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Sunday 4 January 2015

Health Benefits of Pets: How a Cat Can Improve Your Wellbeing

Most cat owners realize there is value in the companionship of a feline friend. However, the average pet owner may not realize that cats can actually provide significant health benefits and can make a remarkable contribution to our overall wellbeing.

Spending Time With a Cat Can Improve Your Emotional Health

Playing with a cat, petting a cat, or otherwise interacting with a cat can help relieve depression, decrease stress, and ease anxiety. The sound of a cat's purr is known to have a calming effect. These factors play a role in improving the lives of any pet owner, particularly those with a close bond with their cat. However, these benefits can play an especially significant role in the lives of people with chronic illnesses. For instance, patients with Alzheimer's disease tend to have fewer emotional outbursts if they have contact with a cat. In addition, children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are believed to benefit from contact with cats by becoming more communicative and open to engagement as well as less aggressive.

Spending Time With a Cat Can Improve Your Physical Health

Spending time with a cat has numerous effects on your physical health as well. Some of the most notable positive effects include decreased blood pressure, lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and a lower risk for heart disease and/or stroke. 

Being around a cat can also ease pain by reducing anxiety. People who experience less anxiety also experience less pain. Particularly in people that suffer from chronic pain, contact with a cat can have great benefits. Many of these people require significantly lower doses of pain medications when interaction with a pet is encouraged.

Children who grow up with cats have been found to have healthier immune systems and to suffer from fewer allergies.

Cats Can Be Great Therapy Animals

Health care workers are increasingly realizing that spending time with a pet can have a positive effect on patient health. Many health facilities now welcome pets, including cats, as therapy animals and encourage their residents and patients to engage with these animals. Many hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, and long term care facilities take advantage of programs that include pets as therapy animals.

In some cases, patients recuperating in their home may also be encouraged to consider pet ownership. For instance, Promises Treatment Centers, a facility that specializes in treating addiction, recommends that their patients consider getting a pet. They also welcome pets into their rehabilitation centers and encourage their patients to bring their pets with them while being treated in their facility.
Cats are remarkable animals. They can significantly improve the lives of the humans they interact with simply by being present.
Health Benefits of Pets




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