We all knew this anyway:
Lots of research has indicated that having a dog or a cat can help people live happier, healthier lives. But it’s been unclear whether there really is a cause-and-effect relationship between pet ownership and better physical and mental health. Now, new research indicates that the benefits of having a canine or feline companion are real and broad.
I know that there are few things that calm me down more than a little Lily therapy, which consists of me sitting on the La-Z-Boy with Lily in my lap with me petting her and telling her she is the most wonderful dog ever while she looks adoringly at me. Rosie sits underneath the leg of the chair chewing a bone, so when I try to put the recliner down she gets trapped and snarls and bites at my foot.
Because in the Cole household, bliss is only temporary in between the fighting, biting, and recriminations.
schrodinger's cat
Where does Tunch fit, in this picture of domestic bliss? Poor ignored kitteh, the Cole household has gone to the dogs!
Butch
Four dogs and six cats (all rescues) in our household and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
General Stuck
Yup, I’m a believer in furry nerve medicine.
Paul in KY
I was wondering about all the bliss when Tunch jumps up in your lap (after you regain conciousness, of course).
gogol's wife
I had a horrible preparation night before a medical procedure Monday, and the only things that got me through it were the cats and Balloon Juice! Cats are so much better than any medicine.
Jay in Oregon
FTFY. Also, “bliss is only temporary in between the fighting, biting, and recriminations” shound become a site banner.
Jude
They fight? And bite? They fight and bite and fight?
Fight fight fight? Bite bite bite?
It must be the Itchy and Scratchy Show.
Dennis SGMM
I hadn’t owned a pet for fifty years (Navy kid, Navy guy) when, for reasons that still elude me, we adopted Leland from our local animal control folks. Leland is a seventeen pound poodle/terrier (We think) mix. He is funny, friendly, emotional, exasperating and occasionally adorable. He lowered my BP at least five points. Before we adopted him having a pet was inconsequential. After adopting him not-having a pet is inconceivable.
Hungry Joe
When I was a kid we had a dog that liked to sleep under the footrest of my father’s recliner. When he’d get up, the footrest would drop FAST, but she always woke up and leaped out of the way in time. Then she’d turn a few circles and go right back to sleep. Amazing — not to mention hilarious.
James Hare
I could use my cat here at work. She always annoys me when I’m at my desk at home. I’d love to have her here — more room for kitties on the work desk.
Citizen_X
But isn’t the Lily therapy calming you down mainly from dealing with Rosie?
Bulworth
yeah, where’s the appreciation for Tunch?
Han's Solo
I have four dogs, all rescues, and I’m the luckiest guy ever.
I love coming home, sitting down on my couch and being tongue mauled by the pack.
schrodinger's cat
@Bulworth
Tunch has a sad.
Karen
I have one kitty, Contessa, AKA Contessaleh, AKA Brattycat.
My parents visited me two weeks ago and my father fell in love with Contessa right away and the two of them were so cozy during the whole weekend that when my folks went home, Contessa was actually subdued and behaved and didn’t provoke me(scratching furniture, stepping on my head to get to where she wanted to go)for several days.
My dad, the Cat Whisperer….
Rosalita
Animal (cat in my world) therapy is the best there is. They know when you are sick or upset and comfort you. I had a cat once that would literally put his front paws around my neck to hug me.
I volunteer for the cat program at the local shelter and I look forward to sitting outside in their play area while they roam around me and come by for pets and rubs.
Betty Cracker
See, you’re a born Democrat. ;-)
Roger Moore
@schrodinger’s cat:
I’m pretty sure he’s up on a cat perch somewhere surveying his domain and lording it over the lesser members of the household. That’s what most cats do.
Constance
Thanks John and Rosie. It’s great to start my day with a big belly laugh.
Brachiator
I applaud people who have dogs and cats, but this is pseudo-science at its finest. I’m sure that people who have a beer live happier, healthier lives.
It never ceases to amaze me how Americans in particular always find ways to show that their particular desires or kinks of the moment brings love and happiness and unicorns.
People need to stop trying to misuse science to justify their lives. It’s just as stoopid as trying to invoke a deity’s will to bless every little thing that you do or have.
Sasha
I’m a great believer in dog therapy.
Libby Spencer
If I could use this thread to mention the latest stray that showed up at my Dad and Mom’s doorstep deposited five kittens under their house and it looks like she has another litter hidden down the street. They caught two of the kittens, who are now pretty tame and are litter trained. They’re very sweet little tortoise shell, black and greys.
They would love to find these two a home. They’re located about a hour north of Charlotte, NC. If anybody can help, please email me. Thanks.
WereBear
Four rescue cats & counting.
No such thing as too much love.
