
Sorry dogs, there’s a new best friend in town. According to the Telegraph, owning a cat helps pet owners combat their risk for strokes. They cite a study stating that cat owners were less likely to die from a stroke than their feline-less counterparts. Over 4,000 people were involved in the study, and half of them owned a cat. Taking into account other risk factors, those people were 3.4 percent likely to kick the bucket.The ones who didn’t identify with the pet owners had a nearly six percent chance.
What about dogs? Where does man’s best friend come in? They don’t mention it, but further in the article researchers state that petting the animal could reduce stress hormones. If that animal were a calm dog, for example, I bet the benefits would be mutual. But having a pair of K9s myself, I’m a bit biased.
[via Telegraph]