Health · Medical Research · 1 hr ago
Study links daily closeness with cats to owners’ positive moods
Researchers at Kyoto University followed 29 cats and their 19 owners for one month to study how daily interactions relate to owners’ moods.
Owners who spent more time physically close to their cats tended to report more positive feelings.
The accounts differ on whether time spent owning a cat was linked to mood: one says it was not linked to positive moods, while the other says longer ownership was associated with more negative moods.
Urine tests found that cats’ oxytocin levels were associated with their owners’ hormone levels and moods.
Oxytocin is linked to social relationships, and cortisol is linked to stress.
The results may help explain why studies of cat ownership and well-being have found mixed effects, since everyday interaction may matter more than ownership alone.
The study was small and observational, so it cannot show that closeness caused better moods; the researchers hope to study how cats and people affect each other over time.
A month-long study of 29 cats and 19 owners found that owners who spent more time physically close to their cats tended to report more positive moods.
The length of time owners had lived with their cats was not associated with positive mood states in the study.
Researchers used Bluetooth beacons on cats’ collars to measure closeness and questionnaires to assess owners’ moods.
Higher oxytocin levels in cats’ urine were associated with higher oxytocin and lower cortisol levels in their owners.
The findings show associations, not cause and effect.
- Who
- Researchers at Kyoto University studied 29 cats and their 19 owners.
- What
- The study found that more daily physical closeness with cats was associated with owners reporting more positive moods.
- When
- The study followed participants for one month; the paper was published on 13 October 2026.
- Where
- Kyoto University researchers conducted the study; the participants’ location is not stated.
- Why
- Researchers investigated whether everyday interactions with cats might help explain mixed evidence about cat ownership and well-being.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The study, “Cats and humans show correlated affiliative physiological states,” was published in iScience.
SciTechDaily and the Daily Mail reported on the study.
- Study duration
- One month
- Participants
- 29 cats and 19 owners
- Closeness measurement
- Bluetooth Low Energy beacons attached to cats’ collars
- Research institution
- Kyoto University
- Journal publication date
- 13 October 2026
3 sources
“Più il gatto è innamorato di te meno sei stressato”: una ricerca svela il legame segreto tra padrone e felino
Scientists Find That Cats and Their Owners Share a Surprising Biological Connection
The secret to happiness? Cats! Owners who spend more time close to their felines have more positive moods, study finds
What people are saying
Our findings suggest that this feeling may be partly reflected in the hormonal connection between cats and their owners, particularly through oxytocin, a hormone involved in the formation of parent-child bonds and social relationships.
We found that spending time close to the cat in daily life was associated with higher vigour scores in owners.