Can I Get Toxoplasmosis From Kissing My Cat?
The answer to the question in the title is “yes, but the chances are extremely slight”. The reason why there is a almost infinitesimal risk of getting toxoplasmosis from your cat if you kiss him is because a cat cleans his bottom with his tongue. The cat also may have toxoplasmosis oocysts in his feaces. So you can see how transmission from cat to person could occur. However, a cat that is infected with toxomplasmosis…..“will only shed oocysts (eggs) in his or her faeces for a short time of about ten days after being exposed to the disease. After this period there is “no further significant shedding” and no risk to people” (Michael on this page).
About 47% of domestic cats in Iowa, USA have been infected. I would suggest that might be fairly typical. But a similar number of people are also infected worldwide. About 30% of Americans have been exposed to the disease as they have antibodies in their bloodstream but the vast majority show no symptoms.
I think these facts set the scene and tell us how rare and to be honest how unimportant the risk of infection is from kissing your cat. There are people who are more vulnerable than others such people with weak immune systems and pregnant women, who are advised to take precautions when doing the cat litter tray but they should also take precautions when handling raw meat because the risk from raw meat is far greater than the risk from your domestic cat. Their unborn child is at risk but the precautions are easy to take and there is no need to relinquish the family cat.
The problem with toxoplasmosis is hype – media hype. The reporters who know little or nothing about cats and who are required to dramatise stories paint an inaccurate picture of the risk of a toxoplasmosis being transferred from cat companion to cat caretaker.
Before the internet almost no one had heard of toxoplasmosis. It is the internet which has done a disservice to the cat and frightened some people into seeing risk and hazards where there are none or where there are almost none.
The link below takes you to a page where there are three PDF files about toxoplasmosis. They provide a balanced viewpoint. One is by CDC (USA).