Toxoplasma gondii poses theoretical risks in pregnant households with cats. Understanding actual transmission routes enables appropriate precautions without unnecessary cat rehoming.
Misunderstanding of Toxoplasma transmission leads to unnecessary cat rehoming during pregnancy — a significant welfare harm both to the cat and the owner-animal bond. The actual risk from pet cats to pregnant women is low and largely manageable through simple hygiene measures. Cats are rehomed unnecessarily when the actual infection risk from dietary sources — undercooked meat, unwashed salad — is far higher and less often addressed. Evidence-based guidance that enables continued cat ownership during pregnancy, with appropriate hygiene precautions, is a welfare-positive approach that prevents both unnecessary cat rehoming and human exposure from genuinely risky sources.