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the_simurgh t1_irgdfk8 wrote

i know getting my cat helped me with my health problems.

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makinishi_KINO t1_irgjii6 wrote

I just adopted a kitten, I love her and I’m hoping taking her and watching her grow will help with my mental health.

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the_simurgh t1_irgjq4e wrote

curing the covid pandemic i had thyroid problems that went untreated for a year and getting my cat certainly helped me with that. since untreated thyroid problems mimic various mental disorders.

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MagicOrpheus310 t1_irgnndu wrote

Same. I'm still here because of my cat. She is still here because of me, we make an odd yin and yang but we get the job done!

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MagicOrpheus310 t1_irgnbvb wrote

Live ...

Like they tried it with dead people and animals but it just didn't seem to be as effective ...

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Sariel007 OP t1_iricejm wrote

The control group was a stuffed animal so...

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echo_zoo t1_irglzhm wrote

I think this'll be the nail in the coffin for dead-animal therapy.

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Sariel007 OP t1_irfthgj wrote

“If patients with deficits in motivation, attention, and socioemotional functioning show higher emotional involvement in activities connected to a dog, then such activities could increase the chance of learning and of achieving therapeutic aims,” she said.

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Adeno t1_irgnzro wrote

I loved my cat. She was a stray cat. She found me while I was training at the local park. She followed me home for some reason. I would walk a few steps away from the park and she'd follow behind. She kept following me until I reached home. From then I thought "Why not?" and so I adopted the little cat.

That was my first time having a cat. My immediate thought was how I was supposed to communicate with her. What I did was that whenever she was far away, I'd sit down on the ground and clap my hands. She would then come to me and sit on my lap. That strangely worked easily, so that's how I always called her. I named her Nikki. Whenever I called her "Nikki", she would just ignore me though. She only responded whenever I clapped my hands.

Nikki was free to go in and out of my place. Whenever I'd go to the park, she would follow me around as well. Thankfully there weren't a lot of people so we were mostly alone majority of the time. Sometimes when I would have to go to a far place like grandma's house, Nikki would jump into a basket. The first few times Nikki got in the car, she got carsick and vomitted. That was weird. It took a few car rides before she got used to it.

Whenever I'd get home from school, Nikki would run to me and then climb to my shoulder. Thankfully her claws didn't hurt too much, but she did a number on my clothes for sure lol! I still wonder why she enjoyed perching on my shoulder like she's some kind of parrot in those pirate movies.

After a few years, Nikki grew bigger! She wasn't a tiny cat anymore! She also seemed stronger because she could suddenly jump so high, around 5 to 6 feet vertically. One day, I noticed she brought home a male cat with her. It was an aggressive fat orange cat. I called it Garfield. That cat was unfriendly at first. He would often try to ambush me whenever I went out of the door. He would jump on the rails and then jump on me to try and scratch me. I'd always dodge him and then he'd stop because I brought him food.

Apparently, Garfield was Nikki's boyfriend. Nikki got pregnant and Garfield left her for some reason. I never saw Garfield again after Nikki got pregnant. What an irresponsible father. Time passed and I noticed that Nikki's belly was quite big already. I learned that when an animal's giving birth, you should leave them alone so that the children can "bond" with the parent. I left Nikki for a while and when I came back, there were three kittens. I didn't know cats can pop out three kittens at a time!

Time came when I had to leave for a far away place, so I left Nikki and her kittens to my relatives. I miss Nikki.

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fartbuttpizza t1_irgbs4v wrote

Makes sense. Modern life in cities cuts us off from our connection to nature. Rekindling some of that connection, even through one animal, is sure to boost our mental state.

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Aijaruc t1_irgj34r wrote

It’s always a good day to have allergies 🙃

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Soggyglump t1_irgu8fu wrote

I can pretty much guarantee you that the benefits aren’t just for hairy animals! My leopard gecko saved my life.

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Aijaruc t1_irgwztw wrote

Oh I have 2 dogs and a cat, I just suffer through it 😂

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Arokthis t1_irhdd7j wrote

Known as "fuzz therapy" by a lot of people.

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hamcurtain420 t1_irixr39 wrote

We should see if we have the same results on the animals. Or are we just using them for our own selfish gain...

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EarsAndHair t1_irllkv1 wrote

On my darkest days, my cat acting dumb could literally pull me out of a slump even more than a supportive friend. Animals truly make us human.

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dkb52 t1_irgu5ii wrote

There had to be a study to learn this? It's been rather obvious to those with pets or to those who work closely with animals.

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Arokthis t1_irhdful wrote

Yeah. My first thought from reading the title was "No shit, Sherlock!"

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Sariel007 OP t1_iricn3p wrote

Yes. Literally how science works. It debunks stuff that people have "known to be true" all the time. Some times it confirms them. Until science examines them they are just untested observations.

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