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natural pet


to Love a Cat They Bring Health and Happiness Home


Five Reasons by Sandra Murphy


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s beloved and compatible pets, indoor cats pro-


vide emotional, mental and physical benefits.


Time spent with cats is never wasted.


~Sigmund Freud


Companionship Loneliness is never a problem with a cat around. “Cats need to be fed, have litter changed and be brushed,” says Lisa Bahar, a therapist and clinical counselor at Lisa Bahar Marriage and Family Terapy, in Newport Beach, California. “Being comforted by a cat helps with depression and isolation.” While at Indiana University Bloom-


ington Media School, Jessica Gall Myrick, Ph.D., now associate professor at Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Pennsylvania State University, in Univer- sity Park, discovered watching cat videos isn’t just fun, but a way to feel more ener- getic and positive. With some 94 million YouTube tales of cat adventures online, there’s no lack of available mood boosters.


Exercise Some cats enjoy leashed walks, presenting opportunities to mindfully enjoy nature


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and make friends. At home, a cat’s hunting skill and human creativity can be tapped using do-it- yourself treat dispensers


and toys or inventive games.


Improved Health Talking to kitty can make a bad day better. A lap cat prompts enforced timeouts and excuses to nap. Petting reduces tension and stress. Aimee Gilbreath, executive director of the Michelson Found Animals Founda- tion, in Los Angeles, points to a study from Life Sciences Research Institute, in Pretoria, South Africa, showing, “Simply petting a cat can reduce stress-related cortisol, while increasing serotonin and oxytocin.” Te Second National Health and


Nutrition Examination Study Mortality Follow-up concluded that having a cat lowers risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack) and cardiovascular disease including strokes, making cats a novel path to a healthier heart. When researchers reporting in the


Journal of the Acoustical Society of America measured the purring sound of domestic


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