Five Reasons Why You Should Get a Cat
The debate has gone on far too long. Dog people have long said that their pooches are the superior pet while cat people proclaim that their furry companions are way better. All pets are great. They bring us comfort and friendship. Besides their independence and fluffiness, here are five reasons why you should get a cat.
1. They’re Good for Your Heart
At the American Stroke Association’s International Conference in 2008, research was presented that suggests owning a cat is good for your heart health. A study followed 4500 men and women ranging from ages 35 to 70. Compared to cat owners, those who never had a feline companion were 40% more likely to have a heart attack. This study even accounted for risk factors that put you at a higher risk for cardiovascular disease, such as smoking, gender, and high blood pressure.
This lessened risk was not found among those who solely owned dogs. In those with hypertension, petting a cat (or dog) can reduce their blood pressure response to stress by 50%. Having high blood pressure puts you at greater risk of having cardiovascular disease and dying from heart disease.
If something as simple as owning a cat can help you reduce that risk, why not do it? It’s certainly more enjoyable than watching your diet or exercising. If you’re already getting an adequate amount of activity and eating a balanced diet, you can boost your heart health even more by owning a cat.
2. Cats Help Heal Bones
Anyone who has ever had contact with a cat will tell you that the one of the most soothing sounds on this earth is hearing a cat purr. Cats often purr when they are content in your lap, being petted softly, or were just fed their favorite treat. However, cats also purr when they feel negative emotions such as after an injury.
To make this lovely purring noise, cats intermittently signal their laryngeal and diaphragmatic muscles while breathing. These muscles working in sync creates a sound that registers at frequencies ranging from 25 to 150 hertz. This is the same frequency range needed to promote healing and vitality among cats and humans.
Every day, we are learning more and more about the powers of sound. In the human world, ultrasound machines are used to produce sound waves at just the right frequency. When these waves are directed at a gaping wound, the results are faster wound healing and minimization of scarring.
In the animal world, cats are already known to heal from injuries much more quickly than other pets and their bone density is often higher than canines, leading to fewer broken bones over their lifetime. Recent studies also conclude that the frequencies of a cat’s purr result in quicker healing of broken bones in rabbits.
3. They Improve Your Psychological Well-Being
It is no secret that your mental health directly affects your physical health. People who suffer from mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression are far more likely to develop chronic health conditions than people have a naturally happy disposition. Why is that?
When our brains are telling us we feel negatively, that emotion is felt throughout our body. This leads to poor circulation, poor digestion, and poor wound healing. The Mental Health Foundation found that a schizophrenic’s chance of dying from respiratory disease is three times as high as someone without schizophrenia. They’re also 200% more likely to die from heart disease.
Our physical body’s response to mental illness and chronic illness is often thought to be the result of our brains sending too much attention towards fighting off this invisible threat and not focusing on functioning at its best. Interacting with animals through petting or playing has shown to increase levels of serotonin and dopamine. Both of these compounds are “happy hormones” and make us feel good.
This effect is so widely known and proven that the idea of therapy pets was born. Therapy pets are any form of pet that is utilized to make someone feel better. This could include well-trained dogs that are brought to children’s hospitals to boost patient morale or cats that are brought into senior centers and nursing homes to brighten up the day of everyone there. Everyone wants to live a long and happy life. Cats are the perfect segue into a happier state of mind.
4. Cat Equals Fewer Allergies
Allergies are the body’s response to various irritants. These allergies can vary from mildly annoying to deadly. The only way to get over an allergy is to train your body not to react to the allergen and this is accomplished through repeat exposure. If you or a friend has ever had to get allergy shots or administer allergen drops, these are forms of exposure therapy. By repeatedly introducing the allergen to the person, the patient’s body will scale back its reaction over time.
Children who are raised around cats are far less likely to develop an allergy to them later in life because they have already been exposed to that allergen. The same can be said for those who were allergic to cats but who, after owning one, have reported lesser allergy symptoms over the year.
5. Cats Chase Mice Away
While Tom & Jerry may have been a cartoon, there’s a lot of truth to the fiction. Cats are obligate carnivores. They must eat meat to survive. Commercial cat food contains meat products but sometimes your kitty just wants a little more. Through consuming prey, cats obtain essential amino acids such as Taurine that help with protein production and sustained life.
In the wild, cats will hunt down any prey animal that is smaller than them. The most common prey for outdoor cats are birds and mice. Domesticated cats still have the same primal instincts as their feral cousins. Cats need meat to survive and they obtain it through stalking, hunting, and eating mice or birds.
This can be extremely beneficial to a homeowner who has a rodent problem. You can keep cats outdoors to control mice populations in barns or on your surrounding property, or you can keep them inside where they will no doubt eliminate any mice they come into contact with.
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