Petting Your Cat When You're Stressed Might Backfire, Study Finds

Cats have a remarkable ability to make us feel better without doing much of anything. Sometimes, all it takes is finding one curled up beside us on the sofa. And who doesn't love a good purr?

But, if you're having a particularly stressful day, your feline friend might not be quite the comfort you're hoping for. New research suggests that, while spending time with our pets generally improves our moods, interacting with a cat during stressful moments may have an unexpected downside.

Dogs and Cats Both Get Some Credit

To see how pets influence our everyday emotions, researchers in the Netherlands recruited 188 dog and cat owners and asked them to keep track of their moods.

Rather than relying on memories of how people felt at the end of the day, the researchers used a smartphone app to check in with participants throughout their regular routines. For five days, the app sent up to ten notifications daily, asking people about their:

• Emotions

• Recent stressful experiences
  Whether they were interacting with their pets

The research, published in Frontiers in Psychology, revealed some encouraging news for animal lovers. Interacting with a pet was associated with more positive emotions and fewer negative ones. And it didn't matter whether that pet was a dog or a cat. So, both species deserve a little credit for making our days brighter.

Cats Had an Unexpected Result

The researchers also wanted to know whether pets could help protect us from the emotional effects of stressful experiences. Surprisingly, they found no clear evidence that either species provided that kind of stress relief.

And cats produced an especially curious result. When their owners reported stressful events, more interaction with their cats was associated with stronger negative emotions. In other words, spending time with a cat during a difficult moment wasn't always linked to feeling better.

Dogs didn't show the same pattern. But, before anyone accuses their cat of deliberately making a bad day worse, there's an important distinction. The researchers found an association, not proof that interacting with cats caused those negative emotions.

Maybe Your Cat Just Isn't in the Mood

Anyone who's spent time around cats knows they tend to have opinions about when affection is welcome. One minute, they're happily curled up in your lap. The next, they've decided they've had enough attention. And, unlike dogs, which are often enthusiastic about human interaction, cats can be a little more particular about how they receive affection.

The researchers didn't record exactly what people were doing with their pets during each interaction. That means they couldn't distinguish between a pleasant cuddle and an encounter that wasn't quite so enjoyable. It's possible that the circumstances surrounding those interactions played a role in the results.

Don't Cancel Your Cat Cuddles Just Yet

There are some important limitations to this research. Although 188 pet owners participated, the analysis comparing species included substantially fewer cat owners than dog owners. The researchers also relied on people reporting their own emotions and interactions. And five days of observations can't tell us everything about the emotional benefits of living with an animal.

Certainly, the findings don't mean that cats are bad for our mental health. In fact, the study found that interacting with either species was generally associated with better moods. The difference was that interactions with cats were linked to stronger negative emotions during stressful moments, a pattern researchers didn't observe with dogs.

Sometimes the Cat Gets the Final Say

So, should we stop reaching for our cats when we're feeling miserable? Not at all. If your cat enjoys curling up beside you, there's no reason to abandon those comforting moments.

But, if they're flicking their tail and looking increasingly unimpressed with your attempts at affection, give them a little room. Sometimes the best way to enjoy a cat's company is to let the cat decide when it's time for a cuddle.

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