http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/charmpost/epaper/2009/01/12/a3d_brazelton_0112.html

Being a cat owner, I'm appalled at this Doctor's response. I've already written a lengthy (and researched) response and sent it off. :/

I'm not sure what is so appalling about the article? My OB told me not to change a litter box when I was pg. The dr is right about the parasite that cats can carry, and it is dangerous to a fetus. I would rather be safe than sorry when I was pg, and followed all the rules of what not to do or eat.

Hi - I know as animal lovers we often cannot fathom people who talk smack about our beloved pets but in this case, it is better to err on the side of caution.

I have 4 children and my cats were here long before they were born. I also was advised, both thru books and by my OB/GYN to have my husband take over the catbox cleaning chores due to the risk of parasites.

My 8-10 lb cat is famous for jumping upon me at night and settling directly on my chest to take a snooze....I am a full grown woman and he is a bit heavy! It is not uncommon for the cats to smell the milk on babies breathe and venture into the crib, often to lick their lips.

Now considering that cats use their tongue as a veritable washrag, this is not sanitary. Not to mention the posibility of them getting comfortable on top of a nice, warm baby........ 8lbs on an adults chest is a bit heavy but manageable. Instead, imagine something that weighs as much as you do perching on top of you and you being unable to get them off? I think this is what the doctors are referring to.

Pregnant women not changing the litter box has been standard advice for years.

For the keeping the cats away from the baby think about a cat's love of warm spots. I know that my cats LOVE the top of the iguana tank because it's warm. Well babies are too and they're not strong enough to push a cat off of them and cats often weigh as much as a baby.

I never let my cats in the same room as the baby when they were sleeping. I also would not allow a dog to be around a very small child without supervision.

As for getting rid of the pets if there is an allergy that's also something that parents sometimes have to do. There is always the option of getting fish or reptiles if they want some kind of pet.

I was appalled that he offered no suggestions on keeping the cats away from the baby but instead jumped to the "It would be better for the baby if your daughter would rid herself of the cats" bandwagon.

Also, this statement "Some cats will seek out the infants' mouths and noses and lie on them to smother them." assumption. Yes, cats MAY want to lie on or near the baby, but I don't think cats do it to smother them, as he states.

Yes, I know the risks of toxoplasmosis for pregnant women, I also know that women not changing the litter box is a big preventative measure. But to flat out state she would be better off getting rid of the cats is what irritated me.

I just think some pregnant women reading that response will think that they have to give away their cats to protect their baby, when that's not the case. :/

I choose my children over my cats. I think this doctor is letting women know of the hazards. It was a short article and I don't think it was meant to go indepth about what to do to prevent it. In that case, yes a veterinarian would be the one to write the article then. Otherwise, I personaly feel that it was sound scientific advice. Some people don't understand the real hazards when you're pregnant. I wouldn't take this to heart and let it bother you so much. I feel you did the right thing by writing back and expressing your concern. That is the beauty of free speech. But, I will have to agree to disagree with you. Thank you for sharing your opinions with us though.

"Some cats will seek out the infants' mouths and noses and lie on them to smother them." So let's get rid of all the cats!!
And some parents shake their babies.... so now what?!? IMO the article seemed a little strong and one sided, of course it is only one opinion. Yes there are hazards to having any pets in a home with children and part of a parents' job is to protect the kids. It's why I took precautions - "baby proofed" my house, blocked off stairs etc, taught my pets AND my kids how to interact with each other. What ever happen to a little common sense instead of jumping to extremes?

And yes I am an animal lover and worked in a veterinary clinic through two pregnancies all animals and children have survived... so far

Whew! Sorry, that sounds like quite the rant - but I can see the rift that the advice given can cause between mom and daughter - perhaps the advise wouldn't seem so harsh if she was discussing her own pregnancy instead of her daughters...

I can see the Dr.'s point, he states the facts and gives his advice based on those facts. He's a Dr., so his priority is to protect his patient and err on the side of caution.

Having said that........I'm a cat owner always have been. I had 2 cats when my kids were born and I can honestly tell you they didn't give a second look at the babies when I brought them home from the hospital. They would sleep all day and usually in a warm sunny window far away from the crying baby......they didn't want to be disturbed. That's how all of my cats through the years have been.......not kid lovers at all, and they stay faaaaar away from them.

Now our dog on the other hand. I remember bringing the baby into the family room in the car seat, placing the seat on the floor so I could remove my coat and the baby's snowsuit.........before I could get my coat off my dog was licking the baby's face. UGHHHH!!!!!!! That was freaking disgusting!! My cats have NEVER licked a human! Our dog was so jealous of the baby that we could not leave them alone in a room together. Can you tell I'm a cat person and not a dog person?

