Reading Time: 5minutes Purina Cat Chow wants you to think therapy cats, not dogs. There’s a reason for this. A new Cat Chow study found that cats can be “purrfect” therapy animals, too. The research shows that humans consider their cats wonderful companions who improve their physical and mental health. This information prompted Cat Chow to team up with Pet Partners to increase the number of therapy cats available to visit people who need them. Do you live with a potential therapy cat? Keep reading to find out.
Cat food coated with an egg product could provide relief for people who are allergic to cats. It’s not going to be on the market for a while though, so check out our suggestions for dealing with cat allergies in the meantime.
The Purina Institute is working on a solution for cat allergies.
Allergic to cats? There might be a cure for cat allergies in the not-too-distant future, and it doesn’t involve injections or human doctors.
Researchers at the Purina Institute have been searching for a way to help people who are allergic to cats for more than 10 years. There’s been some urgency to the search. Eighteen percent of the cats relinquished to shelters are there because a family member is allergic.
The long-awaited solution: coating cat food with an egg product ingredient.
Cat allergies “have created a huge barrier to cat ownership and may limit the loving interactions between cat lovers and cats,” immunologist Ebenezer Satyaraj, Ph.D., director of molecular nutrition at Purina and lead investigator on the research, told DVM 360.
“Our discovery has the potential to transform how people manage cat allergens.”
It’s A Tiny Protein, Not Fur, That Causes Cat Allergies
Study shows cats and their people share personality traits.
Do you tend to be moody? Chances are your cat does, too.
Have you been thinking your cat’s almost as introverted as you are? Turns out that’s not just the idle thought of a slightly crazy cat lady. A new study shows that cats and their people share personality traits. Or that’s what the humans think. No one asked the cats.
Researchers in Australia asked people who live with cats to complete a 52-question online survey about their personalities and their cats’. Then, they used a sophisticated computer program to analyze the data. What it came up with was five general types of cat personalities. Three overlap with human personality traits.
How Cats And Their People Share Personality Traits
It’s never good to paint things with a broad brush, but a study shows cat colors dictate personality.
Does your torti have an abundance of cattitude? Blame her colors.
Are you thinking your tortie gives new meaning to the word “catitude?” Is your calico a bit feisty when things aren’t going exactly her way? A study by UC Davis veterinarian Elizabeth Stelow shows that cat colors dictate personality. And that proves what a lot of us have suspected all along. Torties and calicoes tend to be diva cats and can be more than a little challenging to their people.
Stelow and her research team surveyed 1200 cat parents online. They found that calico and tortoiseshell cats are more likely to “hiss, chase, bite, swat or scratch during interactions with humans.” Gray and white and black and white cats seem to have an abundance of cattitude, too and are likely to be a bit more aggressive than cats with other coat patterns.
A growing number of companies are offering pet insurance as a benefit.
Is pet insurance a benefit where you work?
Is the cost of kitty’s health care making you feel a bit sick? If you’re lucky, your employer is one of a growing number of companies that offer pet insurance as a benefit.
According to Nationwide Insurance, the owner of VPI Pet Insurance, health care coverage for companion animals is one of the fastest-growing voluntary benefits in the U.S. More than 5,000 companies and organizations now offer Nationwide, and other pet insurance companies have corporate clients, too.
