Do you need a cat in the apartment? Fluffy doctors of soul and body: what are the benefits of cats for humans for health and mood

Cats have long and firmly entered human life. Until now, there is no unequivocal opinion on whom a person tamed first - a dog or a cat. But these fluffy creatures also appear on Egyptian images, which proves the fact of the long coexistence of cats and humans.

At the same time, cats are distinguished by waywardness and secrecy, which brought to life the appearance of a large number of various signs regarding cats in the house.

Keeping a cat at home - good or bad?

For a long time, many psychologists strongly discouraged single women from getting this pet, because it was believed that the presence of a cat in the house created the illusion of having a family. And this, in turn, can lead to the fact that a woman will never be able to marry and will forever remain an “old maid”. But these prejudices are a thing of the past.

All research and study of the behavior of cats, their impact on humans prove that keeping a cat in the house is useful. American scientists conducted a long-term experiment, the results of which proved that when a cat is in the house, the risk of a heart attack in owners is reduced by 30%.

Scientists also argue that the presence of at least one cat in the house helps to reduce the incidence of not only heart attacks, but millet diseases of the cardiovascular system.

A scientific explanation for this fact has not yet been found, but most likely, a cat, which is a soft, fluffy lump, ready to purr affectionately in gratitude to the owner, is able to create a feeling of comfort and serene coziness in the house, helping to more easily survive stressful situations that arise during life.

A cat lying on her lap, the warmth of her body, the softness and silkiness of her coat, all this gives rise to a feeling of relaxation, leads to the disappearance of problems and calmness.

Allergies and animal fur

Some animal opponents argue that many cats in the house can provoke allergies, since the hair found everywhere is very difficult to completely remove.

Studies conducted on this subject have proved that the animal itself does not cause an allergic reaction from the body.

Allergies are caused by dust and wool. The scientists said that living in a cat's house can prevent the development of asthma in a child, because with constant contact with a furry creature, the child's body begins to produce antibodies that help cope with lung problems and asthma attacks.

Also, modern genetics has made it possible to breed a large number of hypoallergenic breeds, some of which are completely devoid of wool in the usual sense.

Occurrence of other problems

And a cat in a private house has always been considered a mandatory guest, since it is better than any mousetrap to help get rid of annoying rodents that are carriers of terrible diseases.

Cats in the house: signs

A large number of various signs are associated with cats, which were born due to the special nature of cats, distinguished by independence and love of freedom. Since ancient times, many beliefs and signs have been associated with domestic representatives of the cat family.

In ancient Egypt, the cat was almost a sacred animal. Killing a cat was punishable by death. The Egyptians believed that a cat is a good spirit of human habitation, and after the death of the mistress, her soul settled in a cat. It is believed that evil spirits or dark forces will never come to the house in which the cat lives, since the cat is able to see and drive them away.

Until now, a very popular sign, according to which the cat is the first to enter the house. This should guarantee the family prosperity and good luck. At the same time, where the cat falls asleep in a new house, a sofa should be placed there, since this is the place that has the most favorable bioenergetics. But there is another sign: a cat came into the house - expect trouble, because it is believed that a strange cat or a cat that wandered on the threshold is a messenger of misfortune.

A cat is not only a character of a large number of signs and superstitions, it is also considered a talisman, the effect of which will directly depend on the owner's attitude towards his pet or pet.

What a cat brings with it is associated with its color. Black is money, red is love, white is health and attracting sincere people to the house. A tricolor cat in the house will be a universal amulet that can attract money, love, health, and good luck to the house.

Fans of mysticism believe that cats, by the very fact of their presence, “ennoble” the atmosphere of the house. In folk beliefs, it is believed that cats have a special relationship with the spirits of the house - brownies. They patronize tailed purrs, and therefore protect the house from troubles and unwanted guests. This is one of the reasons why a cat should be the first to enter a new home.

A similar point of view is shared by parapsychologists, only the mechanism of the effect of a cat on the space of an apartment is arranged differently from their point of view: it is assumed that cats feel the energy of surrounding objects and “cleanse” it, and can also neutralize the consequences of interaction with negative biofields. It is also believed that if the owner is a cat, it can absorb the energy of the disease, thereby facilitating the human condition.

