hello
im just after some advice please i keep my cats indoors and have done since ive own them. but i recently took in an abandoned cat in nove last year i wormed and flead him and kept him seperate from my others for atleast a month i had him checked by the vet and no one mentioned toxoplamosis too me is there a chance he could have had it and how would i have known? my partner is quite fond of him and lets him sleep on him in bed but now im worried he is diseased and going to make us ill any advice on this subject would be great ive googled it but im not getting much info other than it bad for people who are ill and preggars but other than this im unsure what it does to us humans or my kitties.

Fairly sure cats only transmit toxoplasmosa gondii through faeces, so I hope he doesn't poop in your bed?

There's not enough information available about the effects of toxoplasmosis on healthy, un-pregnant humans. The general opinion is that it doesn't actually cause any problems or symptoms, and affected humans usually don't even know they're affected. There is also an argument that it has a strong link to mental health problems in later life, but no proven studies so far to say for definite, so that could just be pure speculations. Cats will shed cysts of the parasite for only two weeks starting from around 3-10 days after infection (such as ingesting an infected rodent or eating raw meat containing the parasite). Presumedly since you've had the cat for so long and if you've monitored what he eats and that he doesn't go out hunting rodents, I would think toxoplasmosis is not a high risk.

The only way to tell if the cat is or had been infected before is to ask a vet to do a blood test for the relevant antibodies.

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My lifelong ambition is to be a crazy cat lady. The only obstacle is my OH.

Who will go and who gets to stay? Stay tuned...

I'm looking for someone else who's cat is undergoing tests for toxoplasmosis. Mycat is being tested. Can you tell me please what symptoms your cat had? My cat is wobbly on her legs so I took her to the vet. The vet is testing for tosoplasmosis which involves sending a blood sample to a lab - that will be back Tuesday. The vet also frightened the life out of us by saying she's leading towards these being the symptoms of a brain tumour! I'm going back to the vet next Friday to go through the blood tests. By then I will have a list of questions on paper to go through with her. Yesterday I was so stunned that I didn't say anything much at all.
A very scary time so if anyone can help I would be grateful.

humans who contract toxoplasmosis most likely don`t even know they have it as it`s just like a common cold, it`s not dangerous at all unless as you said the person is pregnant or already has a weakened immune system. i`m not sure how you could tell if a cat has it but if you`re concerned then just take extra precautions clearing out the litters trays

i get looks like i`ve got horns growing out my head when i tell people i`m still cleaning out my cats litter trays (and i did all through my last pregnancy), people telling me i`m evil and don`t care blaaa blaaaa blaaaaa LOL truth is, if either of my cats had it then i`d have already caught it before now and so be immune but it`s so simple to avoid by making sure you either wear gloves or wash thoroughly afterwards - plus my oh is one of the people who`ll 'do it in 5 minutes' which never comes and the trays would be left for weeks if i never done it

cats with toxoplasmosis also show no symptoms and aren`t affected by it as far as i`m aware. the mental health problems which can be caused by it are mainly in reference to babies whose mother contracted the illness while they were in the womb

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owned by:

jake - chocolate labrador
sydney - liver/white english springer
twix - dlh cat
lacey - dsh cat

never forgetting my baby banjo running free at the bridge, RIP baby xx

Sandy, how old is your cat? How long has she been wobbly on her legs? Any other symptoms at all? There are a few things that could cause this some more likely to occur in older cats others more likely in younger cats. I assume the vet has also run routine bloods to check for diabetes, thyroid function etc?

Toxoplasmosis can cause inflamation in the brain which can cause neurological problems.

Toxoplasmosis is a disease caused by a single-celled parasite called Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii). Toxoplasmosis is one of the most common parasitic diseases and has been found in nearly all warm-blooded animals, including pets and humans. Despite the high prevalence of T. gondii infection, the parasite rarely causes significant clinical disease in cats-or any species.

Most cats infected with T. gondii will not show any symptoms. Occasionally, however, clinical disease-toxoplasmosis-occurs. When disease does occur, it may develop when the cat's immune response is not adequate to stop the spread of tachyzoite forms. The disease is more likely to occur in cats with suppressed immune systems, including young kittens and cats with feline leukemia virus (FELV) or feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV).
The most common symptoms of toxoplasmosis include fever, loss of appetite, and lethargy. Other symptoms may occur depending on whether the infection is acute or chronic, and where the parasite is found in the body. In the lungs, T. gondii infection can lead to pneumonia, which will cause respiratory distress of gradually increasing severity. Toxoplasmosis can also affect the eyes and central nervous system, producing inflammation of the retina or anterior ocular chamber, abnormal pupil size and responsiveness to light, blindness, incoordination, heightened sensitivity to touch, personality changes, circling, head pressing, twitching of the ears, difficulty in chewing and swallowing food, seizures, and loss of control over urination and defecation.

just took that from the college of veterinary medicine website, not sure if it helps any

__________________
owned by:

jake - chocolate labrador
sydney - liver/white english springer
twix - dlh cat
lacey - dsh cat

never forgetting my baby banjo running free at the bridge, RIP baby xx

Agree. Was wondering about other conditions as well like middle ear infection, vestibular disease for one thing. Easily treated.

Hope your cat is better soon.