Question
I have a genetic, incurable autoimmune disease. This causes me to be chronically immunocompromised. Keeping a pet is a decision of weighing the benefits vs. possible health risks. I've decided the benefits far outweigh possible health risks; this is my choice and a personal one.
Can contact with cat feces be harmful for pregnant women? explains it is unsafe for pregnant women to come into contact with cat feces. The same holds true for the immunocompromised.
Can someone advise me on how to manage a cat litter box to reduce possible contact with the litter and feces?
Answer
The Centers for Disease Control, in an article about risks to pregnant women from toxoplasmosis (a parasite-induced infection), give the following advice on managing the litter box:
If you own a cat, have a non-pregnant person change the litter box every day. If there is no one else to change the litter box, wear gloves and wash hands with soap and running water after changing the litter.
Risk may be reduced if the litter box is changed every day.
Keep cats indoors.
Avoid adopting or handling stray cats.
Feed cats only canned or dried commercial cat food, never undercooked or raw meat.
Do not bring a new cat into your house that might have been an outdoor cat or might have been fed raw meat.
(They also note that you are more likely to contract this particular illness from eating undercooked meat than you are from your cat.)
While your concern is not pregnancy but a compromised immune system, it seems like the risk-mitigation strategy would be similar: minimize exposure. The CDC's advice seems to apply to your situation as much as to their original situation.
If you are concerned about airborne challenges to your immune system (I don't know if you are), you might add a mask to the gloves when scooping the litter.
Answered By - Monica Cellio