Family doctor

However, not only parapsychologists speak about the therapeutic effect of a cat on a person. Many people were convinced that “cat therapy” is an effective thing. Cats treat people - and in several ways at once.

It is believed that the purring of cats affects a person in almost the same way as infrasound, only at different frequencies (4-16 Hz). And such “physiotherapy at home” helps to strengthen bones, regenerate the skin, and also strengthens the immune system. In addition, when a cat comes to “purr” next to a person, his body adjusts to the rhythm of purring. As a result, breathing normalizes, stress is relieved, mood rises, and sleep normalizes. The result is a general healing effect.

Secondly, the body temperature in cats is a couple of degrees higher than in humans. Therefore, when a fluffy lump settles on the chest or stomach, it turns out something like a compress. The cat warms up the sore spots, which really heals.

In recent years, a number of studies have been conducted on the health status of cat owners and the health benefits of cats. And it turned out that cat owners have a 30% lower risk of death from a heart attack or other diseases of the cardiovascular system than those who do not communicate with cats regularly, they tolerate illnesses more easily and recover faster from them. So it turns out that cats treat human diseases, acting as a generalist family doctor.

Free psychotherapist

As shown by all the same studies, hosts also cope better on average with stress and crisis situations. And this is not surprising - not only does cat treatment strengthen the body as a whole, communication with these funny animals in itself acts on a person as an antidepressant. Even autistic people communicate with cats, let alone ordinary closed or lonely people. Interaction with a cat allows them to relax, to give vent to emotions - and this is already good.

Communication with a cat, watching her antics, stroking the soft fur relaxes, sets in an optimistic mood, and relieves stress. Of all representatives of the animal world, only dogs have a similar effect on humans. So cats for the human psyche is undeniable.

Live security system

Cats are excellent guards. And, although salvation from mice and rats for residents of modern cities is most often not particularly relevant, cats continue to fight with uninvited guests. They will drive pigeons from the balcony and window sills, will not allow stray animals to enter their territory, and some cats even successfully exterminate flies and other insects.

But this is not the only function of cats as a security system. They are much more sensitive than humans. And, if the cats feel that the house is in danger (an approaching earthquake, a gas leak, smoke from a starting fire in a neighboring apartment, etc.) - the cat begins to show great anxiety and seeks to leave the apartment at all costs. Sometimes in such situations, cats wake up sleeping owners - and thereby save their lives.

By the way, according to German gerontologists, cat owners live on average 10 years longer than those who do not keep such animals at home. And, perhaps, the point is not only in the healing effect, but also in protection from emergencies.

Persistent alarm clock

Cats also become invaluable helpers for those who have difficulty getting up. These animals are excellent, and very persistent alarm clocks, and they have a huge amount of tools in their arsenal to wake up their owners. If family members get up at the same time, cats usually quickly get used to the established daily routine and begin active wake-up activities at the same time as the alarm clock, or a couple of minutes ahead of it.

True, the desire of cats to wake up the owners in the morning sometimes brings trouble - for many cats it is difficult to catch the difference between weekdays and days off, when one could sleep longer. But some still succeed - and then the cats wake up the owners in strict accordance with the work or study schedule.

Sanitary control

The presence of a cat at home (as well as a small child) often forces the owners of the house to keep it clean and tidy. Restless animals do not know the "place" command, they like to run around the apartment and often misbehave, dropping dishes or other objects on the floor - or spoil the papers left on the table. This quickly teaches the owners to put fragile things in their places, remove excess from horizontal surfaces, keep balls and threads only in a needlework box, and so on.

And finally, the benefit of the cat is that it is she who is able to put an end to the protracted conflict between men and women regarding the initial position of the toilet seat. Many cats show great interest in the water bubbling in the toilet ... and then it immediately becomes obvious that the toilet seat must be lowered and the lid closed. For purely sanitary reasons. So, there are fewer quarrels in the family.

