In The Name Of Science, Here's Why You Should Spend More Time Cuddling Cats

Turns out that petting and talking nicely with shelter cats isn't just an awfully pleasant way to spend the afternoon. There's now scientific proof that this kind of behavior also helps keep the cats healthy -- a finding that sounds adorable, and could have some seriously great implications for the cats. For the study -- published this month in the journal Preventive Veterinary Medicine -- 96 shelter cats were divided into two groups. One group got positive interaction with the same person for 10 minutes at a time, four times a day, for 10 days. This interaction, which could include petting, brushing and playing among other agreeable things, is called "gentling." The control group cats were treated to a researcher standing in front of their cage with eyes averted, for that same duration. All 96 cats selected for the study had been deemed healthy and content -- as opposed to anxious or frustrated -- at the beginning of the study. At the end, the cats who got gentled were found to have maintained their content dispositions, and were less likely to have developed an upper respiratory disorder. The control group cats were less content, and more sick. 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. (In case all this is making you consider a career as a cat researcher: these findings were determined in part by looking for evidence in the cats' poop. So, thank you scientists.) A...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news