Why keep a pregnant woman away from cats?

Answer 1

Pregnant women do not have to avoid cats. Just kitty litter.

There are a few potential problems regarding pregnant women and cat litter. The first is that cat urine contains ammonia: some people say that breathing in the ammonia fumes can harm the fetus. However, there are others who say that this is just a myth.

The second problem is with the litter itself. Many cat litters -- especially the clay kind -- have harmful toxins in them. When you pour the fresh litter into the litter box, or when you dig through the litter to remove the urine and feces, or when the cat digs around in there himself, some of the litter disintegrates and floats up into the air. Breathing in this dust can harm the fetus, by causing retardation, epilepsy, brain atrophy, and blindness.

Furthermore, exposure to cat feces can cause the disease toxoplasmosis, which can harm both mother and fetus. However, this disease is extremely rare among indoors-only cats, so if your cat is an indoor cat, you don't need to worry about this.

There is no reason a pregnant woman can't have a cat, as long as she takes the proper precautions. If someone isn't available to tend to the litter box for her, then she should wear gloves and a surgical mask when tending to the box. Also, the litter box should have a lid on it.

I have included links to the articles I got this information from.