Cats are the most mysterious and independent pets. They have a changeable disposition and, despite the attachment to the owners, the cats remain free and independent. They are loving, gentle and affectionate, but sometimes they release their sharp claws. The mystery of their origin has not yet been fully disclosed. They have lived with us for many years, but are still mysterious and unpredictable. “While she is in the house, she catches mice and is affectionate with children. But the minute will improve a little, the night will come and the moon will rise, now she says: “I, the Cat, go where I please, and I walk by myself,” Rudyard Kipling wrote in the fairy tale “The Cat Walking by itself”. What they have not experienced in their lifetime: in ancient Egypt they were worshiped, and during the time of the Inquisition they were considered the offspring of the devil. By the way, the famous Cardinal Richelieu was an ardent lover of cats. There were many of them in his palace, these were the only creatures to whom Richelieu felt affection, and only with them did he rest his soul.

And in our time, despite their changeable disposition, cats are the most beloved pets. Looking into their bottomless eyes, we forget about loneliness. Stroking their soft fur, listening to their quiet purring and calm breathing, we ourselves become calmer. By the way, it is considered a scientifically proven fact that a cat's purr lowers blood pressure. Children who have a cat or a dog in the house are less prone to stress, they are kinder and more affectionate than many of their peers.

Scientists from the University of Minnesota at a conference of the American Association for the Study of Strokes published the following data: cat owners have a 30% reduced risk of dying from a heart attack. Scientists have not yet been able to give a scientific explanation for this fact. But most likely this is due to the fact that the presence of a cat creates a comfortable, calm atmosphere in the house, and this normalizes the functioning of the body and helps to better cope with stressful situations. Cat owners are also less likely to suffer from arthritis and atherosclerosis. By the way, cats themselves do not have such diseases.

And scientists from the state of Virginia came to the following conclusion: the presence of a cat in the house significantly prevents the occurrence of asthma in children if the child does not have a severe allergy to cats. The cat contributes to the development of an immune response by the child's body, which prevents the occurrence of asthma and other broncho-pulmonary diseases. This is due to the fact that over time, the child develops antibodies that prevent the onset of asthma and protect him from cat allergens. By the way, the only argument against keeping a cat at home is precisely a pronounced allergy. Unfortunately, there is no cure for this, and hypoallergenic cat breeds do not yet exist either. Although in the USA they are breeding such a breed. Scientists want to block the gene that causes an allergic reaction. But the cost of such cats will be very high.

Many people think that the fur of the animal causes allergies, but this is not true. Allergens are secreted by the cat's sebaceous glands, which are located on the surface of the skin. When licking, the cat seems to smear these allergens on the surface of the coat, and after that they spread throughout the apartment, sticking to clothes, furniture and even dust particles, so fluffy cats often cause allergies. And since all cats have sebaceous glands, all of them can potentially cause allergies, even absolutely bald sphinxes are no exception, because they also have sebaceous glands. By the way, cat allergens can also be found in the excrement and urine of the animal.

All other cat diseases: fleas, worms, lichen in our time can be easily cured by contacting a veterinarian or a pharmacy for the necessary medicines. And if you get vaccinated regularly, then the cat will certainly not cause any harm to health. The main thing is that you do not offend your fluffy or smooth-haired beauties and handsome men. Because everyone knows that cats do not forgive insults.

Our pets love us not for our achievements, but simply because they have us. They know the time of our return from work, and as soon as the elevator opens, they joyfully rush to the door. Moreover, they know with absolute certainty that it was you who came. When someone else rings the doorbell, my cat doesn't even move. By the way, another interesting fact: keeping an animal in the house, whether it be a cat, a dog or a hamster, increases the life expectancy of the owners by an average of four years. Again, because of the sufficient amount of positive emotions that your pet gives.

And, of course, you need to remember that love for animals is not only entertainment, it is even more responsibility and work. Your pet needs good care and upbringing, then it will cause less domestic inconvenience. And still it is necessary to learn to understand it, to learn its language. And then from communicating with your friend you will experience only pleasure and joy.

Hello dear friends! Some time ago I wrote an article, And today I want to talk in detail about the benefits that cats bring to a person, regardless of age.

I often heard from some people that cats are of no use, only dirt. I would like to respond to this.

I love all pets: dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters and others, but I always wanted to keep only cats at home.

A very smart and beautiful Siamese cat Levik has been living in our family for 15 years. Therefore, I personally experienced the positive influence of a cat on a person.

