Having a Cat Does Not Cause Mental Illness, New Study Suggests(huffingtonpost.com) |
Having a Cat Does Not Cause Mental Illness, New Study Suggests(huffingtonpost.com) |
This seems to be a trend with toxo papers - take a too-small sample, do no power or Bayesian analysis, find all bad correlations, but declare evidence of safety anyway.
The abstract as written is simply wrong from a statistical point of view:
our study strongly indicates that cat ownership in pregnancy or early childhood does not confer an increased risk of later adolescent PEs [2]
If you instead adopt Bayesian reasoning, then the direction of the measured effect is weak evidence that cats cause illness later in life. Either way you cut it, the study author's interpretation fails to coincide with the actual data they collected.
[1] https://liesandstats.wordpress.com/2008/09/08/accept-the-nul...
[2] https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-medici...
Edit: Source: Neuroscientist, multi-term dean, honorary doctor, and I would keep going but it would end up personally identifiable. Let's just say I have this on extremely good authority. There's a reason why "Most science research findings are false. " https://qz.com/530064/most-science-research-findings-are-fal...
Only the 0,7% on average of the cats drop oocysts in its faeces and it still will take 1 to 5 days for this oocysts to activate and be able to transmite the disease. If you clean daily the litter box of your cat with gloves and you are not pregnant or inmunocompromised the problem is greatly minimized.
I would speculate that having a dog would be a better after the fact indicator of mental illness considering their more frequent use in animal assisted therapy.
Only to those possessed by cats.
Q.E.D.
I don't have to go home every day to my wife, but I still choose to. I don't think that's "Stockholm Syndrome", just a good situation that I want to continue.
Cat social behavior has its own internal consistency though. Usually the problem starts when people expect cats to behave like dogs. They don't have the same motivations as dogs at all.
Learn cat body language, and understand that cats see us as big, weird, slightly dumb, hairless cats that belong to the same "cat colony" as them, and nothing a cat does will seem "random" anymore.
I respect my cats as individuals with their own needs and desires and they respect me back. We're like roommates.
If you had a roommate that didn't speak English as their first language, would you make an effort to understand them so you could get along? Or would you scream or try to hit them or spray water in their face (as a lot of people do to cats) anytime he did something you didn't like? And if you did, and he reacted violently in turn, would you really be surprised?
My experience with cat people is that they are all over the map in terms of personality. Given that >30% of households have one[1], that's what one would expect, I think.
And if your cat genuinely randomly attacks people, that's likely a sign that something is very wrong. The cat likely was abused when young, is currently abused/neglected, or is in pain. There are some breeds that are moodier than others, and if they aren't taught that human skin doesn't resist claws as well as their fur, they'll scratch when telling you they don't want attention. But that's different.
[1] http://www.aspca.org/animal-homelessness/shelter-intake-and-...
I actually consider cat owners as the inverse; they want the love and attention and cuddles and purrs, when it's convenient for them ( after a hard day at work etc ) but otherwise they can chuck the cat outside and foist the 'dramas' onto their neighbours.
It's possibly the lowest-responsibilty-for-owner pet possible but does require a total indifference to one's neighbours.
Don't discount confirmation bias. I'd bet that's also in play, in your narrative about "cat people".
I assure you, my cats actively enjoy and seek out my company, attention, and affection, and I likewise enjoy and seek out theirs.
When I get home, my cats run to greet me, with the straight upraised tail (with slightly curled tip) that indicates "friendly excitement." They sniff me and rub themselves against me with the full length of their bodies, which is a common greeting ritual for cats that belong to the same colony. They come and sit next to me on the couch, and when they want privacy, they will go and sleep somewhere else.
If they seek out my attention, and I don't have time or the desire then to give it them, a few firm setting them on the ground or shifting them out of the way, and they'll settle and not bother me (unless something is genuinely wrong and I haven't noticed, like the water dish being empty/dirty).
When I seek out their attention, if they don't feel like giving it right then, they indicate so through body language or even just leaving, and I respect their desires and don't force myself on them (unless it's in the case of something for their health, like giving them medication or taking them to the vet).
They can't speak English, though they understand a handful of words, such as their names, "treat", "dinner", "come here", "no", "gentle", and "please" as well as tone of voice. I can't speak Cat, but I understand a handful of words via body language and tone of voice when they meow.
I don't ever get angry at my cats for being cats, though occasionally I do get frustrated. And in return, though they sometimes get frustrated when I am failing to understand one of their requests, they don't get angry and lash out either.
I think we communicate fairly well for beings of two completely different species, and find each other's company mutually agreeable.
When I first got my cat (for mousing) I was shocked at how quickly I grew attached to her. I had her about a week and she found a way out of the house, I searched and searched and searched and was about to let her go emotionally when I found her, and I was extremely happy.
And I had only had the cat a month, and no I didn't live by myself either.
You could use the same logic this person is using to describe a parents relationship with their child as well. It's just someone's opinion who has never owned a pet.
Do not get any pet if you are not going to respect them or learn about their needs.