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Mar
Studies have shown cats reduce stress and blood pressure levels in their owners. But researchers theorize that the parasite Toxoplasma gondii T.
In some cases adults diagnosed with schizophrenia or something else grew up with cats.
Mental illness in cats. However can cats actually be mentally ill. The answer is YES. What is Mental Illness.
According to The Mayo Clinic mental illness refers to a wide range of mental health conditions. Disorders that affect mood thinking and behavior. Examples of mental illness include depression anxiety disorders schizophrenia eating disorders and addictive behaviors.
Although the study suggests that depression follows cat bites an alternative converse theory might be that cats simply tend to bite people living with depression more often than other people. In other words the bites follow depressionor as one friend speculated cats are telepathic and more prone to be ornery around a person living with depression. In fact cats have been diagnosed with mental illnesses ranging from depression to anxiety to obsessive-compulsive disorder.
While offering your cat enhanced environmental enrichment to maintain mental alertness represents a good starting point there are many factors a cat owner should consider in regards to a felines mental well-being. Recognizing signs of mental illness in cats can be difficult depending on the illness youre trying to confirm. A hyperactivity disorder like ADHD for example has symptoms that bear a close resemblance to how many cats operate when they may be under-stimulated like an inability to sit still.
Over the past few years cats have increasingly attracted media attention due to a number of scientific studies reporting that a Toxoplasma Gondii T. New research links growing up in a cat-owning household to mental illness including schizophrenia later on. Owning cats linked to mental illnesses including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Around eight million cats are kept as pets in the UK but. Cats certainly can have a mental illness. It is very common and there is a thriving business in treating it through both vet-prescribed medication and through more natural remedies ranging from the scientifically developed artificial pheromones in Feliway anti-anxiety to homeopathic remedies and herbal cures.
I currently have one cat who has life-long anxiety problems and in. Cats Suffer From Human Mental Illness Too Having Google alerts set up for cat-related new can yield some pretty awesome and unique stories as fodder for this blog but it can also be seriously depressing with story after story about cats getting shot with arrows pellets and bullets cats poisoned with antifreeze cats abused for online fame. They looked for evidence that a common parasite carried by cats might affect the developing brain making people susceptible to schizophrenia.
I seriosly think my poor Scaredy is mentally ill. For instance he runs away from me during the day and hides under the bed. But he jumps up on my bed at night and sleeps there with me.
He also purrs and wants scritches but he will have nothing to do with me during the day because he is scared of me. In addition to mental illness such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder toxoplasmosis can also result in miscarriages fetal development disorders blindness and even worse. In some cases adults diagnosed with schizophrenia or something else grew up with cats.
Cats like people are susceptible to similar conditions. The problem is defining what mental illness is. Clinically diagnosable disorder that significantly interferes with an individuals cognitive emotional or social abilities.
Cats are creatures of very structured social behavior. Cats arent just helpful for mirroring couple and family dynamics. They are also critical in helping people who struggle with mental illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder or anxiety.
Benefits of Emotional Support Cats on Mental Health. Studies have shown cats reduce stress and blood pressure levels in their owners. Additionally research shows ESAs can lower anxiety reduce depression decrease feelings of loneliness and may even offer benefits to those with PTSD.
Like us our cats also tend to suffer from illness and mental disorders. Thus its in us to make up to it by helping them in whatever means we can. A simple aid or assistance goes a long way for our pets and ourselves as well.
NIMH study about schizophrenia in humans. How Cats Help Improve Mental Health The Catnip Times. For cat people its no question.
The whiskers fuzzy faces the meows and the head nudges let us know our cats are definitely beneficial to our mental. But researchers theorize that the parasite Toxoplasma gondii T. Gondii which is found in cats and can be passed on to humans could play some role in the development of the mental illness.
Schizophrenia affects 25 million Americans according to the Treatment Advocacy Center. Therefore they still dont know how T. Gondii triggers schizophrenia to manifest which brings the whole question right back around to whether cats are the source of that mental illness-inducing.
Because cats are the primary host of Toxoplasma gondii it had been suggested that they might put people at increased risk of mental illness including schizophrenia by exposing them to T.