What are the benefits of cats

1. The very first thing is the joy of communicating with a cat.

Most of them are gentle and affectionate creatures. These fluffy animals are able to cheer up, relieve fatigue and tune in to positive.

When I came home from work, my cat literally followed on my heels, and as soon as I sat down, I immediately ran to my knees so that I could stroke it, and began to purr. At such moments, all fatigue and bad mood go away.

2. Cats have a beneficial effect on human health.

♦ When stroking cats for several minutes, blood pressure normalizes, heart rate returns to normal.

♦ The purring of a cat reduces the level of stress in a person, calms, relieves stress, and helps to more easily survive unpleasant life situations.

By the way, the purring of a cat is similar to therapeutic ultrasound, these vibrations at a certain frequency contribute to faster healing of fractures, are an excellent prevention of osteoporosis and joint diseases, and simply soothe.

♦ Cats on the energy level are able to detect changes in the human body and prevent the development of many diseases.

When the owner is sick, the cat likes to be near him or climbs on him and lies down on the sore spot, purrs, sometimes does a “massage”, releasing his claws, and the person feels relieved.

♦ They say that cats need negative energy for the normal development of the body, and humans need positive energy.

Some scientists believe that cats, lying on a person, take away negative energy from him, and give him positive energy.

But it is impossible to force a cat to treat a patient. She herself must want it.

These fluffy animals are well aware of how each member of the family treats them, and will help only those who really love them.

♦ I experience all these healing abilities of a cat every day. As soon as I lie down, Levik immediately runs and lies down on me with a purr, almost always in the same place. During such a "session" I feel at the physical level how saturation with positive energy occurs. After lying like this for a few minutes, he calmly leaves.

3. A cat is able to clear the space of the house from negativity by its presence. taking away the bad energy.

Not without reason before, and even in our time, when moving to a new house, they first let a cat in, and then the tenants themselves came in.

4. Helps a person to get rid of harmful rodents: mice and rats.

This is especially true for those who live in private homes. Also, some cats catch accidentally flying insects: flies, mosquitoes and others.

5. Cats are able to anticipate an earthquake, flood, fire and other tragic events a little earlier than they begin.

Sometimes while saving people's lives, starting to show great concern and tend to quickly leave the apartment.

6. Some cats are stubborn alarm clocks.

If every day, you get up in the morning at the same time, then the cat usually gets used to this regime, and starts to wake you up with its meow, if suddenly you didn’t get up on the alarm clock.

The downside is that not all cats can feel the difference between weekdays and weekends, and continue to wake up the owners even on weekends, when they want to sleep longer.

7. Many cats are able to show heroism, saving people.

There are cases when cats caught poisonous snakes, saving a person from a deadly bite, woke people up during a gas leak, during a fire, found babies abandoned on the street by cruel mothers, and rescued dogs from attacks.

Just about this these two videos, look, very interesting.

I hope I managed to tell what benefits cats bring.

I can't imagine my life without our fluffy affectionate animal. Love your pets, take care of them, and they will definitely repay you in kind.

Today we will talk about the consequences, that is, about how our life actually changes with the appearance of a tailed meowing friend in it, and how justified the expectations placed on it are.

Cats and people

You probably remember Rudyard Kipling's fairy tale "The Cat Who Walked By Herself". In it, animals, one after another, come to man, and man tames them. The cat comes last. She catches mice and plays with the child - and for these skills she gets the best place by the hearth and milk.

Oddly enough, this is how it all happened - cats really came to humans a little later than other domestic animals. This happened, according to scientists, at least ten thousand years ago, or even earlier, in Asia, from where the cat population gradually spread, fled and dispersed to all other parts of the world.

Our cooperation with cats has always been mutually beneficial, and it began, as you might guess, with mice. Man mastered agriculture for a long time and gradually, but over time he learned to grow enough food to make supplies. These stocks had to be stored, and barns arose, and lazy, well-fed house mice wound up in the barns.

And the cat came to the man with an offer that it was impossible to refuse, because as a result everyone won: the cat received for its use not just hunting grounds, but downright a reserve, while the man got rid of annoying pests.

Since then, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge, but the mouser's instinct does not disappear from our pets, and the most respectable Barsik or Murzik, who spent his whole life on pillows and never saw a single rodent in a nightmare, is able to surprise his family very much, having first gone to the country.

