Can cats really carry dieseases that kill kids?

[Anonymous]

Argument with ex. Doing the google now...
I grew up with cats and I think I'm still alive

[Anonymous]

Any animal or human can carry diseases.

Cats can carry toxoplasmosis which can be harmful to pregnant women. You don't test the cat, you test the pregnant woman.

[Anonymous]

Cat scratch fever is rare but real. Someone posted on the "should I get a cat?" thread that they got blood poisoning from a cat. I think the incidence of this is all very low. Cats are the most popular pet in the world, so they must be doing something right.

[Anonymous]

Toxoplasmosis cannot be contracted, carried, or transmitted by a fully vaccinated, spayed, indoor-only cat. I know of no event in which a fully vaccinated, spayed, indoor-only cat transmitted cat scratch fever.

[Anonymous]

I caught ringworm from the cat when I was 11.

But it didn't kill me.

Obviously.

[Anonymous]

But the ringworm probably came from another cat, so the cat that gave it to you was an indoor/outdoor cat -- says the person who got ringworm from their own cat as a child.

[Anonymous]

Pregnant women can get toxoplasmosis from contact with cat feces. Toxoplasmosis can lead to pretty devastating birth defects, and this is why pregnant women are instructed not to change their cat's litterbox.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But the ringworm probably came from another cat, so the cat that gave it to you was an indoor/outdoor cat -- says the person who got ringworm from their own cat as a child.

Nope, this cat was an indoor cat. He got fleas, too.

[Anonymous]

Toxoplasmosis may not be dangerous only for pregnant women. There are studies going on to see if there is a link with mental illness (schizophrenia is the one I remember, I also remember an article about finding the virus in the brains of cadavers who were mentally ill.) I read all this a few years ago, so I recommend a google search to see if you can find anything out about it.

[Anonymous]

toxoplasmosis is pretty rare and never occurs in indoor only cats. my understanding is the disease can only be contracted during a very short window...like 2 weeks or something. you can also contract it from handling raw meat, esp lamb, eating undercooked meat, touching your mouth after gardening etc. The short of it is practice good handwashing routines, keep the cat indoors where it belongs, and cook your meat thoroughly and use caution when handling raw meat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:toxoplasmosis is pretty rare and never occurs in indoor only cats. my understanding is the disease can only be contracted during a very short window...like 2 weeks or something. you can also contract it from handling raw meat, esp lamb, eating undercooked meat, touching your mouth after gardening etc. The short of it is practice good handwashing routines, keep the cat indoors where it belongs, and cook your meat thoroughly and use caution when handling raw meat.

This. More likely to get toxoplasmosis from meat than from a live animal, and an indoor-only, vaccinated, de-wormed cat can't transmit (even through litter).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But the ringworm probably came from another cat, so the cat that gave it to you was an indoor/outdoor cat -- says the person who got ringworm from their own cat as a child.

Hmm. I'm OP I got ringworm. I blamed on the older kid (5th grade) my cousin hung out with. Could've been the cat.

[Anonymous]

I believe when I researched this I found that women who grew up with cats are immune to the taxoplasmosis and their pregnancy is not threatened. I changed the litterbox while pregnant, just washed my hands a lot.

[Anonymous]

From mayoclinic website:

Ringworm is a contagious fungal infection caused by mold-like parasites that live on the cells in the outer layer of your skin. It can be spread in the following ways:

Human to human. Ringworm often spreads by direct, skin-to-skin contact with an infected person.

Animal to human. You can contract ringworm by touching an animal with ringworm. Ringworm can spread while petting or grooming dogs or cats. It's also fairly common in cows.

Object to human. Ringworm can spread by contact with objects or surfaces that an infected person or animal has recently touched or rubbed against, such as clothing, towels, bedding and linens, combs, and brushes.

Soil to human. In rare cases, ringworm can be spread to humans by contact with infected soil. Infection would most likely occur only from prolonged contact with highly infected soil.

[Anonymous]

Toxoplasmosis is only dangerous if you contract it when you are pregnant or if you are immunocompromised. There's some interesting research about how toxoplasmosis in normal adults changes behavior. I wouldn't worry about cats and kids, especially an indoor cat.