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Thinking about getting a pet for your family? You may want to avoid this faux-paw.
Growing up with pets has been shown to do wonders for kids’ physical health.
It can boost their immune system and block diseases including ear infection or fever, protect against eczema, and even help them avoid food allergies.
Turns out, some furry friends — and even scaly or slimy ones too — help kids’ mental health as well. With one key exception.
Researchers of a recent study found that owning a cat, specifically when the child was 4-5 years old, increased risk of mental health problems at age 7-8.
Here’s what they think may be the reason why.
What researchers found
Researchers looked at data from almost 2,000 mother-child pairs across Spain in the early 2000s.
Moms had answered behavioral questions about her kid at age 7-8, including emotions like fear, worry, nervousness, and conduct problems like disobedience, hyperactivity, and bullying or having few friends.
They split these problems into two categories: internalizing, which encompassed emotional and peer problems, and externalizing, which included conduct problems and hyperactivity/inattention.
What researchers found was that having a cat at age 4-5 increased risk of both: internal problems, which are associated with depression and anxiety, and external, which could lead to problems working and dealing with others later in life. This was not true of kids who had a cat at age 1.
Meanwhile, kids who had less common pets — including rabbits, hamsters, fish, turtles and salamanders — at both age 1 and age 4–5, had fewer internalizing problems at age 7–8.
In other words, kids with these less common animals early in life were less likely to develop both internalized and externalized issues.
What about dogs and birds? Researchers didn’t find that these pets significantly affected kids’ mental health either way.
Theories on why cats may be different from other pets
Kids need emotional bonds to grow into healthy adults. They need it for their brain to develop properly, for self-confidence, and to form relationships.
The authors say that they’re not only learning this from the humans in their house — they form these bonds with pets too. Kids can reduce stress by feeling supported and loved by the family pet and build their confidence by caring for their pet.
Researchers say cats can be “less affectionate, exhibit avoidant attachment, and are often chosen by families with children who have mental health conditions, due to their lower maintenance needs.”
That last possibility is important: The study doesn’t show cats caused the behavioral problems, and the problems could’ve existed before cats came into the house.
They also note that it’s possible the effects are simply not apparent yet at ages 7-8, since psychological traits pets may influence continue developing into adolescence.
Before you rule out getting a feline of your own, it’s important to note that other studies have painted a much more favorable picture of how cats impact kids’ mental health.
A small 2021 study showed after cat adoption, kids with autism showed greater empathy, less separation anxiety, and fewer externalizing, hyperactivity and inattention behaviors.
Another study showed that a stronger attachment to a cat was associated with a higher quality of life for adolescents.
