Petting Your Cat Will Keep it Health, Say Cat Scientists
There's a new study on cats that seems to prove two things. First, being a cat scientist sounds like a pretty sweet gig. Second, petting your cat is actually good for its health.
The study was published by the journal Preventive Veterinary Medicine and was conducted on 96 shelter cats that were deemed "healthy and content." Half of them had a researcher pet, brush or play with them four times a day, for 10 minutes each time - as we said, being a cat scientist doesn't seem like a bad way to make a living.
The other half of the cats had a researcher simply stand in front of their cage without looking directly at them for the same amount of time daily.
After only 10 days, the results showed that the cats who received positive attention and petting were still happy and overall were healthier.
Via the Huffington Post:
Seventeen of 49 cats in the control group developed upper respiratory disorders, compared with nine of the 47 cats in the group treated to gentling.
Animal welfare consultant Nadine Gourkow, one of the two researchers who conducted this study, told The Huffington Post she found a "strong association between positive emotions induced by gentling and good health."
The idea is that the cats' contentment stimulates production of an antibody, which helps fight upper respiratory disorders.
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