Can owning a pet help you live longer?

People love their pets. More than 60 percent of U.S. households include pets, and those pet owners pour $41 billion a year into pet care. This may seem like a lot of money. But when you consider the fact that owning a pet could very likely add years to your life, a pet can quickly seem like a wise investment.

According to a study by the Minnesota Stroke Institute that followed more than 4,000 cat owners over 10 years, owning a cat can dramatically reduce a person's chance of dying from heart disease. Specifically, people who owned cats were 30 percent less likely to suffer a heart attack. Although those researchers cannot make the same conclusions about dogs based on the data they gathered, they suspect a dog study would provide similar results.

For whatever reason, pets certainly can have a special effect on their owners.


Adapted from an article originally posted on Animal Planet.