Therapeutic Cat Ownership

Cat ownership provides many benefits. Not only do cats offer companionship, but they can improve the lives of their owners in unexpected ways. Taking time to interact with a cat or other pet can have health benefits for the owner. Research has shown that cat ownership can reduce stress, improve the owner’s mental health, and help owners recover from illnesses.

Excess stress is a problem that negatively affects many people. Nervousness, irritability, depression, and an inability to concentrate are some mental symptoms of overexposure to stress. Stress not only impacts people’s mental health, but can make people more susceptible to illness. Stress can increase a person’s risk of developing heart problems, diabetes, high blood pressure, ulcers, and several other medical conditions.

Researchers have indicated that petting a cat can temporarily lower blood pressure. It has a calming effect that can be one source of stress management. A study at City Hospital in New York found that pet owners who were heart patients are more likely to be alive a year after their discharge from the hospital than those heart patients who did not own pets. The effect of pet ownership was found to be higher than the effect of having a spouse or friends.

The reason for this effect on the cat owner is likely to be a combination of many factors. A cat owner may feel determined to live longer so that there is someone to care for the cat. There is purposeful routine in the cat owner’s life, such as feeding and interacting with the cat. Then, there is the relaxation response that the cat owners experience when they pet their cats.

Nursing homes are making it a common practice to have a resident cat. This allows the nursing home residents the relaxation benefits of interacting and petting the cat. Therapist and psychiatrists often promote pet ownership among their clients. Some mental health professionals believe so strongly in the benefits of owning a pet that they will help their clients keep pets in their apartments where otherwise prohibited by the lease with the landlord. In some locations, a note from a therapist that the animal is a therapeutic pet is all that is needed to enforce the client’s legal right to own a therapeutic pet.