....my Father-in-law has only seen 1 case of
    toxoplasmosis in his 20 years as a Gyn.
    
    cin
    

    On other thing to be careful of is working in your garden.  Cats and
    possibly other animals will "go" in the loosley packed dirt. Be sure
    to wear gloves.
    
    				Good Luck,
    				Mary

    I agree, the Doc must go!  But, anyway,  the reply mentioning the
    liners is a good one.  I always use liners and haven't touched litter
    box contents in years.  I get the cheap Demoulas brand garbage bags,
    the big box of medium size.  Good for 30 changes.
      I agree with the garden, too. I do know someone who got in from 
    garden soil contaminated with poop.  Solution, fence around garden
    and gloves.
                               good luck!  Denise

    To your OB, Just a minute buckaroo!!
    
    I too had my cat tested for toxo when I found I was pregnant.  Her test
    came back "trace" which they explained meant she may not have been had
    direct contact with anything, but perhaps her mother had had a higher
    exposure to mice, raw meat etc.  The vet assured me not to worry.  When
    I asked my OB, (a very prominent Worcester OB) about testing me he sort
    of laughed at me and said if I've ever eaten raw or rare meat it would
    probably show me to have a slight level of toxo, and went on to say he
    didn't put much faith in the test unless very high results were found.
    He also advised me to use the litter liners and provided me with rubber
    gloves each exam for changing the pan.  Hubby wasn't thrilled at his
    new added chore!
    
    On a real note, the only person I know personally who developed the
    disease was a grown man who owned a restaurant for years, they feel he
    contracted toxo from handling all the raw meat for years.  BTW he is
    now out of restaurant business and is pretty much cured.  In all the
    time I've spend at Umass Medical center with my son, I've only
    encountered one child with a birth related toxo case.  The child was
    put on IV anitibiotics and was home and fine within 10 days, according
    to her mother.
    
    I too, use the litter pan liners and love them.  When I go to the
    supermarket I request they bag my groceries in the little plasic handle
    bags, they're great for disposing of the liners and litter.  Just tie
    up the handle and pitch in the outside trash bag.  I figure it can't be
    any worse than handling a bucket full of dirty disposable diapers!  BTW the
    best price I've seen on the clear (OHwhat'sthebrandname) liners is Spag's.
    they get 12 for 1.49, Caldor is next at 12/$1.99 and Ames is outrageous at 
    12 for 3something!
    
    When I had my son we were living with my inlaws, by the time I got home
    from the hospital the cat had been banished to the cellar by mother
    inlaw.  She informed me that cats and children WILL NOT be in the same
    room together at any time-period! and this was HER house etc....Needless 
    to say we were in our own home within 4 months of the baby's birth!!
    
    Congrats!!
    Lyn, Holly-kitty and Bandit
    
    

    BTW, I checked the Brand name this morning it's VANESS.  They are the
    ones designed for the hood-covered or the flip-up edge type large pans.
    
    As a avid follower of the parenting notes, you might want to run this
    basenote through that file.  It would be interesting what reactions
    you'd get from parents of two legged kids!!
    
    Keep smiling!!
    Lyn, Holly-kitty, and Baby Bandit :-)
    

    OK, just HAD to add the words, straight from the mouth of my vet.  I
    asked her if it was necessary to test my newest addition for Toxo.  She
    said that she had these concerns also, (she is a mother of 3).  She
    told me that the Toxo virus is "shed" through the cat's stool, it it
    only shed for a VERY short period of time, and once shed it becomes an
    antibody in the cat, therefor the cat can never shed the Toxo virus
    again.  
    
    As a Vet AND a mother she said not to worry about the virus, and tell
    your OB to go worry about something important!!  Hope this puts your
    mind at ease!!
    
    Lyn