By Larry | Allie Katz | Comments are Closed | 31 March, 2024 | 0
I’d like to share with you what life is like when you live with cats. I’ve gained my insight not only from a lifetime of living with cats (and dogs, ponies, birds, turtles, fish and a raccoon) but from talking with other “crazy animal” people.
Our pets are very special “people” to us. They are indeed members of the family. Anyone who has ever had a pet or two can attest that life would not be the same without them. They understand us more than most people give them credit for, and where else can you find such selfless love? They shape our lives and, as Anatole France hinted, they awaken our souls. Some people believe that cats have healing powers, and science doesn’t debunk the notion. A study from the University of Minnesota shows that owning a cat (or cats) can actually lower your risk of having a heart attack or stroke. This was a 10-year study carried out by the university’s Stroke Research Center. They studied over 4000 people ranging in age from 30 to 75 and discovered that those who didn’t have a cat had a 40% higher risk of having a heart attack or stroke and a 30% higher risk of dying from other diseases affecting the heart. All I can say to that is WOW!
Let’s look at stress for a moment. It’s hard to stay stressed out while petting your purring “lap lander” cat. Ah, yes, the most beautiful and soothing sound in the world . . . the purr of a cat. We were all stressed out while Covid was going strong, but cats and dogs helped relieve a lot of the anxiety. A great number of cats and dogs were adopted from shelters during the worst of the pandemic to be companions for people ill and stuck at home. I need not tell you that the past few years have been unprecedented for creating stress. The hypothesis is that if you love up your cat or dog while watching the TV news about mass shootings, disastrous weather, political upheaval and Medicare plan and ambulance chaser commercials, you may be able to lessen your chances of depression, heart attack or stroke, and retain a modicum of your sanity.
Cats can comfort us during times of mourning, anxiety or fear. They somehow have the ability to sense that something is wrong and will offer their support during these times. My cats definitely know when I’m having a bad day, and they will lay down next to me, look up and purr. There are all kinds of accounts of dogs coming to the rescue, but there have also been many cat heroes too. There have been incidents of cats detecting illnesses such as cancer in their human before it became diagnosed.
So, let’s look at the bottom line; being a pet owner is beneficial to your mental and physical health and science can prove it!
