Official News page 6

REAL LIFE NEWS: CAT OWNERS LIVE LONGER

by Hazed

Are you a cat lover? Do you have one or more of the adorable little creatures in your home? If so, you probably already know about the benefits our feline friends give us. For example, it's long been known that stroking a cat reduces stress. But some new research shows an even greater benefit.

Cat owners, it seems, are less likely to die of a heart attack or a stroke, than people who don't own cats.

The study found that the cat-less were 30% to 40% more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than those with cats. What's really interesting is that dogs don't seem to do the trick - dog owners have just the same rates as those with no pets at all. Researchers at the University of Minnesota decided to look into the matter because other studies have suggested pets can help reduce stress, so they analyzed a group of 4,435 people who had answered questionnaires about pet ownership and other risk factors.

The cat-dog difference came as a surprise, said Dr Adnan Qureshi, a stroke expert at the university. "We don't understand this, but it's probably not a coincidence."

I am sure Fancy and Catspaws will be delighted with this news!

Footnote: Living in Fear is a Heart Risk

An intriguing new study says that one of the things that increases diagnoses of new cardiovascular ailments is living in fear, which in these days of terrorist alerts many of us do. Read about it in this New York Times article.

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