пятница, 7 августа 2015 г.

Pregnancy and cats


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While planning pregnancy or preparing to have a baby, many women, cat owners, often face the caution concerning their pets. Pregnant women are advised to limit the contact with a cat or even temporarily give it to somebody. Such precautions are explained by the risk of being infected with toxoplasmosis, a common disease among cats.
What does a cat owner must know before planning a baby?
Firstly, such risk really exists. There's nothing dangerous for an adult person, though, if to catch this disease during pregnancy, toxoplasmosis might do harm to a foetus and even cause its death. That is why, it is essential to take the matter seriously and follow all preventive instructions to avoid the infection. It doesn't mean that a person has to get rid of an animal, however, it is important to take all measures to be certain that a cat is healthy. Cat owner needs to have it examined and inoculated against toxoplasmosis at vets.
The main sources of spreading the infection are the following:
  •  Raw meat contains a causative agent
  •  Infected excrements 
  • Contact with an animal suffering from this disease 
It is said that almost all cats that are walked have had toxoplasmosis before. In most cases the cat (and its owner) either has no symptoms or minor ones such as, lymphadenopathy, low temperature rise, short-term diarrhea. 
It is also vital to remember that the person who has had the disease before isn't currently a carrier of the infection. The disease which is in past history won't hurt a future baby if its mother had been ill with toxoplasmosis before pregnancy. The cat is considered to be contagious if it caught the disease during the last three weeks.
It is possible to catch toxoplasmosis if a person ate the infected meat which hadn't been continuously heat-treated before. Cat's saliva is also considered to be the source of infection. The most dangerous are fractions of infected excrements that can get into one's organism with dust, water, ground, through injured skin or mucous tunic.
A pregnant woman shouldn't clean up after the cat (even if it's inoculated), let other family members do that. In the last resort, a toilet should be cleaned up wearing gloves and a protective mask. All the cleaning equipment and the toilet itself should be disinfected. Excrements should be cleaned in a proper time as fresh cat faeces are not so dangerous as a causative agent of toxoplasmosis has to mature in an external environment.
After playing with a cat hands should be washed with soap. Don't let your cat neither rub up against you with its muzzle, lick you, nor show its loyalty in any other way as cat's saliva and other liquids formed in its nose, and eyes might be dangerous.
Raw meat and fish should be excluded from pet's diet, and its access to outside should be limited. It is not recommended to allow a cat any contacts with other animals especially if they aren't inoculated. Note that any other pet which is walked might become a toxoplasmosis agent. Fractions of dust and ground brought with animal's paws might be infected. Thus, if you have also a dog, your cat must be examined and inoculated even though it is staying in all the time.
It is important to consult a vet while planning a baby or as soon as it is clear that a woman is pregnant. The vet will assign important tests to be made and give recommendations how to look after and treat a cat.
A pregnant woman has to follow some preventive measures such as:
  • Wearing gloves while butchering meat or fish 
  • Thermal treatment of all food items 
  • Informing a doctor about a cat during the maternity welfare registration
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