Conference misery::feline_v1

    Did you have your cat tested for Toxoplasmosis?
    
    Kirk

    I am so sorry to hear about your loss.  Did you have any warning of
    this or was it a sudden problem?  I would be interested in hearing
    about your symptoms as I have cats that are both indoors & out.
    
    Would eating mice & other creatures be considered the rare or raw meat 
    that you are referring to?
    
    
    Thanks in advance.
    Sonia
    
    P.S.  I also feel that people in this notes file could benefit from
    your experience if you would like to share it?
                                                  

      I would be interested in hearing about your experiences.  From what
    I have read about it myself,  I thought I had the symptoms once, but
    my doctor laughed and I never did get tested for it.  This was years
    ago, but I always wear gloves in the garden now!
      Please share y our experience with us.
    
                             Denise

    Reply to Denise,Sonia and Kirk and others who may have questions
    concerning my experience with "Toxoplasmosis".
    
    When I have spoken about this decease many would attribute
    "Toxicplasmosis" as the same which is not.
    
    Toxoplasmosis---blood infected by parasites.
    Toxicplamosis---blood infected by poisons.
    
    When I contacted this sickness it was 19 years ago. At that time little
    information was on hand. I started to have severe headaches followed by
    some amount of fluid seeping from my left eye. After seeing my eye
    doctor he stated he wanted to test my blood and sent it to Boston, for
    evaluation. A blood culture was taken which takes 21 days to complete
    to determine the decease. When results arrived I was told what it was,
    but to make sure my Doctor insisted having another blood culture be
    taken. Another 21 days and more pain and thought I possibly had a
    tumor in my brain since the pressure was severe at times. Results
    showed on the second test it was "Toxoplasmosis".
    
    At this point I was loosing weight and drainage of the eye became
    worse. Before being sent to the Deaconess Hospital in Boston, the
    doctor advised that my left eye be removed which I refused and glad
    I made that decision. My hospital stay was over 30 days.
    
    I was sort of an experiment while in there and allowed them to try all
    kinds of drugs. After all this the decease finally was eliminated.
     There are some episodes I had while in the hospital that I
    feel is not pertinent in this file and for those who may want to ask
    question feel free to write me.
    
    The Doctors assured me that I was immune to the decease since my cure.
    (oh sure how many times have we heard this??)
    Two years ago I started to have the same type of headaches so back to
    a doctor and after being checked and tested was told that Toxoplasmosis
    was not in my system. What a relief. At that time I was under a lot of
    stress and possibly this caused my headaches. Since that time no
    headaches.
    
                             Question time.
    To Kirk: I had a Siamese cat at the time. When the wife---(EX-WIfe) now
    heard that the trasnmission came from a cat possible she had him
    destroyed without my knowledge and was never given an autopsy to
    determine if he had it. By the way I still love cats and pet them if
    one comes near me. The apartment I live in has "no pets allowed
    regulation"
    
    To Denise: With time passing me I imagine more literature is available
    on this decease and probably symptoms vary from one to the other. It
    all depends on ones body resistance to it. You will notice and read how
    pregnant mothers seem to have a much higher level of obtaining the
    decease which the baby is infected. Please Denise, whatever you do
    don't dispose of your cat if you have one. The poor little guy is
    getting blamed unjustly. Even when I had my cat if he had it well
    that's the way it. Like I said before I still love those felines.
    
    To Sonia: A- I had no warning of this decease. As a matter of fact when
    they told I had no idea what they were talking about. Even my doctor
    admitted he had no knowledge of this sickness and contacted a
    specialist to follow up. 
               B- My cat was mostly an indoor but occasionnaly did go out.
               C-Eating mice is not considered as the rare meet mentioned.
    My doctor stated the rare meat was "Beef" not fully cooked. As of this
    date I still have my beef the same way. Again it seems like guess work.
    
    There is still some information I left out which I feel don't belong
    at this time such as my personal background and the profession I was
    in when this decease attacked my body. If anyone wants to follow this
    up please write to me=========== ZEKE::CONSTANT

    Just a short note to say "pardon" my mistakes when I wrote on note 
    3580---"Toxoplasmosis" This is only my second time I write in this
    notesfile and was hurrying to much. Before I could proof read my
    file I hit the wrong key and the word "Command" appeared .
    
                   Have a good day--Moe....

    Moe -
    
    Thanks for sharing your experience.  I am pregnant, due in 2 weeks, and
    was tested 3 times in early pregnancy and showed an "immunity" to Toxo. 
    I have 3 cats at home and 2 litter boxes my husband refuses to touch. 
    I have been extrememly careful in emptying them, making sure my hands
    don't go near my face until carefully washed.
    
    My mother sent me a pamphlet that someone gave her on Toxo which came
    from the government.  I'm not quite sure what I did with it, but it's
    one of those freebie information pamphlets you can send away for.  It
    mentioned that a human is more likely to get Toxo from eating raw or
    not well cooked beef, as well as chicken.  I've eaten raw hamburger my
    whole life so I assume I was exposed to Toxo a long time ago and never
    realized it.  It also said that you can get this disease from litter
    boxes (feces), particularly if your cats do eat rodents (only one of
    mine does and he prefers to go outside instead of using the litter),
    but obtaining Toxo this way is actually less likely to happen.
    
    I'm hoping my baby is healthy and am somewhat concerned.  However, all
    tests I've had during the last 8 or 9 months indicate no problems. 
    Let's just hope so!
    
    Mary
                                       

    A couple of years ago, I was tested for toxo (among other things)
    and was *horrified* when I tested positive.  Mostly, I was worried
    about my CATS!  Well, it turned out that all of my cats were
    negative, thank goodness.  We assume that I got exposed years ago
    by eating raw meat (I used to eat things like steak tartare, and
    nibble on the meat loaf before it went into the oven...not to mention
    the rare or medium-rare steaks).
    
    BTW, for pregnant women, it is advisable to do litter-box duty wearing
    rubber gloves.  It would be possible to be exposed via a cut or
    scratch on your hand, not just by nibbling on dirty finger nails
                                                                   :-)
     
    Pennie  

    Mary, many thanks for your memo. After this week I'll be going away for
    a couple of weeks. Wishing you the best for that happy occasion due in
    2 weeks . That info you received from the government surely hits this
    decease perfectly. Again best of luck to you and your husband in the
    arrival of the new member in the family.
    
    Moe..