They can be exasperating, sure. Tristan, our ten month old orphaned kitten, got locked in the bathroom so I could get some sleep, and his attempts to get out meant he locked himself in. With the deadbolt. Which I discovered first thing in the morning. If you know what I mean.
But he comes running and just melts in my arms when I get home from work.
Cris (without an H)
Cats actively work to keep you alive, long enough to become well-marbled.
WereBear
For the Tristan fans:
He’s part monkey, part silver tabby, all fun!
Yutsano
Yeah sure. When your cat inexplicably gets off your second floor balcony then decides to have the time of her life playing in the streets of North Seattle for half an hour before deigning to jump in your car get back to me. She’s just lucky she’s cute. And I still haven’t figured out how she got down there.
EZSmirkzz
Heh.
moderately
I’m guessing pure bliss is the moment right before Rosie freaks out, when she’s still trapped under the recliner and you sit with Lily just a second longer, loving it.
PurpleGirl
Yutsano — you know you love that furry critter and couldn’t live without her now.
quaker in a basement
And the Airing of Grievances. Don’t forget that.
Beauzeaux
“And I still haven’t figured out how she got down there.”
She FELL. Cats fall out of windows and off balconies all the time. From the second floor they survive (usually). But don’t imagine that cats are too agile or something to not fall.
murbella
exactly like here.
murbella
im getting ready for Dragons by re-reading a lot of my Martin collection.
I wonder if all the cryto-conservative glibertarians have read his short story, And Death Was His Legacy.
The Prophet came out of the South with a flag in his right hand and an ax-handle in his left to preach th
e
poor conservo-glibertarians– looking for love in all the wrong places.
murbella
sry, botched the quote
wonder if the LoOGies know that.
:)
lol! George R R Martin is a LIBERAL!
Don
Because in the Cole household, bliss is only temporary in between the fighting, biting, and recriminations.
You’re the one who switched to being a democrat…
shortstop
And Tunch has the Feats of Strength covered.
Parrotlover77
No mention of avian companions. My birds take issue with that.
murbella
ooooo! ooooo!
Here is Elias Isqueef on Mitch McConnells Masterpiece
no wonder the LoOG is on Cole’s blogroll.
we learn so much from the glibertarians.
:)
IrishGirl
It isn’t any different with the human children either!
Badtux
The mechanism via which this works is fascinating. Having the responsibility for a small furry life tends to stabilize you. You can’t go off and do something crazy, because then who would care for your poor fuzzy wuzzy?
ellie
My Shar Pei is 15 and still going strong. My mom likes to say that he has it too good at my house to go anywhere. All the lovin’ and treats a puppy (and kitties, I have three) would ever need.
TK-421
Fixed. And yes I realize I’m like the 40th person to make this joke. I don’t care.
DFH no.6
murbella,
Of course George RR Martin is a liberal.
The couple wingnuts I know who enjoy A Song of Ice and Fire (and the HBO series) just will not believe that, though, even when I’ve pointed them to Martin’s own unambiguous writings declaring so.
Wingnuts’ refusal to engage empirical reality knows no bounds.
Just got Dragons, and intend to read it very slowly, though I don’t think I can stretch it out over, say, 3 years till Winds of Winter (I’m naively optimistic, I know).
Finished re-reading the first 4 just before the HBO debut in April. Got the wife hooked, and she is near the end of Crows now.
And, contra Brachiator, there is plenty of good research backing up the efficacy of pet therapy. The primary reason hospitals allow therapy dogs to visit patients.
Our current 3 rescue pups provide boundless amounts of unconditional love and delight, of course. Don’t actually need any scientific research to grok how that contributes greatly to our daily happiness quotient.
different church-lady
Does this mean I can now put that $700 vet bill on my Schedule A?
artem1s
@murbella:
I just started Game of Thrones. about 1/3 through. I don’t have cable so I won’t see the series until I can stream on Netflicks. I discovered Martin on this blog between the the fighting, biting, and recriminations.
Paul in KY
Yutsano, she probably jumped (or fell off). I have a cat that has jumped from the roof of my 1 story house to the ground. They can jump down a lot farther than they can jump up.
Glad she wasn’t hurt.
murbella
Neither does EDK, or Razib Khan (David Hume).
Its sad relly, but contemporary culture rejects conservatism and libertarianism like a disease.
Speaking of disease, unintentionally hilarious glibertarian whankfest here, Yglesias vs Sanchez.
Yutsano
@different church-lady: You can try. You’ll get a nice letter from my work saying not so much. So not high on the rec list there.
@Paul in KY: She was (fortunately) completely undamaged. My theory is she fell into the rhododendron bush right under my balcony then figured, “I’m down here, I might as well explore!!” And now she’s pouting at me because I blocked access to the balcony.
