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[Fizzy3]

The secret to happiness? Cats!       

Countries with more felines are happier, study finds

Daily Mail UK   5 October 2026

Scientists have uncovered an unlikely key to happiness: more cats!

In a new study, researchers investigated the relationship between wealth and cat numbers.

Published in the journal Plos One, it revealed that countries with more cats per person had higher levels of happiness.

And one explanation could be that cats provide companionship and emotional support, making people happier overall.

Co-author Dr Indrikis Krams, of the University of Latvia, told the Daily Mail: 'Our study found that countries with more cats per 10,000 inhabitants tended to have higher levels of reported happiness.

'The association was quite strong, and cat density remained positively associated with national happiness even when several other variables were considered in our statistical model.'

Economists have long documented strong correlations between national happiness levels and socioeconomic factors such as income, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and medical spending.  

To see if other, more complex, factors could also be at play, the researchers decided to look at the possible impacts that cat ownership might be having.

The researchers gathered national data from 93 countries, including the UK, US, Australia, Canada, China and Russia.

They discovered a 'strong' association between the number of cats per 10,000 inhabitants and levels of reported happiness.  

One possible explanation is that cats provide social and emotional benefits that increase happiness at the national level, they said.

For example, previous studies have demonstrated that pets reduce loneliness, offer companionship, reduce stress and improve mood.

However, it might also be the case that cat density is simply an indicator of other factors that really lead to increased happiness.

'Societies in which people have the resources and living conditions that allow them to keep companion animals may already have characteristics associated with greater well-being,' says Dr Krams.

'Therefore, cats may contribute to happiness, but cat density may also partly be an indicator of broader social and economic conditions. Our study cannot distinguish between these possibilities.'

This suggests that the most important factor may be the way that cats are kept, rather than the sheer number of felines on the streets.  

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[SharkE]

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[Linmo]

@Fizzy3 Any pet in my opinion!  We loved our cats and now our dogs.   I've always had pets growing up and they bring so much joy to their people's lives!