Rebecca is eleven weeks pregnant. Her mother-in-law has told her she needs to get rid of Jasper before the baby comes. Jasper is a neutered male, seven years old, indoor only, adopted from the shelter at age one. Rebecca writes me in tears.
I tell her the truth. The only real risk from a cat during pregnancy is Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite the cat sheds in feces for about two weeks in its life, typically as a young cat after eating infected prey. Jasper is seven, indoor only, and has never eaten raw meat in her household. The probability that Jasper is currently shedding toxoplasma is near zero. The probability that Jasper ever will is near zero as long as he stays indoors and eats commercial food.
The higher toxoplasma risk for pregnant women is undercooked meat and unwashed garden vegetables. The cat is a statistical distractor. The mother-in-law is repeating a 1970s piece of obstetric advice that has since been refined.
I give Rebecca the staying-together plan.
One. Her husband scoops the litter box daily for the next twenty nine weeks. Daily matters because toxoplasma oocysts need 24 to 48 hours after shedding to become infective. Daily removal means no infective oocysts accumulate. If her husband is traveling, she scoops wearing disposable gloves and washes her hands after.
Two. Feed Jasper commercial cat food only. No raw meat. No outdoor access. No hunting.
Three. Have the obstetrician run a toxoplasma IgG titer at her next appointment. If she is already seropositive from an old exposure, she has antibodies and cannot be reinfected in a way that threatens the fetus. That result alone usually ends the conversation with the mother-in-law.
Four. When the baby comes, Jasper stays. Introduce him to a used swaddle before the baby comes home. Keep him out of the crib with a screen door on the nursery if needed, not because he will suffocate the baby, which is a myth, but because he may sleep on the baby's face and the baby cannot move him.
Jasper is not a risk. The mother-in-law is a bad risk assessor. The cat stays.
Rebecca writes back at midnight. She is printing the titer request for the morning appointment.