Advice - Crazy Cat Lady and pg

I am 5 1/2 weeks pregnant and as you may know from my posts, a certified
Crazy Cat Lady. I have 6 cats and one permanent foster and do a lot of
fostering: kittens, momma and kittens, semi-feral, cat needs a break from
the shelter, etc. And I also volunteer nearly 40 hrs a week at the shelter.

I have limited some of my shelter activities, I am not cleaning cages or
lifting heavy bags of litter or food. I still handle cats, do meds, dishes,
and my admin stuff. I haven't had a foster (besides Ana the permanent one)
in a while. DH vetoed my request to bring home a foster, a little 8 month
old kitten with diarrhea, didn't think it would be a good idea. I'm
wondering if I should still foster while I'm pg? The fosters are mostly my
responsibility as far as care and clean-up. DH plays with them. What about
my own cats' litterboxes? I've still been scooping them. My cats don't go
outside or eat mice or raw meat. Is toxoplasmosis even a real concern or
just something they bring up to scare pg women?

Any advice on how to get the cats adjusted to a baby? Of course that's a
long ways off, but it doesn't hurt to start early.

--
-Kelly
kelly at farringtons dot net
"Wake up, and smell the cat food" -TMBG

"KellyH" wrote in message
news:MO%Ad.590428$wV.134113@attbi_s54...
I am 5 1/2 weeks pregnant and as you may know from my posts, a certified
Crazy Cat Lady. ... Is toxoplasmosis even a real concern or just
something they bring up to scare pg women?
-Kelly

Congratulations on your pregnancy. It sounds like you are doing really well
and not too much morning sickness, etc.
As for the toxoplasmosis, ask you doctor about a blood test that can tell if
you are already immune.
Annie

On 2004-12-30, KellyH penned:
I am 5 1/2 weeks pregnant and as you may know from my posts, a certified
Crazy Cat Lady. I have 6 cats and one permanent foster and do a lot of
fostering: kittens, momma and kittens, semi-feral, cat needs a break from
the shelter, etc. And I also volunteer nearly 40 hrs a week at the shelter.

Congrats on the pregnancy, and wow on your commitment to animals =)

I have limited some of my shelter activities, I am not cleaning cages or
lifting heavy bags of litter or food.

I've also heard that pregant ladies should avoid litter box contents,
even of their own cats. You probably know this, but I thought I'd
mention it.

I still handle cats, do meds, dishes, and my admin stuff. I haven't
had a foster (besides Ana the permanent one) in a while. DH vetoed my
request to bring home a foster, a little 8 month old kitten with
diarrhea, didn't think it would be a good idea. I'm wondering if I
should still foster while I'm pg? The fosters are mostly my
responsibility as far as care and clean-up. DH plays with them. What
about my own cats' litterboxes? I've still been scooping them. My
cats don't go outside or eat mice or raw meat. Is toxoplasmosis even
a real concern or just something they bring up to scare pg women?

I'm gonna be obnoxious and ask if you've talked to your doctor about this.
Also, I've found recently that a lot of doctors are pretty clueless about cats
(one sneered at me when I pointed out that dander, not fur, was the major
contributor to allergies; I guess a mere layperson couldn't possibly know more
than he). Make sure you have a doctor who does know about cats, and who
understands how much you care about yours.

Any advice on how to get the cats adjusted to a baby? Of course
that's a long ways off, but it doesn't hurt to start early.

Can't help you there =/

--
monique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!*

Happy to hear that Eros got a better home that where he wasn't wanted!

"Annie Wxill" wrote in message
...
Congratulations on your pregnancy. It sounds like you are doing really
well and not too much morning sickness, etc.

Thanks! No not yet, but I'm supposed to be taking it easy due to some other
issues.

As for the toxoplasmosis, ask you doctor about a blood test that can tell
if you are already immune.

That's a good idea. With the amount of cats I've come in contact with, I
may have already had it.

--
-Kelly
kelly at farringtons dot net
"Wake up, and smell the cat food" -TMBG

"Cheryl" wrote in message
...
Congratulations Kelly! I think the concerns over toxo are worth
taking precautions against. While it might or might not be common,
the health of your unborn barekid is worth the precautions. If you do
have to scoop at all, wear rubber gloves and wash your hands well
when you finish.


Thanks :-)
I know DH will do the litterboxes if I ask. I'm weird in that I would
rather do them myself, as DH has not done a thorough job in the past when
I've needed him to do them. Maybe I'll have to teach him Litterbox Scooping
101.

--
-Kelly
kelly at farringtons dot net
"Wake up, and smell the cat food" -TMBG

Congrats on the pregnancy, and wow on your commitment to animals =)

Thank you! I'm addicted to the shelter. I can't go a few days without
visiting :-)

I've also heard that pregant ladies should avoid litter box contents,
even of their own cats. You probably know this, but I thought I'd
mention it.

I know.. I stopped doing the shelter litterboxes. I should probably bite
the bullet and ask DH to do our cats' boxes.

I'm gonna be obnoxious and ask if you've talked to your doctor about this.
Also, I've found recently that a lot of doctors are pretty clueless about
cats
(one sneered at me when I pointed out that dander, not fur, was the major
contributor to allergies; I guess a mere layperson couldn't possibly know
more
than he). Make sure you have a doctor who does know about cats, and who
understands how much you care about yours.


That is so true. My doctor is really nice and I'm sure she will understand
that my cats are staying, period. We get calls all the time from people
who's doctors told them to give up the cats for various reasons.

--
-Kelly
kelly at farringtons dot net
"Wake up, and smell the cat food" -TMBG

On 2004-12-31, Toni&Nate penned:
Happy to hear that Eros got a better home that where he wasn't wanted!

Not sure how to parse the second half of that sentence, but I'm happy that he
found some humans who can care for him, too.

--
monique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!*

in article , Cheryl at
wrote on 12/30/04 5:26 PM:

On Thu 30 Dec 2004 06:03:08p, KellyH wrote in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav
(news:MO%Ad.590428$wV.134113@attbi_s54):

What about
my own cats' litterboxes? I've still been scooping them. My
cats don't go outside or eat mice or raw meat. Is toxoplasmosis
even a real concern or just something they bring up to scare pg
women?

Congratulations Kelly! I think the concerns over toxo are worth
taking precautions against. While it might or might not be common,
the health of your unborn barekid is worth the precautions. If you do
have to scoop at all, wear rubber gloves and wash your hands well
when you finish.

It's a very good idea to wear gloves when handling veggies and meat as well
as those seem to be a larger source of toxo than litterboxes (or so I have
read).

"KellyH" wrote in message
news:e12Bd.590987$wV.419148@attbi_s54...
"Cheryl" wrote in message
...
Congratulations Kelly! I think the concerns over toxo are worth
taking precautions against. While it might or might not be common,
the health of your unborn barekid is worth the precautions. If you do
have to scoop at all, wear rubber gloves and wash your hands well
when you finish.


Thanks :-)
I know DH will do the litterboxes if I ask. I'm weird in that I would
rather do them myself, as DH has not done a thorough job in the past when
I've needed him to do them. Maybe I'll have to teach him Litterbox
Scooping
101.

--


Pfft. Good luck. Testosterone's against you. My husband will NOT scoop
often enough when I am out of town. It disgusts me and I can't even
guilt him into it.