Fortunately my kids are grown up now and survived living with our dog and cats. You just have to use common sense and not leave the baby alone with any animal......dog, cat, ferret, snake, lizard, goldfish (just checking to see if your paying attention ) etc........

Not to disagree, but dogs lick themselves just as much as cats do and are no less likely than cats are to carry germs and pass them on to humans.

I agree 100% with you that obviously humans come before animals, I'm in no way suggesting that they are equal. Just that people need to take the proper precautions and use simple common sense when they have a baby and pets.

BTW......don't ever let your kids roll around in those spit covered balls in the pits at Chuck E Cheese, now those things are GROSS!

After reading the above article, I did some fact checking....

I could find no evidence of any child having their breath sucked out of them by a cat in the U.S.

www.snopes.com has also addressed the claim, "Cats suck the breath from babies, sometimes killing them".

http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/catsuck.asp

The status of this claim is: False

What is on record, however, are any number of accidental deaths of sleeping children caused by their parents' rolling over onto them, or from their turning around to face into a pillow. Children have also suffocated from being left sleeping on their tummies on waterbeds. And then there is "sudden infant deat syndrome" (SIDS), the inexplicable passing of an otherwise healthy child in its sleep.

It is important to note, that an estimated 30-40% of adults in the United States have antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii.

http://www.addl.purdue.edu/newsletters/2003/winter/Toxoplasmosis.shtml
http://tinyurl.com/bapkly

Stage of pregnancy and health of mother makes difference in fetal outcome:

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/229969-overview
(Geographical location and many other factors discussed. Also, oocysts may be transported to food by flies and cockroaches.)

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that one half of T. gondii infections in the United States are caused by ingestion of raw or undercooked infected meat (3). A community-based study in Maryland, comparing persons who did not eat meat with those who did eat meat, supports the USDA estimate (4). In 1999, Mead and colleagues estimated that of the 750 deaths caused by toxoplasmosis each year, one half were the result of eating raw or undercooked meat, making toxoplasmosis the third leading cause of foodborne deaths (5).

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol9no11/03-0098.htm
http://preview.tinyurl.com/ctnrr2

Life cycle of Toxoplasma gondii:
(Cats do not continually shed oocysts so aren't permanently contagious.)

http://www.dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx/HTML/Toxoplasmosis.htm
http://tinyurl.com/38qkyt

Infection may be prevented by thorough cooking of meat and by proper management of cats. Acute cases are treated with sulfadiazine and pyrimethamine.

http://gsbs.utmb.edu/microbook/ch084.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6pokps

A Baby-Ready Pets workshop in New Bedford:

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080418/LIFE/804180327/-1/LIFE15
http://tinyurl.com/c7vatv

Tips from Baby-Ready Pets Program:

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080418/LIFE/804180328/0/LIFE15
http://tinyurl.com/dgrlbx

IMHO any concerns can be resolved through proper handling and management of feline fecal matter. Additional precautions should be taken not to handle raw meat and only eating thoroughly cooked meat.

To insure that no one in the household has to come into direct contact with any feline biological waste.... Here's a "no scoop" high capacity, reservoir type totally automated litter-robot :

http://www.litter-robot.com/default.aspx?ac=1?source=gaw01&gclid=CLPLmZfxpZgCFQ4i3godwn1yng
http://tinyurl.com/dbfhbl

IMHO, this doctor's answer was not accurate AND complete.

As a medical doctor, he should have addressed the greatest threat to pregnant women, infants and children; which sadly, is other human beings....

Sexual Assault Statistics:
(25,000 pregnancies/year in the U.S. are the result of rape.)

http://www.ncdsv.org/images/SexualAssaultStatistics.pdf

Child Abuse and Child Sexual Abuse:
(879,000 substantiated cases in 2000.)

http://www.prevent-abuse-now.com/stats.htm#Allegations
http://tinyurl.com/d8x3yv

Auto related deaths:
(Passenger and pedestrian.)

http://www.carwrecks.com/new.html
http://tinyurl.com/ad7nu5

Seat Belts & Pregnancy:

According to University of Michigan researchers the lives of 200 of the roughly 370 fetuses killed yearly in U.S. vehicle crashes would be spared if all pregnant women wore seat belts.

http://www.news-medical.net/?id=36932
http://tinyurl.com/bo6e2v

The number of homicides of children under age 5 increased through the mid 1990's, but declined recently:

http://ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/children.htm
http://tinyurl.com/d7a6yj

(Stopped searching at this point, because it was getting depressing.)

HTH

I was a pre vet student at A&M and worked in many different vet offices, research projects, etc. In the offices I worked in, they had pamphlets about toxoplasmosis, warning pregnant woman. There is nothing wrong with that! Hmmmm. Unborn baby, or my cat. Unborn baby....cat. Gee, I wonder which one?

