Meet Marli

If it were up to me, we would have a zoo of animals. Unfortunately, M doesn't let me. So, as of right now, we only have 2 animals, our Silver Lab Mater (Pumpkin named him :) ), and our little black cat Marli.

We got Marli from the Humane Society. She, along with her brother who M wouldn't let me bring home too, was a stray. She won me over right away because of how small she was, playful she was, and just so darn cute! Pumpkin was a fan of her too :)

The day we brought Marli home

Marli has been a part of our family since the spring of 2010. She was supposed to be an inside cat, but likes to sneak out during the summer. During the winter, she prefers my lap :) I couldn't imagine our family without her, so I was a little taken back when my sister asked me the other day if I was getting rid of her before Peanut was born. Of course not! But it did get me thinking of the reasons why people will get rid of their cats during pregnancy. The main one that I could think of is the litter box.

Since we try to make Marli an inside cat, we do have a cat box. During the summer she doesn't use it as often because she spends so much time outside, but she won't leave the house during the winter, therefore using her potty lots.

I have always been the one to clean the cat box. It doesn't bother me. Its in the laundry room, next to the garbage, and doesn't take anytime to do so. My mom wasn't so keen on the idea of me cleaning the cat box while pregnant though since cat feces can carry Toxoplasmosis. She tried to convince M to clean it, which he did once, but other than that, I still clean the cat box.

I did do some research on the ever so trustworthy internet, and found out some interesting things on Toxoplasmosis. The 2 sites I found most helpful where the Human Society and Baby Center.

The Human Society's site was most helpful to me. It talked about how cats can get Toxoplasmosis (or T. gondii) from other things rather than just mice, like any raw meat they may eat even given to them by their owners. It also explains the incubation period, and how changing the litter box daily can prevent you from contracting the disease.

Also, since cats are normally exposed to T. gondii as kittens, they are less likely to transmit it as adults. Since Marli was a stray, her chances of getting it as a kitten (because of eating anything she could find) are pretty good.

The major thing that stuck out to me in this article is how people contract the disease:

"...since oocysts are transmitted by ingestion, in order to contract toxoplasmosis, a woman would have to make contact with contaminated feces in the litter box and then, without washing her hands, touch her mouth or otherwise transmit the contaminated fecal matter to her digestive system."

Um, gross. I am super anal about washing my hands, so they even get washed when I get out of the shower! But, even I wasn't like that, pretty sure I would still wash after cleaning the cat box!

The interesting thing I got from the Baby Center's website was that you can get Toxoplasmosis from gardening! Yep, not just your stinky ol' cat box. Since I got pregnant with Peanut this summer, I did quite a bit of gardening in the soil that Marli has roamed in. I am probably actually more likely to T. gondii from the soil since there were many times I would wipe my nose with the back of my gardening glove while working, or get dirt on my face from digging, etc.

After my research on Toxoplasmosis, I have concluded that Marli will stay a part of our family (this really was no question), and that I will continue to clean the cat box regularly as I always have.

Since this was a long, boring, scientific post (ha!), I will leave you with another cute picture of darling Marli! She is trying to attack the camera here :)

How do you feel about cats during pregnancy? Do you have a litter box that you clean even while pregnant?