Five Reasons You Should be Petting Your Cat More

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Owning a cat might make you live a little longer. Of course, owning a cat is not going to prevent you from being hit by a bus in the middle of the supermarket or developing a rare disease when you travel to some third world country and swim in a bacteria infested pond, but it’s good for your overall health to own a cat and potentially live longer because you are healthier. The good news is that most of us need very little persuasion to get a cat of our own. They’re tiny, fluffy, cuddly and just as darling as can be, and that’s all we need. Additionally, we certainly do not need anyone to tell us that we need to spend more time petting our cats. We love to cuddle with these little darlings, especially at night when we are curled up on the couch watching holiday movies and enjoying time with the family.

It’s just good times, really. That’s why it’s so important for us to pet our cats. There are a number of benefits that we often overlook, and it’s not doing anyone any favors for us to overlook these benefits. So here you go; I’ve come up with a list of reasons you need to stop what you are doing right now and spend more time petting your cat. Don’t thank me yet – I’ll wait until you’re done.

To Reduce Your Stress Level

Did you know that the very simple act of petting your cat is enough to get rid of your stress for good? I know that I feel stressed about 89 times a day, so perhaps it’s time for us to get another cat. With four kids, school for two of them, a career that I love that allows me to work from home, a husband, extracurricular activities and all the things that we have going on in life, especially now at the holidays, I’m stressed on a daily basis. It would be quite nice to have a cat to pet if that meant I’d feel a lot less stress and anxiety as a result. Perhaps I’m going to get myself a new kitten for Christmas.

To Change Your Mood

Cats are remarkable creatures. They need not do anything but be present to change your mood. I don’t know what it is – and frankly, I don’t even care – about a cat that makes you feel so happy even when you’re not in a good mood. However, there is just something so remarkable about cats and their amazing personalities that make it so easy for us to want to spend time with them even when we feel mean, ugly and downright crappy. Petting the cat can relax us, make us feel happier and change our mood in a matter of minutes. If that is not enough of a reason to spend more time petting a cat, I simply do not know what is. I know that we should just do it; spend more time with the cat as a whole.

To Find Anything Wrong

Were you aware that your cat might be sick without your knowledge? Sure, you might notice if your cat is throwing up or using the bathroom in a strange and irregular manner, but what about your cat’s internal health? Petting your cat more often allows you to get to know his shape and his body, and that means that when something is out of place, wrong or just not what you usually feel when petting the cat, it might be a sign that there is something that needs attention. Many people have noticed that their cats seem to have grown lumps in places there were not lumps before, taken their cats to the vet and found out that they were developing tumors or cancer. The fact that their owners noticed right away from petting the cat on a regular basis has saved more than a few cat lives. Is that not a pretty good reason to pet your cat more frequently?

To Find Bugs

It sounds gross; really. That’s because it is gross, but it’s a good idea to pet your cat more often so that you can detect bugs. We’re talking fleas and ticks, mostly. While many cats do suffer from fleas, these are not creatures you want making themselves at home in your house so that they can torture all your animals or your family. The faster you notice them while petting your cat, the better. If you can treat them early, chances of them being able to be treated effectively go up significantly. Additionally, ticks are a problem. Ticks often carry disease that you don’t want anything to do with, such as Lyme Disease. If you have ticks on your cat, the faster you notice them the better. Getting them off and treating the cat can save his or her life, and it might prevent a tick from coming off in the house and biting a family member, potentially transmitting disease to him or her.

To Prove Your Love

Your cat loves you, and shows you that love in a number of ways. Why not pet your cat and show him some love in return? Your cat might decide that a great way to show you love is to sit on your head in the middle of the night and sleep, knead your body parts when you are resting or any number of other activities. However, your cat wants you to find a way to show him that you love him in return. The best way is to pet the cat. Just remember that cats are not like dogs. They do not want you touching them everywhere on their bodies. They are perfectly content to be petted on their heads and their backs, but they are not fans of being touched on the stomach.

So, now that you know precisely how beneficial your cat is to pet, why not do it a bit more often? We’d like to see you get your cat a bit healthier, so go ahead and get it started.

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