Toxoplasmosis: Can You Get Toxoplasmosis from Breathing In Cat Litter？

As a cat owner, you should have known toxoplasmosis, a parasitic disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii.

Living with cats may put you at risk of being infected with toxoplasmosis while inhaling cat litter is one of the patterns of spread. If you have no idea how to protect yourself and your family against toxoplasmosis, you may be subconsciously infected with toxoplasmosis.

It should be a compulsory course to learn about toxoplasmosis.

How does toxoplasmosis spread by cats?

Generally speaking, cats are carriers of parasites. Parasites reproduce in oocysts and oocysts escape from cat excrement. Then, they will find new hosts.

Cats can develop toxoplasmosis from eating raw meat, undercooked meat, direct contact with contaminated areas, etc. There is an incubation period: the oocysts will not be infectious 1 to 5 days after they are excreted.

I have to mention that toxoplasmosis can be transmitted from the mother to the child. And it may lead to severe diseases.

Symptoms of toxoplasmosis

There won't be any symptoms for most people who catch the disease. Only 10 to 20 percent of infected people show flu-like symptoms, including fever, fatigue, headache, sore body, etc.

The situation can be serious if a newborn is infected with Toxoplasmosis from the mother.

If the mother had toxoplasmosis long before she was pregnant, the mother will be immune and the antibody in the mother's blood will protect the baby. But if toxoplasmosis attacks the mother during or just before the pregnancy, it can be dangerous.

Most immunocompetent pregnant women have latent infection after infection, and they don’t show symptoms. 10% to 20% of pregnant patients can develop flu-like symptoms. But for immunocompromised pregnant women, things will get worse, from cerebritis to multiple organic lesions. The unborn child is in danger of serious deformities.

Can you get toxoplasmosis from breathing in cat litter?

The answer is yes.

The feces of infected cats contain oocysts. Exposing yourself to cat feces can lead to toxoplasmosis. Not only directly touching cat feces, but breathing cat litter is dangerous.

When inhaling cat litter, the oocysts will go into your body and give you toxoplasmosis. As a result, cat owners, particularly pregnant women, should avoid inhaling cat litter.

How to prevent toxoplasmosis from breathing in cat litter when pregnant?

As toxoplasmosis infection during pregnancy can cause serious complications, you should protect yourself from cat litter odors.

Scooping and changing cat litter:

It is best to have someone else scoop and change the litter.

If no one can help you, then wear gloves and a mask to avoid being exposed to cat litter.

How to store the soiled cat litter before the truck comes?

As mentioned earlier, cat feces do not become infectious until 1-5 days after they are excreted in the litter box. The most effective way is to scoop the soiled cat litter in time, at least once a day.

But where to store cat waste? Simply toss it into the normal trash can in your home? Oh, no. Don’t do that. Without a mechanical sealing structure, you can become infected.

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