Quite quickly, however, it became clear that the mutual benefit of a cat and a person may not be limited to prosaic mice. Because the cat turned out to have a lot of other talents.

Benefits of cats for human health

The ability to positively influence the well-being of the owner is one of the most famous abilities of cats.

Numerous testimonies of their owners speak of the benefits that come from cats for human health. Surely you have heard stories about their beneficial effects on sleep, stress resistance, blood pressure. The warm and rhythmic purring of a beloved cat relaxes a person, helps him get rid of nervous tension and overwork.

Many cat owners feel that after communicating with their pet, various pains disappear, in particular headaches, as well as painful sensations of a neuralgic nature.

Scientists could not leave these facts without attention and explanation, because many of them also have their favorite cats. Therefore, studies of the healing abilities of cats appear more and more often.

Beneficial effect on the heart

For example, the statistics collected over many years by Columbia University are interesting. It shows that cat owners live longer, suffer fewer heart attacks and strokes, and have lower rates of cancer compared to non-pet owners.

Many researchers talk and write about the effect of cats on the human cardiovascular system. Such data are provided in The Waltham Book of Human-Animal Interaction, Elsevier science, 2013.

In the course of research, specialist Erica Friedman was able to obtain reliable data that cardiac patients recovered faster after a heart attack if they had the opportunity to constantly communicate with their cat.

According to the observations of American cardiologists, even a short stroking of a cat helps to normalize the heart rhythm, in addition, pet owners have lower cholesterol levels and blood pressure on average than those patients who do not keep animals at home. So if your cardiologist advises you to get a cat, don't be surprised, it's completely scientific!

Improve psycho-emotional state

The presence of an animal in our lives has a general beneficial effect on our immunity, psychological and emotional state. There is evidence that cat owners are much less likely to suffer from severe disorders of the digestive and endocrine systems.

Moreover, cases from medical practice are described when communication with a cat and the resulting attachment to the animal allowed the patient of the narcological center to overcome his drug or alcohol addiction.

Felinotherapy is no longer something marginal in medicine. This method is often used in working with people who suffer from mental illness or developmental disorders, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder.

Cats provide significant assistance to sick children, in particular young patients with diagnoses such as autism, attention deficit disorder, Down syndrome. The presence of a cat soothes such children, they gradually learn to express their emotions easily and naturally, and affection for their pet becomes for them a bridge leading outward, into the world around them.

Kittens and guys

“The woman tied a clay spindle to a thread and pulled it along the floor, and the Cat ran after him, and grabbed him, and somersaulted, and threw him onto her back, and caught him with her hind legs, and purposely let him go, and then rushed after him, - and now the Child laughed even louder than he cried; he crawled after the Cat all over the Cave and frolicked until he was tired. Then he dozed off with the Cat, not letting go of her.
“And now,” said the Cat, “I will sing him a song, lull him to sleep for an hour.
And as she went to purr louder, then quieter, then quieter, then louder, - The child fell asleep soundly. (R. Kipling)

A separate word needs to be said about children and cats. Sometimes it seems that they are purposely made for each other. Adults do not always have time to play with a pet as much as it needs to release energy, especially at a young age. Children, on the other hand, are tireless in this matter, and their joint games with a kitten can become a constant source of joy, if, of course, both are taught to treat their play partner with respect.

It's hard to find kids who don't like cats. A cat for a baby is a whole world, both frightening and attractive, with fluffy hair, a cold nose, a bright personality and hidden claws.

You have probably observed how children of pet owners sometimes differ from their peers in responsibility, spiritual maturity and kindness. The impact of pets on the formation of a child's personality has repeatedly become the subject of serious research. Their findings suggest that pets help children feel confident, happier, and even overcome problems such as shyness and speech dysfunction.

Such undoubted benefits of cats for parents of small children should not be ignored, as their ability to put the baby to sleep with their purring in a matter of minutes.

The benefits that come from a cat's home doctor, which we very briefly considered in the paragraph above, fully apply to children, but with one significant addition.

Prevention of allergies in children

Scientists from different countries who worked on the problem of childhood allergies, which in our time has acquired unprecedented importance, came to the same conclusion: children born and raised in a family whose members were animals are ten times less likely to suffer from allergies, as in childhood as well as in adulthood.

