I'm Pregnant: Ok To Continue Feeding Raw?

[plutosangel]

So I've been feeding a combination of raw whole with bone, raw ground and occasional canned food to my two indoor-only cats for over 6 months. It took a while to transition completely out of dry but it's been going good for them.

I always freeze raw food for at least 4-5 days before I feed the cats. I've always been convinced that I was doing my best to sufficiently protect both my cats and myself from all the major scary parasites/bacteria/virus etc.

I didn't think too much about it even through my pregnancy - I'm currently 32 weeks. But last week, we had a rat come into our small apartment. My entire apartment is netted and there's no way in just this tiny window in the kitchen that is occasionally left open - very rarely - but we got unlucky. So anyway, the rat comes in and was probably there for 2-3 days since I work from home I noticed some chewed stuff. My domestic kitties do nothing about the rat - lol. I think there might have been a chase at night with some things peculiarly out of place in the kitchen. However, the cats were very curious around where it was hiding which helped us catch it in a rat trap and release it far, far away from home.
I did completely empty out all the cabinets and scrubbed everything but I really don't know if my cats touched the rat?

Anyway, this incident aroused my fear of toxoplasmosis. I've been chronically googling info about toxo all day - I'm going a bit crazy - I need answers !
- Is it truly safe to feed pre-frozen raw food to cats when you are pregnant? (some websites say that cooking is the only way to kill the parasite )
- Is it possible that touching a rat and then licking paws etc., could cause the cats to get toxoplasmosis?
- I don't clean the litterbox but let's face it, there might be some trace fecal matter stuck around a cat's butt. I play with my cats and sometimes they sleep on my bed. Is that safe?

Honestly, if someone can even help me with Q1, it would help ease my fears GREATLY. Thank you ever so much!!!

 

[abyeb]

Here’s some articles addressing your questions:

This outlines the precautions you can take during pregnancy: Toxoplasmosis And Cats

And this some common safety concerns with raw feeding, including toxoplasmosis, and some steps that you can take to avoid issues: Feeding Raw To Cats - Safety Concerns

By freezing meat, you can also kill the bacteria responsible for Toxiplasmosis. Besides that, washing your hands after handling the raw meat or scooping the litterbox will help, and wearing gloves, will help greatly. But if could get someone else to do those chores, that would be ideal.

 

[furmonster mom]

I have a box of disposable food handler gloves on hand for all kinds of dirty chores... cleaning up hairballs & accidents, cleaning toilets, coloring my hair, and, of course, handling food (especially cutting chili peppers). Personally, I favor the blue nitrile gloves that I can pick up at the Costco Business Center (which has different stuff than the regular Wholesale stores).
FoodHandler JobSelect Powder Free Comfort Nitrile Gloves, Medium, 250 ct (103214AP)

 

[plutosangel]

Here’s some articles addressing your questions:

This outlines the precautions you can take during pregnancy: Toxoplasmosis And Cats

And this some common safety concerns with raw feeding, including toxoplasmosis, and some steps that you can take to avoid issues: Feeding Raw To Cats - Safety Concerns

By freezing meat, you can also kill the bacteria responsible for Toxiplasmosis. Besides that, washing your hands after handling the raw meat or scooping the litterbox will help, and wearing gloves, will help greatly. But if could get someone else to do those chores, that would be ideal.

Thank you for the helpful info!!

 

[plutosangel]

I have a box of disposable food handler gloves on hand for all kinds of dirty chores... cleaning up hairballs & accidents, cleaning toilets, coloring my hair, and, of course, handling food (especially cutting chili peppers). Personally, I favor the blue nitrile gloves that I can pick up at the Costco Business Center (which has different stuff than the regular Wholesale stores).
FoodHandler JobSelect Powder Free Comfort Nitrile Gloves, Medium, 250 ct (103214AP)

That's good advice. I don't clean out the litterbox but yes, I do handle meat during cooking and also when feeding the cats. Wearing gloves does make sense.

 

[valentine319]

I like the nitrile for other things but love these for raw food. I don't like mixing any meat with my hands so I use these
Sam's Club - Member's Mark Commercial Disposable Latex-Free Vinyl Gloves (120 gloves, 3 pk.)

A wee bit looser than nitrile. I like the feel better.