{"id":284,"date":"2015-04-28T19:18:20","date_gmt":"2015-04-28T19:18:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ailurophile.co.uk\/?p=284"},"modified":"2015-04-28T19:23:42","modified_gmt":"2015-04-28T19:23:42","slug":"the-myth-of-the-crazy-cat-lady-cats-as-therapists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ailurophile.co.uk\/?p=284","title":{"rendered":"The myth of the crazy cat lady – cats as therapists"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s something that\u2019s featured in so many things as a long running joke; the American sitcom \u201cRules of Engagement\u201d has a tapdancing, socially awkward character called Liz who surrounds herself with feline family members. The Simpsons has the lady who shuffles about in her dressing gown hurling cats at passers by.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s something that\u2019s never hit upon while this clich\u00e9 is being repeatedly used for humorous effect; it\u2019s a scientifically, medically proven fact that cats have been known to assist peoples mental health.<\/p>\n

Many studies have found that the company of a cat can lower blood pressure and reduce stress. When a cat is stroked, the hormone Oxytocin is released and triggers feelings of love, trust and connectivity. It\u2019s been established that people who are suffering from depression have responded positively to a \u201ctherapy cat\u201d to interact with because of the hormone previously mentioned.<\/p>\n

Cats have been reported as helping people to overcome loss too; a UK study discovered that recently widowed individuals who cared for a cat were less likely to exhibit physical symptoms of grief, such as crying.<\/p>\n

And a Miami University study illustrated results that established cat carers are less likely to feel lonely that people who don\u2019t share their home with a feline, this is believed to be because the cat in their life offers them social support.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s been established from various studies is this; caring for a cat can be hugely beneficial for people who share their home with them. And the love the cat receives from the relationship with their human means that the benefit is reciprocated.<\/p>\n

\"Flash-the-therapy-cat<\/a><\/p>\n

Flash the therapy cat, who works for Love on a Leash.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s something that\u2019s featured in so many things as a long running joke; the American sitcom \u201cRules of Engagement\u201d has a tapdancing, socially awkward character called Liz who surrounds herself with feline family members. The Simpsons has the lady who…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ailurophile.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ailurophile.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ailurophile.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ailurophile.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ailurophile.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=284"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ailurophile.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":289,"href":"https:\/\/www.ailurophile.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284\/revisions\/289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ailurophile.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ailurophile.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ailurophile.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}