Owning a Cat = Longer Life!
By timetravel
@timetravel (1425)
United States
February 25, 2012 1:05pm CST
Ah! Another good reason to have a cat - or two or three! For those who wish to live longer, healthier lives, a cat is the answer. Not that kitty can wave a magic tail and endow you with immortality or an extra fifty years - it's just a bonus to being well kept by your kitty. A stroke institute that followed over 4000 cat owners over the course of a decade discovered that, statistically speaking, they had a thirty percent less chance of developing heart problems than the rest of the population. Heart attacks are less frequent, and those who own cats experience less stress which leads to lower blood pressure. Your immune system also gets a boost from kitty! When you are ill or not feeling well, kitty comforts you, and that alone can give your system a kick start to help you get better. If you are going to have a baby and get a cat first, your child has a great chance of never developing pet allergies. The immune system gets used to cat fur from the start.
And study after study has found that owning a cat somehow miraculously lowers cholesterol without needing medication! Less costly, too!
What do you think? Any healthy people owned by cats out there?
2 people like this
7 responses
@louievill (28851)
• Philippines
25 Feb 12
Yes it takes out stress and depression if your a genuine animal lover. I've heard that pets are helpful for people suffering from empty nest syndrome or something..., these are usually elderly people who loved and raised their children very well but the time comes when their children have to leave the house ( likened to the nest)and get married or live a life of their own so a good pet like a cat would help them heal....
2 people like this
@timetravel (1425)
• United States
25 Feb 12
That is an excellent idea! Plus, for seniors, cats are easier to care for than dogs who need walking a couple times a day. A cat is perfectly happy to stay indoors and be care for, where it's cruel not to walk a dog who needs the extra exercise from walking. Cats can agilely leap and jump within a small apartment - difficult for even a small dog to do!
My youngest is 19. I refer to my two rescue cats as my "babies" now...lol.
1 person likes this
@louievill (28851)
• Philippines
25 Feb 12
, yep better start practicing now cause at 19 he's just about ready to fly! We are about the same age but my youngest son is only 7
. I looked at your photos and I see real wonderful cats
2 people like this
@timetravel (1425)
• United States
26 Feb 12
Thank you, louievill! I can't believe you are close in age and have a seven year old! That is amazing! Yes, 19 is ready to fly - my son has been ready for a while. Yet we are still very close. He considers me his best friend - even though he has many friends and acquaintances, he likes talking to me most of all. I've always been open and honest with him and he's responded the same.
And my cats are wonderful...lol. I can't always let them know, of course - or it would go to their already swollen heads!
@GemmaR (8517)
•
25 Feb 12
You're probably right when you say that cat owners live for longer, for several reasons. One of the reasons that I think is important is that when we're lonely, we're more likely to feel depressed, which means that our life expectancy is a lot lower. The company of another person, even when that is an animal, can lift our mood a lot. Getting an animal before you have a baby is maybe not the best idea though because you never know just how that animal is going to react to having a baby in the house, so you would never want to leave the animal alone with the baby.
2 people like this
@salonga (27775)
• Philippines
1 Mar 12
Well that could be true to some people but not to all. To others however owning a cat shortens their life. I know at least 3 people in the neighborhood who did not live long all because they have asthma and this disease was made worse by their cats. The hairs of their cats that they could breathe in trigger more asthma attack and so they die shorter than they wish they could.
@timetravel (1425)
• United States
1 Mar 12
In that case I see your point, salonga. My husband also is an asthma sufferer- our cats are domestic shorthair breeds. As long as I vacuum up cat hair and such he's fine. He also figures he's built up an immunity to pet fur after all of this time. People with asthma need to be careful and not take in a pet until they are sure the disease won't be worsened by the pet. I've known others with asthma who do fine with cats and dogs as long as they are short short hair ones and the fur is kept groomed. Nothing is ever true for one hundred percent of people anyway! It's said that water is essential to the human body but there is a teeny population who cannot even drink it because of allergies!
@advokatku (4033)
• Indonesia
26 Feb 12
I'm still not believe if there some benefits of cat as pets. To me, cats or other furry animals , has no meaning whatsoever. If they there in your home, you will catch any germs at your body from they.
However, for the cats, I can love it, just but extent like their expression and their behavior. NoT more and keep NEVER BECAME MY PETS.
1 person likes this
@RitterSport (2451)
• Lippstadt, Germany
29 Feb 12
hi dear timetravel its about time our landlady reads stuff like this post. We are not allowed to give a kitty a home and as I need to be close to the station cause of commuting to work we have to wait till we can get out of here till we can give two senior kitties a nice home.
I also guess that people owned by cats are less hectic as noise and hectic is something kitties dont like at all.
1 person likes this
@timetravel (1425)
• United States
29 Feb 12
I hope you find something soon, RitterSport. Any senior cats would have a wonderful home with you, I'm sure. My one cat, STormy, runs if he hears the sound of aluminum foil! He can't stand that sound! But he's okay around the vacuum and the loud buses that go by our house non=stop. Go figure~
@RitterSport (2451)
• Lippstadt, Germany
1 Mar 12
my husband loves canned fish and I dont go near this stuff so I oftentimes tell him have fun eating it now as when we have moved and have furbabies you will have to share with them.
@timetravel (1425)
• United States
1 Mar 12
He is very alert to the sound of a can opening! I feed them Fancy Feast wet food and the same brand dry. He also loves those Temptations treats - he can hear the sound of a package of them when I just pick them up from the counter! The foil is a good thing, really, because it keeps him away from food when I'm wrapping it - otherwise I'd be tripping all over him when I go to put away leftover meats and poultry!
@almond24 (1248)
• Hungary
26 Feb 12
How I wish I could have one or more anti-depressant cat :) It is true that pets help us forget about our worries and stress, and they make us feel needed. They can make us transfer our stress and anger into love. No wonder emotional balance has a lot to do with the overall health.
1 person likes this
@timetravel (1425)
• United States
29 Feb 12
I wish you could,too,almond24! I can't even imagine life without a cat ever. I can get a peaceful feeling just watching my cats curled up, sleeping on chair or bed. And when I wake up each morning with two warm,furry bodies against me it's so wonderful~!
@crimsonladybug (3112)
• United States
25 Feb 12
I have had cats my whole life and I am rarely ever sick. Sure I get colds and things but really, truly stay in bed for days sick - the last time I did that I was 12 and had the chicken pox! And I've never found anything I am allergic to. So, yeah, I suppose I have no reason to dispute any of this. I suppose I have probably seen it first hand.
And I had heard, long ago on some pet show on television, that just petting a cat can lower stress levels.
1 person likes this
@timetravel (1425)
• United States
26 Feb 12
Cats are sometimes given a home in nursing homes because it's found they help the aged deal with blood pressure and other issues like that - keeps them healthy! I love the programs where a dog or cat is taken to a hospital or similar place to help with healing - just the touch of a pet can do wonders!
