Cat Litter and babies

Kimberley

I have two indoor Cats. My daughter has just told me she is pregnant. She lives with me. I'm worried that if she still lives with me when the baby is at the crawling stage that it will be unhygenic. The litter box will not be within the babies reach but i'm talking about when the cats are walking around the floor after being in the litter box and the babies hands touching where the cats have been walking and then the baby putting it's hands in it's mouth as they do.

Has anyone else got a young baby with indoor cats and what are the risks to the baby concerning the cat litter?

Fire_Fox

Unfortunately this is a 'how long is a piece of string?' type of question. There are so many variables - what type of flooring you have, how frequently and how thoroughly you clean the flooring, whether the baby is breast or formula fed, whether the baby has a compromised immune system, how often you completely refresh the litter, which type of litter you choose, how soon your cats wash their paws after using the tray, whether your cats are carriers of any micro-organisms that can also infect humans, what your cats' dental health is like, how good their digestive health is ....

What would a definite answer mean to you, if one was available? Would you rehome the cats or change the flooring or clean more freuqerntly?

Apricot

I have two indoor cats and a baby on the way, tbh I'm not overly concerned - baby won't be able to get to the litter trays, I have mats in front of the trays so if there is anything on the cats paws it comes off before they step onto the actual floor. My cats trays are large meaning they don't end up standing in their own faeces. It's all relative - even if you have outdoor cats they could still bring something into the house on their paws.

Buttonmoons

Never even occured to me when I got my indoor cat and had a crawling baby, as long as they haven't got access to the litterbox, I can't see the problem, and I don't know about anyone elses, but my cats always give their feet a good clean after using the loo.

No worse to what you bring into the house on your shoes!

hostertlady

i was told that when i was pregnant, I wasnt allowed to touch cat litter!!!

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Honestly? Assuming you know how to use a mop and the baby doesn't have an immune disease - not much risk at all.

Kimberley

Thanks everyone.