I have a 4 year old pregnant doe. I was wondering if it's unhealthy to have a cat around her while she's pregnant. Tahoe (our cat) loves coming into the barn with me in the morning to get a saucer of milk and visit with the Girls. Has anyone had problems with cats around pregnant does?
I don't know much about a cat's influence on goats. I think I've read somewhere that they might not be so good to have around; but, I don't know for sure, and I wanted to know if anyone has had any experience with this.
P.S. Here's a picture of Tahoe.
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Okay that's good to know, I have been keeping Tahoe inside since Sienna (the pregnant doe) got bred- because I was worried about her having problems with her kids, but before then Tahoe was out in the barn all the time. However I think I will probably be keeping Tahoe inside the house until she kids, just to be on the safe side.
P.S It is so nice to hear from you personally. I LOVE your books so much!
Thank you for your help :-)
Cats can have toxoplasmosis, which doesn't bother them much, but it can cause abortions in humans and goats. I know someone who had all 15 of does abort because of toxoplasmosis. However, on the other hand, we've had barn cats forever (for 14 years) and never had a problem. Tahoe looks young, and it is usually young cats that are the problem. Most outside cats will get toxoplasmosis when they're young, then they're immune for the rest of their lives, so not a problem. Since it's not usually a problem for the cats when they have it, people never know when they've had it.