14 HEALTH BENEFITS OF HAVING A CAT - ARTE - 2025

The benefits of having a cat for physical and mental health are to reduce stress and anxiety, prevent strokes, improve the immune system, lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol levels and others that I will explain below.

Thinking of getting a cat? This animal is one of the most common in the home. In general, they are calm, meek and affectionate (not always), although from time to time they may destroy you with their sharp nails.

Although cats are usually independent and sometimes do not like to be accompanied, they are also affectionate and their company can have therapeutic effects. There is no doubt that having a cat as a pet is one of the best ways to strengthen our health.

14 Benefits of living with a cat

1- Reduce stress and anxiety

By enjoying a beautiful cat, our stress and anxiety levels will decrease, creating a series of chemical reactions as a calming agent in our body.

You can try stroking them to see how your anxiety stops building. Purring is an effective method of reducing stress.

"There are people who are deeply unwell or are in a state of stress, where harmful chemicals negatively affect the immune system," says Blair Justice, professor of psychology at the University of the School of Public Health.

This study affirms that having a pet can determine the levels of stress and anxiety that we have and verifies the direct relationship between harmful chemicals and having a pet in our care.

Likewise, seretonin and dopamine increase when petting a cat, explains Justice.

2- Reduces the risk of stroke

Several studies have shown that cat owners have a lower percentage of risk of having a stroke than those who are not.

According to experts, the cat's characteristic of being a low maintenance animal may be the main reason for this benefit.

3- Promotes relaxation

By calming down and relaxing with our cat, we will release oxytocin, a type of hormone that serves to create a feeling of love and trust, either with ourselves or with others.

Have you ever seen that there are people who, to overcome a loss or emotional breakup, talk to their pet to vent? This is also one of the clear evidences that having a cat works therapeutically.

Also, a study found that children with autism are less likely to suffer from anxiety or other types of mood disturbance.

A study carried out in France in 2012 concluded after analyzing 40 autistic children with their cats that they helped to de-stress them and improve their socializing functions.

As a curiosity, here below I leave you a photo of Iris Grace Halmshaw, a British girl of only five years old, who together with her cat Thula has achieved enough security to perform different activities that she was not capable of before.

Without a doubt, there is no better example to prove the beneficial power that cats have.

4- Improves the immune system

The dander found on the skin of cats makes the inhabitants of the house more resistant to allergies, which cause the appearance of asthma and allergies.

Researcher James E. Gern, a pediatrician at the University of Wisconsin - Madison states in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology that "the old family thought was that if you had a pet, children would be more likely to develop any type of pet. allergy. This is totally false ”.

James Gern himself conducted a study where he found that children who lived with a pet with hair - such as cats - were 19% less likely to be prone to developing any type of allergy compared to the other 33%, belonging to the who did not live with animals at home.

5- Reduce blood pressure

The calming function of cats makes the blood pressure of their owners lower than that of those who do not own any type of pet.

According to this study, vibrations from cats' purrs - ranging between 20 and 140 hertz - are considered beneficial in lowering the owner's blood pressure.

6- Decreases the risk of heart disease

The Institute of Minnesota at the University of Stroke in Minneapolis, concluded that people who do not own cats are 30-40% more likely to suffer a heart attack.

The experiment consisted of monitoring 4,500 people, where three out of five participants had a cat for a period of three years.

7- Lowers triglycerides and cholesterol levels

Heart disease is caused by high levels of triglycerides and cholesterol. Therefore, if people with cats have better heart health, they will also show much lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

8- Increases the ability to socialize with the world

Although it may surprise you, several experts in the field have stated that people are more attracted to those who have a cat by their side, the reason?

Nadine Kaslow, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory University in Atlanta, says that "conversations that are born out of an animal turn into a true social exchange."

Having a cat can become an excuse to make a first approach to other people, and in this way, start conversations.

9- Offer company in the face of loneliness

The feeling of loneliness is much less when living with a cat. Your company is essential.

The Center for Disease Prevention and Control recognized that living with a cat can supplement human companionship, something that the Universities of both Miami and Saint Louis also agree on.

10- Reduce the environmental footprint

The authors of the book Time to eat the dog? The Real Guide to Sustainable Living, Robert and Brenda, stated that feeding a dog throughout its life produces the same environmental impact as a Hummer SUV.

By contrast, cats, who eat much less, leave the same ecological footprint as a Volkswagen Golf, a car much less harmful than the Hummer.

11- Better health for young children

This is demonstrated by a recent study in which it is explained that newborns who are raised with cats tend to show fewer ear infections than those who live without them.

12- Helps the psychological well-being of the elderly

The Journal of the American Geriatric Society conducted a study with almost a thousand men and women with an average age of 70 -75 years, where it found that those who had a cat or a dog were able to perform daily activities such as getting to bed, preparing eating, washing or walking.

On the contrary, the elderly who did not own any type of pet found it more difficult to carry out these routines.

13- They promote physical exercise

A pet does not take care of itself. We must wash them, brush them, feed them, play with them and even take them out to breathe.

This only brings beneficial effects for our body. If what you want is to get up from the couch, a cat is the solution.

14- They are fun

From the previous benefit, I can say first hand that having a cat brings hours and hours of fun.

There is no more playful animal than a cat, and as a good owner, you will have to satisfy its needs.

Toxoplasmosis

Apart from these benefits, it is common to associate the name of cat with toxoplasmosis, a disease that occurs due to a protozoan parasite called Toxoplasma gondii. This disease is characteristic for being associated with these animals.

It creates a risk to the health of both pregnant women and babies that are about to be born. Fever, swollen glands and multiple body aches are the symptoms of this disease.

Likewise, it has also been linked to other types of problems such as increased risk of suicide, schizophrenia or even brain cancer.

It is not 100% proven that toxoplasmosis resides in cats and there is also a much higher risk of contracting it in work jobs such as gardening or simply by eating unwashed meat, cooked or vegetables.

conclusion

As you have seen, the benefits that cats offer are multiple. You may not have known about the existence of these types of advantages until now.

They improve our mood, help us avoid really serious diseases and even force us to get up from the sofa to get in shape.

So if you are thinking of adopting a little kitten, do not hesitate, since your body, and also your mind, will thank you.