Having a cat can be very rewarding. Watching cat videos is enough to increase your energy level. They can be romantic, and a simple hug can result in positive emotions and relaxing effects. There are a number of psychological benefits of having a cat, especially when living off the grid. People who live off the grid may have mental health issues like anxiety and depression due to living alone without city life facilities.
When living off the grid, there is a sensation that causes people to feel alone, unwanted, and empty. Those who live out of the town show a lower level of happiness because they don’t have people with whom they share their stories, feelings, and emotions.
To overcome this, some people keep a cat as a pet, or you can say their ‘partner.’
Benefits of Having Cats
Cat companionship is so beneficial that it releases stress and anxiety when they are around you. There are so many reasons why a cat is the best companion for humans. Keeping a cat is such a blessing to humans that it serves as a true friend in loneliness when no one’s around.
One of the best advantages of keeping a cat is that you do not require a special place to play and have fun together. Unlike big animals that need a lot of space to handle and play, a cat requires nothing much but your time.
1. True Companionship
A pet can make a good substitute for a human life partner. Pet ownership has long been considered a great way to secure friendly and loyal companionship. Having a cat is good company for an adult who lives alone, as it provides mental relief and physical support during difficult times.
Cats show true companionship, as they give so much to the owner but want just a little bit of love, care, and attention. These cute little pets are very responsive to their holders as they love them quite much.
2. Mood Lifter
Cats have an extraordinary skill to make a person happy and comfortable by showing love and affection to their owner. The cats are so known to your emotions and tone that they quickly catch the sight of sad and dreadful feelings inside you.
The sound of a cat purr is so comforting that it releases stress and can cope with many human infections, including bones and muscles.
The oxytocin level increases rapidly by touching your fluffy cat, and this loving act reduces cortisol, the stress-related hormone. A cat is a therapy for depressing and displeasing thoughts and can help people come back to a glamorous life. The existence of cats is so friendly and valuable that the person feels enthusiastic, talkative, and energetic. That is the top reason why most psychologists recommend cat therapy to get rid of stress and anxiety.
3. Lower Stress and Anxiety
Cuddling with your feline friend can be quite effective in releasing stress and the burden of everyday life. While playing with your kitty in your free time, you will feel calm and relaxed. Cats can also protect people living off the grid from depression, anemia and even improve their cardiovascular health.
In addition, the company of a cat can also encourage exercise and playfulness that are the major sources to release stress and anxiety.
4. Good for Physical and Mental Health
Cats are good for physical and mental health and can provide emotional support to their owners. As cats are so loving and affectionate animals, they can help you stay calm and relaxed.
A cat’s purr can be therapeutic for humans and a comforting sound for healing various ailments, including mental illness. Having a cat as a pet is very effective for a good memory. Owning a cat helps maintain blood pressure. Also, increasing physical activity with a pet makes you physically strong.
While your feline friends may not treat your furniture right, they can be good friends and make lives happier and healthier.
5. Prevent Allergies
According to a study, children who had continually owned pets were less likely to experience allergies to pets than new pet owners or those who had been exposed to them earlier in life. In fact, of those who have been allergic to cats, 80% have never had a cat at home.
Some people say that owning a cat gives rise to several allergies, but many researchers have found that as more you live with cats as an infant, the lower your chance of being allergic, developing eczema, and asthma due to them.
6. Unconditional Friendship
Cats just love being a friend to you, and that too without any conditions. For a teenager who may be struggling to cope with the stress of difficult social situations at school or college with friends, getting home to a loving cat can be a good solution.
Owning a cat can be a great option if you live off the grid or deciding to do so. Once your cat knows you well, it will become a friend that won’t leave your sight no matter what. And, this is what you need the most when living alone, especially off the grid.
7. Sense of Responsibility
Anxiety often leaves us feeling uncontrollable, so the general sense and commitment that comes with caring for a cat can give us objective and purpose. The daily chores you need to do as a cat owner can remind you of being a parent and handling a baby, such as feeding it twice a day, collecting trash cans, grooming yourself, and making sure they get love and attention.
On rainy days, when you are feeling useless and cannot think of anything productive to do, you will remember that you have a cute little feline friend near your couch waiting for you to feed it. This way, you won’t ever feel like you have nothing important to do in life.
8. Help People Cope Better
Cats being the best therapeutic animals, can help people cope with mental illness and loss in a better way. Cats can help grieving people by making them feel comfortable even when they feel like giving up. Even though they cannot talk and comfort you with words, cats make the best emotional support in difficult times.
9. Easy to Look After
Cats are easy to look after as they are very humble. People who have less time to give to their pets due to various outdoor activities and those who work for hours a day can easily manage their pet’s hygiene.
Kitties don’t need to be walked regularly; however, some cat owners want to walk with their felines daily. Similarly, cats with short hair have low grooming requirements, which also saves their owners’ time.
10. Cats are the Lifesavers
Cats have the potential to save the life of their owners as these creatures are so caring about the humans they love. Not all, but many cats have a sharp 6th sense that can save human lives. They even predict the unexpected and sudden despised things and give alarms by their moves.
11. Healthy For Heart
As cats can reduce the stress level, they ultimately prevent the risk of cardiovascular diseases, including heart attacks, stroke, blood pressure, and other heart-associated illnesses.
Recent testing has demonstrated that people who have cats are less likely to die because of heart attacks than those who live without cats.
12. Increases Self Esteem
Self-esteem, in easy words, is your opinion of yourself or how you feel about your abilities and skills. Whether you feel good about yourself and see yourself getting all the respect of others is what self-esteem is all about. But if you have low self-esteem, you will automatically start feeling bad, low, and much stressed at times. You won’t have the ability to face others and talk to them with confidence.
However, if you own a cat, your self-esteem tends to be higher than those without (Source).
Conclusion
Cats have helped humans in countless ways. From reliving our stress when no one’s around to be our best friend, they are always there to help. During operations and surgeries, cat owners also performed better as they were more likely to feel challenged than terrified and threatened; their heart rate and blood pressure were lower.
Living off the grid is not an easy thing, especially when you are doing so alone. In this case, cats can be excellent companions. So, if you don’t already own a cat yet, adopt one and feel the difference yourself.