Live Long and Prospurr: the health benefits of having a cat

The health benefits of having a pet often focus on dogs more than cats, possibly because dogs are associated with exercise and the outdoors. It’s hard to believe that sitting on the couch with a cat in your lap is a healthy activity but, while we wouldn’t recommend staying on the couch all day, there are definite health perks to having a feline furrend in your life.

Stress Less

It’s hard to hold on to your stress when you come home from work to your Ragdoll greeting you with the standard Ragdoll-Flop right in the doorway. Or maybe you come home to a Burmese waiting to pounce on you as you enter, busting to tell you all about their day? There is a correlation between cat ownership and decreased stress and anxiety, which results in a decrease in cardiovascular diseases (including stroke). The more time you spend cuddling your cat, the less stressed you feel - so get comfy!

Image: Eliot the Ragdoll shows us exactly how the Ragdoll-Flop is done.

Happy Hours (on YouTube)

Have you ever sat down for ten minutes to scroll through social media and suddenly realised an hour (or three) has been swallowed up by cat videos? Good for you! Cat videos make us happy – or rather, cat videos have been shown to increase positive feelings. This relates to stress levels, sure, but it also relates to our mood and positivity when it comes to feeling, well, happy. Bad day? Need a mood boost? Watch more Maru!

Purrfect Potion

Who doesn’t get a warm and fuzzy feeling when a cat approaches you and almost immediately starts purring? This instant comfort is at a frequency of 18 to 20 Hz. This is a frequency associated with healing, so that warm and fuzzy feeling might just be a way of knowing your cat not only loves you, but also wants what’s best for you health-wise. Remember how cuddling your kitty can help with stress? Well, the vibrations from kitty's purrs also contribute to this stress relief. These vibrations are also said to relax sore muscles and even help broken bones heal.

So, it's time to put on some cat videos, pick the cat up for a cuddle, and take delight in such healthy life choices! How does your life benefit from your feline furrend? Let us know on Facebook or Instagram!

Please note: If you do have any concerns regarding your health, we recommend consulting a medical professional.