It is no secret that pets give us unconditional love, companionship and loyalty. Most of us have pets because we are aware of those qualities, and many feel a family or household is not complete without a set of paws. Today, over 54 million homes have dogs and 58 million have at least one cat. Those numbers are a true testament to where domestication has brought us. In fact, most animal shelters that provide humane education in schools claim that those children who don't have pets generally are very few.
Today, researchers are finding that what we all feel as pet owners is, in fact, true. Owning pets is a health benefit to most people. More significant is the findings of England's Warwick University. Researchers found that cats provided the greatest benefit to pet owners.
In their study, researchers measured various aspects of physical health and well-being among all participants in the study. They found that "stress symptoms were lowest among cat owners, second lowest among dog owners, and highest among non-pet owners." In part, they say the reason for finding cats in first place is because they fit so neatly into a lap!
But dogs don't lose out completely! Study authors, Drs. Collis and McNicholas, found that taking a dog for a walk - rarely possible with a cat - was better for the owners' social life and "could enhance their health and well-being."
The physicians say their tests involved 52 dog owners, 44 cat owners and 43 peole who did not have pets. All were asked to list the people they had some sort of social contact with. ABout 40 percent of dog owners said they have made friends easier as a result of having a pet, but cat people reported far fewer social relationships growing out of owning felines.
Another study was done on accepted risk factors for cardiovascular disease in 5741 participants at a medical center in Melbourne, Australia. Blood pressure, plasma cholesterol and triglyceride values were compared in pet owners (784) and non-pet owners (4957).
The results were astonishing! In every case, pet owners had significantly lower blood pressure and plasma triglycerides than non-pet owners. In men, pet owners had significantly lower plasma triglycerides levels and plasma cholesterol levels. In women over 40 years old, systolic, but not diastolic pressure was significantly lower in pet owners and plasma triglycerides also tended to be lower.
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