How worried should she be?

Hello, For background I've had a male cat for about 7 years. I met my partner 5 years ago and we now live together with her 2 kids (8 & 9) from a previous relationship. We've also just had a baby 4 months ago. My partner seems to be living in constant fear of our little girl contracting toxoplasmosis from my cat, to the point she won't even let the cat touch the baby whatsoever, and she seems to resent my cat just through the fear he may possibly have toxoplasmosis and pass ot to our daughter. I understand that cats can transmit it through faecal matter for a brief period of time, and it can also be transmitted via eating undercooked/raw meats etc. during pregnancy. But how common, or moreover how likely is it that our 4-month-old could contract it from my cat now? Bearing in mind my cat doesn't eat dead animals to my knowledge, and our little girl has no access to his litterbox.   Thanks for any replies :)

Hello - Toxoplasmosis is actually relatively rare - but it can cause blindness, so it pays to be sensible.  'Sensible,' however, doesn't have to involve not owning a cat!  Indeed, children can be infected with Toxoplasmosis by various cat-free methods and also (involving cats) from playing in public sand-pits where a cat has toileted previously, so it's always a good idea to choose sandpits that are fenced off, and / or to have them wash their hands properly afterwards.

Vet help Direct wrote this fact-sheet which mentions it: https://vethelpdirect.com/vetblog/2021/07/29/can-i-catch-diseases-from-my-cat/ And more information is available for Cornell University, here: https://www.vet.cornell.edu/departments-centers-and-institutes/cornell-feline-health-center/health-information/feline-health-topics/toxoplasmosis-cats

Essentially, good hygiene is key - regularly emptying and cleaning litter trays (I think a poo with Tox. in it has to sit for 24 hours before it comes infective) and handwashing.  Cats get Toxoplasmosis from eating raw food, so feed commercial cat-food and also keep up to date with their worming.  I hope that something here is useful.

Ps.  I also read an article reckoning that, because infected faeces have to sit for a while before they are at their most infective, they would usually be cleaned out of the litter-tray before that happened.  However, if a cat deafecated in a sandpit or on soil, it could remain there for a long time and the eggs be distributed into the environment.  Therefore, the authors reckoned that cats that the general cat-owning public were more likely to catch Toxoplasmosis from other people's cats than their own, especially if they wormed their cats appropriately.

Thank you for your replies Liz, they are very much appreciated.