Why it’s great to be a “cat person”: only scientific facts

Oh those cats! They wake up at four in the morning and sharpen their claws on their favorite sofa, but despite these “joys”, from 10 to 30% of people call themselves convinced “cat lovers” – this does not include those who respect both cats and dogs.

Why do we get fluffy vermin and spend money on them, although there is not a drop of genetic similarity between us, and besides, you will not expect gratitude from them? For me, the answer is obvious: it is impossible not to love them. Real cat fans don’t need scientific proof of hot feelings. However, scientists have investigated this phenomenon and found that although members of the Felis silvestris catus subspecies are not always beneficial for furniture, they can have a beneficial effect on physical and mental health.

Peace of mind

According to Australian researchers, the mental health of cat owners is stronger than that of those who live without pets. According to the survey, they feel happier and more confident, less nervous, sleep more calmly and successfully cope with life’s troubles.

In addition, a cat in the house is a great companion for a child. A survey of 2 Scottish schoolchildren aged 200 to 11 confirmed the high quality of life of pet-bound children. And the stronger this attachment, the more energetic and attentive teenagers are, the less often they feel sad and abandoned and do not get bored either at school, or in their free time, or alone.

Cats destroy the blues with anti-gravity tricks and incredible “yogic” sleeping positions. The owners of these animals experience less negative emotions and rarely withdraw into themselves, unlike those who do not have cats. Moreover, single owners fall into a bad mood much less often than people who have a cat and a partner. This is understandable, because cats are never late for dinner.

Even cats from the internet make us smile. After watching cat videos online, people’s negative attitude is reduced. Anxiety, irritation and despondency are replaced by positive emotions: hope, satisfaction, happiness. Analysts warn that pleasure can turn into guilt if we admire cats when we should be doing business. But watching them harass and surprise their hosts helps us feel less drained and energizes us for the day ahead.

Stress

I can confirm that a warm cat on your lap that kneads your legs with its paws is the best anti-stress. One afternoon, stunned by the overload, I exclaimed: “I want Cora to come!” And she immediately jumped up and plopped down on her knees. True, this trick could not be repeated again.

The authors of the cardiac study visited 120 couples to determine how they respond to stress and whether there is any benefit from cats. People hooked up to heart rate and blood pressure machines had to go through the agonizing test of mentally subtracting four-digit numbers, then submerging their hand in ice-cold water for two minutes, three times. The conditions alternately changed: in the room it was necessary to stay alone, with a pet, with a spouse who could provide moral support, or with both at once.

Prior to the stress test, the pressure and pulse were lower than the rest. During the experiment, cat owners also behaved better. For them, it was more of a test of endurance than a threat to their health: their heart rate and blood pressure were still lower than those of the rest, and they were less likely to make mistakes in their calculations. Of all the possible scenarios, the most favorable was when the cat was next to the person: the participants looked calmer and made the fewest mistakes. The physiological state of the owners also bounced back faster than others.

Why are cats so calming? They never judge us for our poor math skills and worry when we feel bad. This explains the calming effect: in some cases, there is no one better than a cat.

According to Karen Stambak and Dennis Turner, experts at the University of Zurich, cats are not just small creatures dependent on humans. They give us comfort. There is a whole scientific scale that measures the amount of emotional support received from cats, depending on how much you communicate with them in stressful situations.

The cat is always there, far from worldly fuss, and thanks to her, all minor troubles and worries look like complete nonsense. As journalist Jane Powley said, “You can’t be nervous looking at a sleeping cat.”

Relations

We take care of cats, and they take care of us – or so we think. Those who contribute to the strengthening of interspecies bonds certainly understand the benefits of this to relationships between people.

It turned out that cat owners are more socially receptive, more trusting of people and generally more philanthropic than those who do not have pets. Unlike those who don’t like cats or dogs, “cat lovers” are more likely to believe that others are just like them. By the way, even fans of cat videos get more support from people, unlike those who, alas, are not a fan.

These comparisons are a little puzzling, but they make sense.

“A positive attitude towards dogs/cats can lead to a positive attitude towards people, but it can also be the other way around,” argue Rose Perrin and Hannah Osborne, researchers at Eastern Kentucky University.

When people or animals treat us friendly, we develop the ability for generosity and kindness. We’ve already talked about a survey of Scottish teenagers, which also showed that children who are strongly attached to their cats get along well with their best friend – probably because they often play in threes.

“Pets act as a ‘social catalyst’, stimulating contact between people,” writes British scientist Ferrand Marsa-Sambola. “A pet can be very grateful, sincerely good-natured, constant, loyal and honest – these are qualities that satisfy a basic human need for self-respect and love.”

Health

Finally, some evidence for the health benefits of cats. For the study, which lasted 13 years, attracted 4 people. Some of them died, and people who had cats had far fewer deaths from a heart attack than other participants, after taking into account other risk factors: blood pressure, cholesterol levels, body mass index and smoking. The result was confirmed even among those who have recently had no pets, suggesting that cats are more of a preventive therapy rather than a current treatment.

Another University of Pennsylvania scientist, James Serpell, studied 24 people who had recently adopted cats. They completed the questionnaires in the first days and several more times over the next 10 months. In just a month, health complaints decreased: headaches, back pain, frequent colds. However, it was noted that for some, the positive effect weakened over time. As Serpell suggests, those who make friends with the animal continue to feel the beneficial effects, while those who fail to do so do not.

Many of the studies are relative – we do not know for sure that cats are unambiguously useful, that their owners are absolutely happy and balanced. The second, by the way, does not seem to be true at all. Thank you for the fact that compared to the “dog lovers” we are more open to everything new. But at the same time, there are more introverts among us, less warmth and friendliness in us, and besides, almost all of us are neurasthenics. We experience negative emotions more often and suppress them more often, which makes us not so happy and satisfied with life.

On the other hand, this means that, in all likelihood, animals bring us as much pleasure and joy as we can take, although the data is far from objective. In fact, most pet research focuses on dogs, in part because they are easier to use in therapy. “Cats have not been thoroughly studied,” admits Serpell. Another reason to quarrel with “dog opponents.”

In the meantime, we are waiting for additional data, I will continue to pour out my feelings to everyone and everyone. I am incredibly happy to have a cat in my life: in bed, on the dinner table, in the bathroom. And she is ready to give all the lost hours of sleep for this soft, fluffy love.