After a bossy, misinformed friend suggested a pregnant mother get rid of her cats before her baby arrives, the mom-to-be instead decided to dump her friend, Josie.
The argument was about the baby getting toxoplasmosis from the mom touching feces, and the woman, who refuses to give up her kitties, was accused of being a “s— mother for putting cats” before her unborn child.
Sharing her story on Reddit, the online community offered their support, one netizen saying what’s harmful to the baby is “stress brought on by a [crappy] friend bullying you” at work.
In late October, a woman who goes by the handle FancyConstruction812, explained on Reddit that she’s about to have a baby with her partner of 10 years, and recently shared the announcement with her friends at work.
One, whom she named as 28-year-old Josie, told her to get rid of her cats that she rescued with her partner.
“Upon finding out about my pregnancy, my friend asked me what we were going to do with the cats. I asked her what she meant by that,” writes the 30-year-old poster. “She gave me the whole thing about pregnant ladies not being able to change litter boxes, blah blah blah and that I should give my cats away to protect the baby.”
Josie was referring to the risk of her catching toxoplasmosis, which the Mayo Clinic describes as an “infection from eating undercooked meat. You can also get it from contact with cat feces. The parasite can pass to a baby during pregnancy.”
For further clarification, “you may get infected if you touch your mouth after touching anything that has been in contact with cat feces.”
Surprised by the suggestion she would easily give up her cats, a fur family of four, the mom-to-be refused, arguing that she loves her fur babies.
“I told her that this was not happening. If I were to get toxoplasmosis, I probably had it by now (grew up with cats, my family had cats before I was born and after). I always had cats. And besides, gloves exist,” writes the original poster (OP), also reminding the online audience that washing hands after cleaning the cat’s potty is mandatory. “And my partner can change the litter box anyway.”
But Josie refused to back down.
“She was shocked and couldn’t believe how I could be so flippant about my child’s health and that I would be a s— mother for putting cats above my child,” the OP pens, adding she told Josie she’s overstepping, and “had no idea what she was talking about.”
“I would be a horrible mother if I taught my child that animals are disposable (they’re not! They’re part of the family). She scoffed and called me an a——.”
The woman then shares that Josie told their co-workers, all who “believe that I should be getting rid of my cats.”
Netizens were happy to offer support and some advice to the confused mother-to-be.
One mother shares how her unborn baby responded to the purrs of her sweet cat. “My cat would sleep on my belly and purr, and my baby would get all excited and kick…He got all comfy, and settled in, purring…and it would feel so funky like an echo chamber just reverberating. So cool,” she writes.
Another expectant mother shares, “I’m pregnant again…my OB said it’s fine if I change the litter as long as I wash my hands really well afterwards or even wear gloves. It’s truly not a big deal.”
A third cyber citizen said toxoplasmosis shouldn’t even be a consideration with good hygiene, which we all should be practicing after the global pandemic. “This is what I don’t understand about people who get up in arms about this. Like, are people really out there changing the litter box without washing their hands after?” The post continues, “This is hygiene 101 ffs and you should be doing it whether you’re pregnant or not. If you’re really worried, then wear gloves and one of the million face masks you probably already have.”
A fourth boldly shares, “Do you know what is harmful to the baby? Stress brought on by a [crappy] ‘friend’ bullying you in the workplace and creating a hostile work environment. Go straight to HR and demand they do something about it, or pay you to be on leave until you give birth and start your maternity leave. Then tell your [friend] it’s none of her business because clearly you can no longer be friends with someone who would endanger your child in such a way.”
Meanwhile, a father chipped in, sharing, “It became my duty 100% of the time to deal with litter, instead of 50% of the time during my wife’s pregnancy. Our eldest is now over 10 and we still have the same feline.”
It’s hard to believe anyone would clean a litter box without properly washing their hands afterwards! We understand that Josie was trying to be helpful, but hers was not an informed opinion.
We love cats and are happy to hear that the parents are finding ways to keep all their babies together!
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