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Cat owners seem to get a few extra lives, too
Charloette Observer , Minneapolis Star Tribune, etc. ^ | Feb 22, 2008 | Maura Lerner

Posted on 02/22/2008 11:25:09 AM PST by dickmc

(Dog owners eat your heart out: doesn't work with dogs!)

New study says they (cat owners) are less likely to die of heart attack or stroke

Cat owners are less likely to die of a heart attack or stroke than people who, well, don't own cats, a new study suggests.

The study, by researchers at the University of Minnesota, found that felineless people were 30 percent to 40 percent more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than those with cats.

(Excerpt) Read more at charlotte.com ...


TOPICS: Health/Medicine; Pets/Animals; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: cat; health; impact
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And no, dogs don't do the same trick.

Yet dog owners had the same rate as nonowners. "No protective effect of dogs as domestic pets was observed," said the study, presented Thursday at the International Stroke Conference in New Orleans.

Dr. Adnan Qureshi, a stroke expert at the university, said he decided to raise the question because other studies have suggested pets can help reduce stress. He and his team analyzed 4,435 people who had answered questionnaires about pet ownership.

But the cat-dog differential came as a surprise. "We don't understand this completely," he said, but "it's probably not a coincidence."

Asked if he owns a cat, Qureshi replied: "No. Maybe I should get one, though."

Cats vs. dogs
• 90 million cats are owned in the U.S.
• 36 percent of U.S. households (or 38.4 million) own at least one cat.
• 56 percent own more than one cat.
• 74.8 million dogs are owned in the U.S.
• 39 percent of U.S. households own at least one dog.
.............SOURCE: American Pet Products Manufacturers Association

Have a fun discussion with this one!

Enjoy

1 posted on 02/22/2008 11:25:10 AM PST by dickmc
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To: Slings and Arrows

kitty good for you ping


2 posted on 02/22/2008 11:28:11 AM PST by GQuagmire (Giggety,Giggety,Giggety)
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To: dickmc
Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Cats can save your life if they aren't busy taking a nap PING!! :-)
3 posted on 02/22/2008 11:28:34 AM PST by pillut48 (CJ in TX --Soccer Mom and proud Rush Conservative with no dog in the presidential race now *sigh*)
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To: GQuagmire; Slings and Arrows; Glenn; republicangel; Bahbah; Beaker; BADROTOFINGER; etabeta; ...
Can't let their meal ticket croak, you know.


4 posted on 02/22/2008 11:31:19 AM PST by Slings and Arrows ("Those who surrender personal liberty for lower global temperatures will receive neither."--weegee)
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To: dickmc
A sandpaper kiss a day keeps the doctor away.

SmileyCentral.com

5 posted on 02/22/2008 11:32:00 AM PST by Allegra (Posting without being logged on since 2001)
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To: Slings and Arrows

Cat owners tend to take the suggestions of their little friends a little more than dog owners.

After all, when a cat curls up on your chest or lap and goes to sleep, you don’t want to wake the cat up - so you take a nap as well. :D


6 posted on 02/22/2008 11:35:10 AM PST by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: dickmc

Hope this works for me. I wonder if the effect is increased if the number of cats is increased?

Didn’t work for my Dad, though. He had 2 cats and had a massive stroke right before Christmas.


7 posted on 02/22/2008 11:37:14 AM PST by iceskater
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To: Allegra

And forehead bumps! Don’t forget the forehead bumps! :-)


8 posted on 02/22/2008 11:37:42 AM PST by pillut48 (CJ in TX --Soccer Mom and proud Rush Conservative with no dog in the presidential race now *sigh*)
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To: Spktyr

With nine cats, I do get lots of sleep, lots of sndpaper kisses, head bumps, an am never free of evidence tht cats have claws all over my body == should live to be at least 150.


9 posted on 02/22/2008 11:53:24 AM PST by Turret Gunner A20 (If global warming gets any worse we'll all freeze to death.)
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To: pillut48
Photobucket>

or stealing your clicker.

10 posted on 02/22/2008 12:09:21 PM PST by JJR RNCH (Your mother doesn't work here!! Clean up after YOURSELF.)
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To: pillut48
And forehead bumps! Don’t forget the forehead bumps! :-)

Yes, forehead bumps and whisker tickles and nose presses...I miss my kitty! :(

11 posted on 02/22/2008 12:15:33 PM PST by Allegra (Posting without being logged on since 2001)
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To: dickmc

Gather your cats around the computer and visit this page -

http://www.kessels.com/CatSounds/index.html


12 posted on 02/22/2008 12:20:59 PM PST by HAL9000 ("If someone who has access to the press says something over and over again, people believe it"- B.C.)
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To: windcliff

ping


13 posted on 02/22/2008 12:23:04 PM PST by stylecouncilor (I'm a loner Dottie; a rebel.)
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To: dickmc

So if I have ten cats I’ll be what, 300 to 400 percent less likely to die of cardiovascular disease? Sounds like a good deal to me.


14 posted on 02/22/2008 12:27:53 PM PST by John Jorsett (scam never sleeps)
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To: dickmc

Great story! I wonder if people with an affinity for cats have adopted Feline Filosofy and take a less stressed approach to life, contributing to a lesser liklihood of stress-induced cardiovascular events. 5 or 10 minutes a day (usually at 3AM!) my cat zooms around, demon-possessed with the kitty-jitters...the rest of the time he’s either power-napping, nibbling, or perched on top of me buzzing his fool head off, i.e., just a typical cat. Dog people generally seem much more hyper, like their dogs (should bassett hounds be excluded?) - so perhaps it’s that someone will choose cats or dogs based on that person’s innate emotional makeup, Type A heart-attack people choosing dogs, Type B relaxed people choosing cats?


15 posted on 02/22/2008 12:49:51 PM PST by TrueKnightGalahad (When you're racing...it's life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting.)
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To: Spktyr

that is so true.


16 posted on 02/22/2008 1:06:27 PM PST by Mercat (To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8)
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To: dickmc
From a doctor friend of mine...

TRUE TRUE and unrelated
this is where looking at the data critically might help

Women have less cardiovascular events than men

more women own cats then men

more men have dogs (ie dogs dont appear to have the protective effect)

Thats all folks and plus the study is funded by a pet association u think there might be some bias?!

17 posted on 02/22/2008 1:15:40 PM PST by Nachum
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To: Nachum

Good point that there might be a male/female bias here ... but that could easily be determined by separating owners by sex and looking at the data that way.

I personally think that the whisker kisses, head bumps, loving kneady paws, and purrs you can hear at the other end of the house (we have large cats!) that I get from our six kitties will keep me going to at least 100!


18 posted on 02/22/2008 1:27:56 PM PST by Hetty_Fauxvert (Anybody but Hillary, Obama AND Huckabee. Hold your nose, get your barf bag and vote McCain.)
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To: dickmc
My cat Max approves of this thread:


19 posted on 02/22/2008 1:29:34 PM PST by the_devils_advocate_666
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To: Hetty_Fauxvert

This may be true. You see so many very old ladies who have large numbers of cats.

BTW, how do the twins get along with the cats?

(We miss you on the AI thread).


20 posted on 02/22/2008 1:31:02 PM PST by Palladin (Hillary plagiarized her fingerpointing and air-stabbing from Bubba.)
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