As a therapist working for the NHS (Primary Health Care Trust) and as a a therapist within
the private sector, I was bound to dedicate some time to the therapeutic benefit of pet
ownership. However I will focus on cat ownership wherever possible.
Much of the benefit is within the ownership its self. We don't have to own a pet, we need cars and a roof over our head etc,etc but considering our inner wishes to provide some form of existential comfort, in the form of a cat, says much re your ability to identify and meet your own inner needs.
The selection of a cat is, to a degree, a lifestyle choice. However a Ragdoll says more about your expectations of ownership, what you want to give and receive. Ragdolls are needy, so the owner of a Ragdoll may wish to be a constant provider and poses an overwhelming sense of responsibility toward those within their care.
So what are the benefits of animals that we share our personal space with? Delta Society suggests the following benefits of having pets close by and living with pets.
Empathic Development
Studies showed that children who live in homes, in which a pet is considered a member of the family, are more empathetic than children in homes without pets. This could be due to a variety of reasons:- Children see animals as their peers. They can often identify better with animals than human beings. Animal psychology is very simple. With animals, what you see is what you get. Humans are not as direct. We need to develop talent to read and interpret “body language.” Children can read an animal's body language far better than they are credited for. As children get older, their ability to empathize with animals will carry over into their experiences with people.
Development of 'Outward Focus'
Individuals who have mental illness or low self-esteem focus on themselves. Animals can help them focus on their environment. Rather than thinking and talking about themselves and their problems, they watch and talk to and about the animals. May I add here that we often provide for our pets what we would wish to have provided for ourselves. This ability to translate our own needs outwardly, in meeting the 'presumed' needs of our pets, is in fact a way of providing something fulfilling within ourselves. I feel cats are slightly more reserved in 'how to ask' for what they wish in comparison to a dog, for instance. Thus presuming you can meet your cats wishes, based on your own understanding of how you would wish your needs to be met and then providing for your cat, it is deeply emotionally fulfilling. Psychologically, when a person meets the needs/ nurtures, his/her need to be nurtured is too being fulfilled.
The Therapeutic Benefits of Cat Ownership &
The Mending Powers of The Purr
The Therapeutic Rapport
Animals can open a channel of emotionally safe, non-threatening communication between client and therapist.
In therapy settings, animals help present an air of emotional safety. Should a therapist have an animal in his/her
office, s/he "can't be all bad." The animal's presence may open a path through the person's initial
resistance. Children are especially likely to project their feelings and experiences onto an animal.
Acceptance
Animals have a way of accepting without qualification. They don't care how a person looks or what they
say. An animal's acceptance is nonjudgmental, forgiving, and uncomplicated. Being accepted for you
the way you are and who you are is emotionally rewarding. This reflects the desire and reward to come
home to your cat. Cats do make a house a home , fulfillin ou r own desire s to be back home with our
cat/s and knowing their delight in your safe arrival back. So many times I am at the office doing this and
that, I often contemplate 'just one more task', think of my cats and then say one mega 'stuff it', pack up
and dash home.
Entertainment
The presence of an animal provides a much needed entertainment to those watching it. Even people who don't like animals often enjoy watching their antics and reactions. Playing with your cat and enjoying providing him with entertainment is so, so fulfilling. being entertained or allowing time for this wondrous 'time waster', meets our own inner needs to regress and contemplate 'cat imagination' at its best.
Physical Contact and Touch
It is well established that touch is very important for the nourishment of our mind and spirit. Infants who are not touched do not develop healthy relationships with other people and often fail to thrive and grow physically. For some people, touch from another person is not acceptable, but the warm, furry touch of a cat is. In hospitals, where most touch is painful or invasive, the touch of an animal is safe, non-threatening, and pleasant. There are a number of programs for people who have been physically or sexually abused in which staff and volunteers are not allowed to touch the clients. In cases like these, having an animal to hold, hug, and touch can make a world of difference to people who would otherwise have no positive, appropriate physical contact.
Additional Physiological Benefits
Many people are able to relax when animals are present. Tests have shown that the decrease in heart rate and blood pressure can be dramatic. The most credible studies of the health benefits relate to cardiovascular disease. Heart attack patients with pet companions survive longer than those without, according to several studies.
Karen Allen, PhD, a medical researcher at the University of Buffalo, conducted a 1999 study of 48 stockbrokers who had high blood pressure and concluded that owners of a cat or dog had lower blood pressure readings in stressful situations than those who had no pets. "When we told the group that didn't have pets about the findings, many went out and got them," she says.
In another study, elderly pet owners expressed more satisfaction with life than those without pets. Other studies have shown that pet ownership lessens the likelihood of depression in men with AIDS and can help people with Alzheimer's disease or those with orthopaedic disorders.
Additional Benefits
Some people feel spiritual fulfillment or a sense of oneness with life and nature when they are with their pets. This is hard to define or explain. Some well-known authors have described their relationships with animals and nature as part of their sustaining life energy and/or part of their communion and relationship with God.
