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Only approximately 1% of cats are actively shedding Toxoplasma oocysts at any given time
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2025)
Notes
Range in studies: 0-6.6%, mean 0.7%; cats shed for 1-2 weeks after first infection only
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025). CDC Toxoplasmosis Information. As cited in Cat Cognition. https://catcognition.com/statistics/health/#us-cats-oocyst-shedding-rate
40+ million
Over 40 million Americans are infected with Toxoplasma gondii (12.4% current seroprevalence rate per CDC/NHANES), though cats are rarely the direct source
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2025)
40%
Only 40% of cat owners take their cats to the veterinarian annually, compared to 82% of dog owners
Hill's Pet Nutrition (2025)
57.3%
57.3% of cat owners visited a veterinary clinic in the past year
American Veterinary Medical Association (2025)
~60%
Only about 60% of pet microchips are registered, which can prevent lost pets from being returned home
American Veterinary Medical Association (2025)