T. Brazelton has been giving that advice for years--at least 17, when I was pregnant with my son. I can understand caution and giving facts about toxoplasmosis, but I think it is unacceptable that he promotes the urban legend about cats intentionally smothering babies. I'm surprised he doesn't just go all out and say that cats suck the breath out of the babies.

It is advice, from "experts" like this, that cause animals to be abandoned. For example, when a couple down the street had a baby, the husband's mother came to visit, and decided to take matters into her own hands. While her son was at work, and the baby's mother was busy, evil-MIL took their pet, an indoor-only cat that they had had since they got married, and dumped him far enough away that (she thought) the cat would be unable to find his way back. I found him later that day when he walked into my house uninvited, when I opened the door to see why my cat was having a fit at the door. A short time later, the husband came by--going door-to-door to see if anyone had seen their cat. I was so happy that they were reunited with their "first baby".

Yes, use precautions when cleaning the litter, and don't let your pets (or diaper-clad children) up on tables or counters. I've been sick many times from children who are not kept home when sick, but have never been made ill from any of the cats I have had over the years.

(Don't get me started about how horrible hand-foot-and-mouth disease is for an adult, not to mention Fifth disease.)

[quote="summernoelle.... Dogs actually are cleaner than cats.[/quote]

I'd like to see the data that supports this statement. Animals are animals, they all carry germs, bacteria, parasites etc. Please stop trying to "humanize" dogs it's ridiculous, this entire discussion is silly. Like JanH said there are no documented stats of a cat smothering a baby, there are a lot of cases where the parents smothered their own baby.

My dog gets into peoples trash on trash day and eats their garbage, are you telling me you'd be comfortable having him lick your face after that? He also licks himself in areas that most men would be envious of , are you telling me there are no germs or parasites on those? He's also been known to eat the cats waste from their litter box, is that clean?

Let's just agree to disagree.........I see this as nothing more than Dog lovers against Cat lovers.

Redpanda-that is true-I actually had two cats when pregnant with both of my kids, and didn't get rid of them. What I meant was that it seemed like people were saying that toxoplasmosis wasn't an issue or "real", when it is. I prob didn't do a good job explaining that. And I was just saying that in all the offices I worked in, they offered literature to support it. But no, people shouldn't get rid of their cats if they have someone else to empty the box. And also, if the cat is 100% inside, then they aren't going to get toxoplamosis from it. I think that parasite is out of the cat's body and no longer deposited in the feces after about 4 weeks or so, I THINK.
dkelley-we will have to disagree on that one. Since dogs don't carry toxoplasmosis, then they aren't as much of a risk to PREGNANT women. Again, I didn't say it very well last night. And no, I don't like dogs licking my face.
This is a stupid conversation-have a great weekend!

Summernoelle, no worries. It sounds like there were two different "conversations" going on, so of course nobody was communicating.

One group of people thought that the other group was saying that cats are too unsanitary to have as pets, especially when pregnant. (which you weren't)

The other group of people thought that the first group was saying that toxoplasmosis isn't a real issue (which they weren't...they were just saying that it wasn't a definitive reason to ditch the cat).

Have a great weekend! (It's raining here, and I am spending the day cleaning closets and drawers, with occasional forays online to bust the boredom.)

Cat and dog issues aside, I actually laughed out loud at this line:

"Carefully washing vegetables and avoiding handling or eating raw meat during pregnancy also will reduce the risk of infection with toxoplasma gondii."

Avoid handling raw meat???? Unless you're a vegetarian, vegan, etc., cooking dinner often involves some degree of handling raw meat. So I guess your options are to eat out or have your husband cook, both of which could be rather risky as well (at least if your husband is like mine and can't really cook).

JanH, perhaps you should have read my entire post before telling me that my humorous reaction would not be shared by those have died from toxoplasmosis.

You just made my point while attempting to disagree. You stated that "375 are thought to occur from EATING raw or undercooked meat." I never disagreed with the eating part; I completely agree with it. It's the handling part that I found odd. If safe food handling procedures are followed to prevent cross contamination (which they should be at all times, not just when pregnant), why should handling the meat be a problem?

summernoelle it sounds like a very fun and interesting job. Do you still work with animals? (besides bridezillas.....just kidding )

When I heard this clone story my first thought was, how does this couple really know that it was successful and they didn't just give them a puppy of the same breed as their original dog? Are the personalities exact in the cloned animal?

I can think of a lot better things to do with 150k, especially in this economy. It takes all kinds to make the world go around

I apologize if anyone misunderstood my prior remark. I did not mean to make light of anyone's death or illness. I felt that the post was clear in that I was questioning the handling part, not the eating part, but apparently it was not. My apologies again to anyone who was offended.