You do not need to rehome the cat when pregnant; have someone else scoop the litter every day, cook meat through, and wear gloves when you handle soil

Toxoplasma is a parasite. A first infection in pregnancy can cause miscarriage, and the child’s eyes and brain can be damaged. Living with a cat does not make infection more likely, so the cat does not have to go. What matters more is undercooked meat and handling soil without washing hands; having someone else scoop the litter every day is enough.

Cost

No money spent. Hand litter scooping to someone else in the household every day. If only you can scoop, buy a box of disposable gloves. The hard part is eating meat fully cooked — no rare steak or underdone lamb

Benefit

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says a first toxoplasma infection shortly before or during pregnancy can pass to the fetus. Most infected children have no symptoms at birth but may lose sight or develop intellectual disability later. A few are born with severe eye or brain damage. The UK National Health Service (NHS) says infection in pregnancy can cause miscarriage. A toxoplasmosis testing centre in Lyon, France, counted 603 women with infection confirmed in pregnancy, most of whom took antiparasitic drugs. Overall, 29% of infections passed to the fetus (95% CI 25 to 33, the plausible range). About 6% of infections at 13 weeks passed on, versus about 72% at 36 weeks. The earlier the infection, the more likely the child shows symptoms. Infection at 24 to 30 weeks carried the highest risk of early symptoms in the child, about 10%. A comparison across six European cities of newly infected and uninfected pregnant women found: living with a cat OR 1.0 (95% CI 0.7 to 1.5), no difference; cleaning the litter box yourself OR 1.3 (95% CI 0.8 to 2.1), a difference that may be chance; eating undercooked lamb OR 3.13 (95% CI 1.4 to 7.2), about 3 times the risk of not eating it; contact with soil OR 1.81 (95% CI 1.2 to 2.7), about 80% higher. Across the cities, 30% to 63% of infections could be tied to undercooked or cured meat, and 6% to 17% to soil. CDC advice for pregnant people: let someone else change the litter if possible; if no one can, wear disposable gloves and wash hands with soap and water afterward. Change litter daily, because the parasite in cat feces takes 1 to 5 days to become infectious to people. Do not get a new cat in pregnancy, and do not adopt or handle stray cats, especially kittens. Keep the cat indoors and feed only cat food or cooked food, never raw meat. Explainers from the Chinese CDC also say the father-to-be should take over the litter box when possible, and that with precautions in pregnancy the cat can stay. The NHS states that stroking or owning a cat does not give you toxoplasmosis

Notes

A cat usually sheds toxoplasma in feces only for a few weeks after its first infection. An adult cat infected before is even less likely to shed again. A cat kept indoors and not fed raw meat has little chance of getting infected. You can catch toxoplasmosis without owning a cat; sources are undercooked meat, unwashed fruit and vegetables, soil contaminated by cat feces, and untreated water. So do these: cook meat all the way through, and wash knives, cutting boards, and hands after raw meat; rinse fruit and vegetables under running water; wear gloves for gardening or turning soil, and wash hands afterward. The NHS also advises against cured raw meats such as salami and Parma ham, and against unpasteurised goat’s milk. The European study did not ask in detail about lettuce and unwashed vegetables, and 14% to 49% of infections could not be traced. Ask your prenatal doctor whether to test for toxoplasma antibodies. The grade is B because the cat and meat risks rest on one study’s figures, recalled after the fact. The practices come from official bodies; no study has calculated how many infections following them would prevent. The “medium” benefit rating is a judgement call, with the reasoning in the verification record. The benefit falls on you and your child

Sources · 6

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Toxoplasmosis: Risk Factors. cdc.gov/toxoplasmosis/risk-factors/index.html
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Preventing Toxoplasmosis. cdc.gov/toxoplasmosis/prevention/index.html
3. NHS. Toxoplasmosis. nhs.uk/conditions/toxoplasmosis/
4. 中国疾病预防控制中心 (2025). 孕期弓形虫感染，都是「吸猫」惹的祸吗？ chinacdc.cn/jkkp/crb/qtcr/202501/t20250103_30…
5. Cook AJ, Gilbert RE, Buffolano W, et al. (2000). Sources of toxoplasma infection in pregnant women: European multicentre case-control study. BMJ, 321(7254), 142-147. doi.org/10.1136/bmj.321.7254.142
6. Dunn D, Wallon M, Peyron F, Petersen E, Peckham C, Gilbert R (1999). Mother-to-child transmission of toxoplasmosis: risk estimates for clinical counselling. Lancet, 353(9167), 1829-1833. doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(98)08220-8