For years, I wasn’t a cat person.  I didn’t actively hate cats, but I didn’t have any great love of them either.  They were simply there, like parrots or fish.  Dogs were pets, cats were decorations.  However, once I got a kitten of my own (by accident) all that changed.  I’m now seeing the appeal of cats as pets, and according to experts, cats are wonderful for improving the demeanor and behavior of owners of all ages.

The reason for cats as good training pets, says Rebecca Johnson of the University of Missouri’s Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction, is because of their independence.  “A dog will let you bang it on the head and still love you.  A cat won’t do that.  Children have to learn to be gentle to cats or the cat will go away.”

Weird that an animal that spends so much time ignoring you would improve your behavior, but there it is.  At the very least, petting cats is good for your health, even if they also tend to trip you up in the dark.

Tags: health benefit to cats, cats as pets, health benefits to owning cats, pet ownership, cats make owners more gentle and kind, cats make owners happier, cats, kittens, reasons to adopt cats, cats as training pets, cats improve owner behavior, Rebecca Johnson, University of Missouri, Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction

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