Paul in KY
Artem1s, finished ‘Game of Thrones’ at beach & am 1/3 way through ‘Clash of Kings’.
Have enjoyed both books, looking forward to seeing the HBO series.
Favorite characters are The Imp and Arya. Also have a soft spot for Danaerys.
murbella
@artem1s
i think you are wise…read the books first, and then watch the series on netflix when its all released.
DFH, my copy isnt due until the 15th, and i’ll bolt it in one gulp.
Daenerys is my all time favorite character.
jl
OK, which commenter has been biting Cole? Stop it. It isn’t nice.
Edit: Also, Cole can be trained with well timed treats and pats on the head, anyways. So there is no need for it either.
Elizabelle
Pets can keep the elderly and otherwise reclusive plugged into the community, especially dogs.
Used to live near an 80-ish elderly lady and her comparably aged dachshund. Would see them ambling around twice a day; always chatted.
Then they disappeared. Never knew which one of them died, or if lady moved to assisted living.
Dog-walking, especially, gets you out and about, noticing the neighborhood and — if you like — chatting with neighbors. People talk to you more if you have a dog in tow.
Nothing against cats; they’re great too.
SiubhanDuinne
@schrodinger’s cat #1
The choices are limited.
WereBear
@Elizabelle: Dogs are great companions for seniors; if they can get out.
If they can’t, cats are even better choices; always home, easier to care for, and love nothing better than sitting on a lap watching the Murder, She Wrote marathon.
Bruce S
Live longer with a cat staring at me in my living room?
I’ll pass…
different church-lady
Yutsano – July 13, 2011 | 1:49 pm · Link
Why do you people hate my health?
Bruce S – July 13, 2011 | 2:18 pm · Link
Obviously you know nothing about cats. Their day is very strictly blocked out into 50% starting at you and 50% very very deliberately not staring at you.
A very skilled cat can create the effect of staring at you while fully turned away from you.
Bender
If you guys really cared about global warming, you’d get rid of the dogs and cats. A dog has the carbon footprint of 2 Land Cruisers, and a cat the footprint of a Volkswagon Golf.
Stop killing My Planet!
DFH no.6
Paul in KY:
Tyrion and Arya are my favorite characters, too.
Along with, of all people (I suppose), Jaime.
Jon Snow and Dany are up there too, though Dany more for what her role means to the story arc than for her particular character development.
Happy that HBO took on the series, but not at all confident they have it in them to continue to the (as yet unknown) end. That would take 8-9 seasons, and nothing they’ve done has gone nearly so long (and I well remember Carnivale’s untimely demise smack in the middle of the story after only two seasons).
Deadwood, Rome, John From Cincinnati, all truncated. And Martin a long way from finishing the last two books. Doesn’t bode well for the series on HBO.
Oh well, the books are better, anyway (and I’m sure Martin will finish them, and not pull a Jordan).
DFH no.6
You know, when the asshole fascist trolls (like Bender) come around here to fling their poo, is it so much to ask that they do so with a modicum – a mere smidgen, even – of humor and imagination?
Say what you want about Brick Oven Bill (the real one), at least the motherfucker was interesting.
Yes, yes, and trees cause pollution, as Ronaldus Magnus revealed to us in the long ago time. Pretty good shorthand right there for grasping the foundations of wingnut “thought”.
Elizabelle
Werebear: yeah, I was so glad when many senior housing complexes (publicly funded and not) changed their rules to allow the elderly to keep (smallish, often) pets.
Companionship and someone to love and care for. Pets are far less aggravating than many of one’s relatives.
Although you do get help with slip and falls as pets entangle themselves with your limbs.
But on whole, a great benefit to health and happiness.
Mandate those pets!
Roger Moore
@WereBear:
Except for running around people’s ankles trying to trip them as they walk. Not necessarily the best choice for people with fragile bones.
murbella
@jl
i bite him every chance i get.
karen marie
murbella:
What a bunch of dopes! They make it way too easy. It’s like shooting fish in a barrel.
different church-lady
Oh I dunno… when Bender said a dog has a carbon footprint the size of 2 land cruisers I laughed.
But I don’t know if that’s because Bender was making a joke or because Bender was being a joke.
Steeplejack
@Yutsano:
You’re a bad parent. Clearly. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Yutsano
@Steeplejack: My biggest doom will be if she ever figures out the elevator. Fortunately for me she’s people-shy.
Steeplejack
@Yutsano:
She probably has an opposable thumb but is hiding it from you.
Yutsano
@Steeplejack: She’s not polydactyl, fortunately for me. Otherwise yes I’d be handing her back to my mom and announcing she is the wimmah of one spanking new barn kitteh.
Bacon and guac sammie. In culinary heaven I iz.
Paul in KY
DFH No 6, glad you like em too. Great minds & all that :-)