In addition, children who from the cradle freely communicated with at least one animal are, in principle, less likely to get sick with any diseases, including viral infections.

The recent discoveries of Danish scientists have become a big sensation in the scientific world. The study, which took place in Copenhagen, involved children who were found to have a genetic predisposition to asthma. In the course of observation, it turned out that in those children who lived in the same family with a cat from birth, this predisposition did not manifest itself in any way later.

The mechanism of the effect of cats on the development of asthma in children is not yet fully understood, but scientists suggest that this discovery will help humanity overcome a serious illness.

Brightening up loneliness

Loneliness is the scourge of the modern world, in which people are increasingly withdrawing into themselves, trusting others less and more often hiding from life. And for a lonely person, a pet can become a real salvation, replacing the whole world for him and not allowing him to plunge into a quagmire of despondency.

Interaction with an animal, as already mentioned above, harmonizes the psycho-emotional state of a person, compensates for the lack of affection and communication, and the need to take care of it does not allow you to withdraw into yourself and lose the desire to live on. After all, your pet will be lost without you, it has no one but you, which means that you are needed, that is, you are no longer alone.

Young single people, of course, can get a dog. They are physically active and able to provide her with regular walking, as well as due attention on the street. For older people, this is often an unbearable burden, especially if they are inactive for health reasons.

For them, a cat will be the best choice, because you don’t need to walk with it, it is balanced, calm and self-sufficient. But at the same time, cats love communication, they are affectionate and willingly give people their warmth.

Lonely old people living next to cats feel much better, because they have someone to give love and care. And cats, responding with tenderness and gratitude to their owners, thereby prolong their life and make it happier.

No wonder one of the most successful areas of work for cats-therapists is nursing homes. According to German gerontologists, elderly people who have a cat or a cat can sometimes live as much as 10 years longer than doctors predict.

Special abilities of cats

In the course of biological evolution, which followed the path of active growth and development of the brain, man has lost many of the abilities that allow him to navigate in wildlife. Our hearing and sense of smell were significantly reduced, and technological progress made the ability to notice the slightest changes in the surrounding space insignificant.

Cats, on the other hand, have retained ancient instincts, and most importantly, biological “tools” that allow them to sense the approach of danger before the inevitable happens. A sensitive and observant owner, who is always attentive to the condition of his tailed friend, may, without realizing it, receive a very important warning from him.

Feel slight fluctuations

As an example, there is countless evidence that our pets sense seismic activity.

A smart person will certainly be alert when he sees that his cat is rushing about, not finding a place for himself, and is trying to take everyone he can out of the house. Often, cats in this way saved entire families from inevitable death under the rubble of a house.

In the 1990s, a story was passed from mouth to mouth about a cat that persistently rushed into the children's room and called other family members to follow. As soon as they entered there, there was an explosion, and part of the entrance collapsed. Of the whole apartment, only the room chosen by the cat remained intact.

Hearing sounds that our ears can't hear

During the world wars, cats saved many lives by warning their families in advance of bombings. It can be assumed that the cat's acute hearing allowed it to hear the distant rumble of approaching bombers.

Especially widely known is the story of the cat Sally from London, who, sensing the approach of an air raid, ran to the gas masks hanging on the wall and persistently made it clear that it was time to go down to the bomb shelter.

Fires and floods

An equally curious story happened in the nineteenth century in St. Petersburg. A stray cat came into one of the houses from the street and brought her kittens. She dragged the kids to a rather high step of the stairs and did not allow anyone to bring them down from there. The next day, a terrible flood began in St. Petersburg, but the water level did not reach her kittens.

There are countless examples of how cats saved people from a fire. The extremely high sensitivity of cats allows them to smell a fire much earlier than humans, and often it is cats who wake up soundly sleeping owners who are unaware of the danger.

As you can see, a lot can be said about the benefits that cats bring to us. But we start them not only for the sake of benefit, because a beloved pet gives us a feeling of joy and happiness. And any cat brings happiness to the house.

Any size, breed and gender, with any tail and ears, regardless of their color and degree of fluffiness. Because the cat is the concentrated happiness. No wonder they say that your home is where your cat is ...

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