"Research has shown that when dog or cat owners were asked to perform a stressful arithmetic task, they showed less stress in the company of their pets than in the company of a friend. Other studies have found that owning a pet relieves depression, reduces blood pressure and triglycerides, and improves exercise habits, all of which can lower the risk of heart attacks. Studies even suggest that having a pet might improve survival after a heart attack." (Leanna Skarnulis MD - Reviewed By Michael Smith MD).
Solving The Cat's Purr Mystery using Accelerometers By
Elizabeth von Muggenthaler and Bill Wright
* Please take time to read below, this is amazing stuff about the healing properties of the cats purr. If we consider (as we have) the therapeutic benefit of living alongside a cat, we also need to open our minds to the healing properties of PURRING.............
"Ever since the Egyptians started worshipping the cat, philosophers, scientists and cat lovers worldwide have wondered why cats purr. Fauna Communications and ENDEVCO initiated a novel research study that recorded the purrs of five species of cats - cheetah, puma, several, ocelot and the domestic cat. This research has contributed valuable information that may solve the mystery behind the cat's purr.
It is commonly believed that cats purr when content. However, cats also purr when they are severely injured, frightened or giving birth. So if cats were purring solely out of happiness they would not purr when injured, especially as the generation of the purr requires energy, and an injured animal will generally not expend precious energy needed for healing on an activity not directly connected with their survival.
Since the purr has lasted through hundreds of generations of cats, there must be a survival mechanism behind its continued existence. Suggesting that the purr evolved to function solely as a vocalization of self-contentment goes directly against the basic tenets of evolutionary psychology and natural selection. Could the purr in any way link to the fact that vibrational stimulation not only relieves suffering in 82% of persons suffering from acute and chronic pain but also generates new tissue growth, augments wound tissue strength, improves local circulation and oxygenation, reduces swelling and/or inhibits bacterial growth?
Survival of the Fittest
Throughout history, the cat has been the most worshipped and the most persecuted domestic animal. Perhaps the most popular cat saying is that they have "nine lives". This type of old wives' tale usually has a grain of truth behind it, especially since there is also an old veterinary school adage that states "If you put a cat and a sack of broken bones in the same room the bones will heal".
Most veterinary orthopedic surgeons have observed how relatively easy it is to mend broken cat bones, as compared with dogs. In a study of "High Rise Syndrome" found in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Drs. Whitney and Mehlhaff documented 132 cases of cats plummeting from high-rise apartments, the average fall being 5.5 storeys, or 55 feet. The record height for survival was 45 storeys. Ninety percent of the 132 cats studied survived even though some had severe injuries. There is also literature that suggests that domestic cats are in general less prone to postoperative complications following elective surgeries.
Cats do not have anywhere near the prevalence of orthopedic disease or ligament and muscle traumas as dogs have, and non-union of fractures in cats is rare. Researchers believe that self-healing is the survival mechanism behind the purr. There is extensive documentation that suggests that low frequencies, at low intensity, are therapeutic. These frequencies can aid bone growth, fracture healing, pain relief, tendon and muscle strength and repair, joint mobility, the reduction of swelling, and the relief of dyspnea, or breathlessness.
In order to measure the domestic cat's purrs and how purr vibration is spread throughout its body ENDEVCO Model 22 accelerometers were used. Weighing a mere 0.14 gram, this is the world's smallest accelerometer. It mounts adhesively, requires no external power and is ground isolated. It is typically used on such small objects as scaled models, circuit boards and disk drives.
During tests, the cats relaxed on blankets, and were encouraged to purr by occasionally stroking them. The small, lightweight Model 22 accelerometers were placed directly on the skin of the cats and stabilised using washable make-up glue and medical tape. Each recording session lasted between 6 and 10 minutes. Data was recorded on DAT recorders and analysed.
Results indicated that despite size and different genetics, all of the individual cats have strong purr frequencies that fall within the range of a multitude of therapeutic frequencies and particular decibel levels, see Fig. 3. Frequencies of 25 and 50 Hz are the best, and 100 Hz and 200 Hz the second best frequencies for promoting bone strength. Exposure to these signals elevates bone strength by approximately 30%, and increases the speed at which the fractures heal.
Purring the Pain Away
All the cats had purr frequencies between 20 Hz and 200 Hz. With the exception of the cheetah, which had frequencies ± 2 Hz from the rest, all the species had frequencies, notably 25 Hz, 50 Hz, 100 Hz, 125 Hz, and 150 Hz, that correspond exactly with the best frequencies determined by the most recent research for bone growth, fracture healing, pain relief, relief of breathlessness, and inflammation. All of the cats' purrs, including the cheetah, had frequencies ±4 Hz from the entire repertoire of low frequencies known to be therapeutic for all of the ailments.
That fact that the cats in this study produced frequencies that have been proven to improve healing time, strength and mobility could explain the purr's natural selection. After a day or night of hunting, purring could be likened to an internal vibrational therapeutic system, a sort of "kitty massage" that would keep muscles and ligaments in prime condition and less prone to injury. Additionally, the purr could strengthen bone, and prevent osteodiseases. Following injury, the purr vibrations would help heal the wound or bone associated with the injury, reduce swelling, and provide a measure of pain relief during the healing process."(Elizabeth von Muggenthaler and Bill Wright).
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