Research: The more cats, the happier people

Recent research shows that there is also a connection between cats and happiness. The study found that people in countries with more cats were happier on average.

The study was published PLOS One in the scientific journal.

of the nation happiness is known to be linked to wealth. The happiness index is strongly correlated with gross national product and income level.

Now the researchers included cats.

The study looked at data from 93 countries to see how the number of cats per 10,000 inhabitants, happiness index, gross national product, income level, health care expenses and the frequency of toxoplasma infections spread by cats were connected to happiness.

The correlation between cat density and happiness was 0.62. That means a pretty strong connection.

“I would not have expected such a strong similarity between cats and happiness. When we remove the effect of toxoplasmosis, the similarity increases even more,” says one of the authors of the study, a docent of evolutionary psychology Markus J. Rantala from the University of Turku.

Cats offer joy, companionship and emotional support, which their owners already know. They also help with the symptoms of depression, says Rantala.

“Petting a cat produces oxytocin, which greatly reduces stress. A cat can be a good reliever of chronic stress for a lonely person.”

Still, the study doesn’t claim that more cats will automatically make a nation happier.

There are more cats than average in prosperous countries, such as selected as the happiest in the world in Finland. Welfare states have better living conditions and conditions for keeping pets.

Researchers chose a cat because they can also reduce happiness.

Cats are Toxoplasma gondii –primary hosts of the parasite. The parasite infects humans through, for example, cat feces and causes a toxoplasmosis infection.

“An infection can produce an inflammatory state in the brain and intensify mood problems, such as depression and anxiety.”

Toxoplasma infection is often asymptomatic. However, according to Rantala, several studies indicate that the parasite can predispose to schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, autism spectrum and mood changes.

Toxoplasma during pregnancy can cause miscarriage, fetal death, prematurity or congenital toxoplasmosis.

Researchers I was interested to know how the prevalence of toxoplasmosis affected happiness. Could these be related?

The research material was based on toxoplasma antibodies measured from pregnant women. In countries where exposure occurred more, people were less happy on average, says Rantala.

The connection was strongest when the antibodies indicated a recent infection.

Research does not show that toxoplasma infection directly causes an unhappy mood, but the parasite may have an effect.

Researchers was surprised that a higher cat density does not mean a higher number of parasitic infections.

Wealthy countries had, on average, more cats and less toxoplasmosis. In terms of parasite infestation, how cats are kept is essential.

In Finland, cats mainly live indoors, eat industrially prepared food and have access to a veterinarian. Their chances of getting infected from prey animals and spreading parasites to the environment are reduced.

“Even in Finland, cats once ran after mice and rats on farms, but today they are not considered free in the same way.”

Good, Rantala adds.

“Free-roaming cats can be exposed to toxoplasma, but they also kill large numbers of birds and small mammals. Cats should only be walked outside on a leash.”