Posted on 02/22/2008 11:46:17 PM PST by bruinbirdman
According to a study by researchers at the University of Minnesota, having a kitty in your life could make you less likely to die of a cardiovascular disease, but this same protective effect does not extend to those who share their lives only with dogs.
A WebMD news report said, compared with cat owners, people who never had a pet cat were 40 percent more likely to die of a heart attack and 30 percent more likely to die of any cardiovascular disease, including stroke, heart failure, and chronic heart disease.
The study was based on data collected from nearly 4,500 men and women, ages 30 to 75. All were free of cardiovascular disease when they entered the study in the 1970s. The angle of pet ownership was examined on the tail of recent research indicating pets reduce stress. Apparently they did not make the same connection to improved health with the respondents who only had dogs.
The study results were presented this week at the International Stroke Conference in New Orleans.
So should you head to the shelter and adopt a cat as part of a heart-healthy lifestyle?
I would say yes, as long as you like kitties. I would also recommend adopting two cats, because two are always better than one. However, you must remember that you are not the owner of the cats; you are their employees.
Do good work and they will reward you with life-saving purrs and chin-rubbings.
Taste alot better though. A little lemon pepper, and its just like cornish game hen.
I have five cats.
I’m gonna live forever!
I think you only have to sniff them.
Your dog tasted better. A little Hunan sauce, and we served it as chicken fried rice last week.
You’re both disgusting. I have eight cats and two dogs and would eat the lawn before eating them.
Good. Thanks for getting rid of him. He had mange, tube worms and distemper.
I take it you are not filipina or korean.
Yeah, but when you chase them with beer... 
they taste like really hot chicken!
ROFLMBO
WebMD - yeah right. A real plethora of info backed up by facts from the NIH.
My pets are family. We have two rules about family.
1. We don’t leave family behind.
2. We don’t eat family.
I would take down anyone who tried to eat my pets (y’know, end of world scenario type thing)...
If I were willing to accept the data...then my first reaction would be why? Logic would dictate that it is not merely having a close pet...which a dog would easily accomplish in this logic. The cat has to have some type of bacteria....that would be helping your body in some fashion. So...as the cat owner quietly sleeps at night...that dang cat is licking your face...transmitting lots of friendly bacteria into you...thus saving your life in the end. Logically...this is the only way that this would work.
Our son is allergic to aspirin. Does this mean he’s now allergic to cats as well?
Our daughter is allergic to cats. Does this mean she’s now allergic to aspirin?
I know this isn’t as funny as eatin’ cats and dogs or even eating the dirt that the cat has buried its poop in, but it was a thought . . .
Yeah, but the dog gives a sh!t if you die.
We're sure brave. It's night and the cat people are up. ;-)
"It's cats. Asprin is made out of cats. They're making our asprin out of cats. Next thing they'll be breeding cats like cattle for asprin."
Felines prefer felines. No wonder women live longer.
yitbos
Bullfeathers. And I say that as a genuine cat person. There are no health benefits from coexisting with a creature described thus: “However, you must remember that you are not the owner of the cats; you are their employees.”
OTOH there are some great-hearted cats, worthy of sharing Heaven with their people. But they are exceptional, as are their people.
do you drink?
I don’t know about this. I think mine are plotting to kill me for the insurance money.
BumP!
for later... My Kat will enjoy reading this!
I'm going catatonic reading these posts.
I'm going to catapult myself outta here and go read another thread.
Or maybe I'll just read through a catalog that has all of its items categorized.
"I have five cats. I’m gonna live forever!"
Me too! I've got four of those stroke reducers lying on the desk looking at me as I type this, and two more on the floor by my chair.
Cats are going to be the new Diet Coke.
Can I get a Whopper, extra cheese, heavy mayonnaise, a larger order of fries, extra salt, medium Diet Coke and a "Tabby Persian Cat" to prevent a heart attack.....?
I love that site ICHC. I ROFL laughing at some of the stuff going up over there.
Never pet a wet cat.
In other findings, non-cat-owners were 40 percent less likely to bleed to death.
Never wet a pet cat.
Wow! With 47 cats, I’ve got it made in the shade!
Actually, these critters will probably be the death of me. LOL!
LOL!
I'll give you another possibility: people who choose to own cats are more likely to have laid-back personalities. If one's idea of happiness is coming home and petting a cat on the sofa, one is probably not leading a high-stress life.
All I know is that when my cat pisses on the carpet, it gets my blood pressure up.
What are the side effects?Furballs?
Considering I have six cats, there’s no way I should have had that (thankfully very) small stroke last month. Somebody’s laying down on the job!!!
Is that supposed to qualify as humor? If, so, then please keep trying.
Simple rules to live by which I can agree with.
Some people posting here simply don’t get it.
Bumper sticker for you guys: So many cats, so few recipes.
From an e-mail:
You Don’t Have To Own A Cat To Appreciate This One! You don’t even have to like ‘em!
We were dressed and ready to go out for the New Years Eve Party. We turned on a night light, turned the answering machine on, covered our pet parakeet and put the cat in the backyard. We phoned the local cab company and requested a taxi.
The taxi arrived and we opened the front door to leave the house. The cat we put out in the yard, scoots back into the house. We didn’t want the cat shut in the house because she always tries to eat the bird. My wife goes out to the taxi, while I went inside to get the cat. The cat runs upstairs, with me in hot pursuit.
Waiting in the cab, my wife doesn’t want the driver to know that the house will be empty for the night.. So, she explains to the taxi driver that I will be out soon, “He’s just going upstairs to say Goodbye to my mother.”
A few minutes later, I get into the cab. “Sorry I took so long,” I said, as we drove away. “That stupid idiot was hiding under the bed.. I had to poke her with a coat hanger to get her to come out! She tried to take off, so I grabbed her by the neck. Then, I had to wrap her in a blanket to keep her from scratching me. But it worked! I hauled her fat rump downstairs and threw her out into the back yard!”
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The cab driver hit a parked car.
“Good. Thanks for getting rid of him. He had mange, tube worms and distemper.”
Reminds me of a lost dog poster:
Lost Dog
Mottled color Heinz 57, male,
recently castrated, blind in one eye,
mange spots, torn right ear and broken tail.
Answers to the name of “Lucky”
There are all types of ways they could be leaving a substance whether it was a bacteria or something else. It could conceivably be found in glands located on their face. When you see a cat running its face on a corner of a wall or on the side of a box or a chair leg or even on your leg, it’s actually using glands to mark the object or you.
They wouldn’t necessarily be transmitting anything to you while you slept. It could be in the act of giving the cat a scratching along the cheeks as well as on the underside of the face.
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