New Research to Examine Impact of Youth-Cat Training Program on Child and Cat Wellbeing

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) announced today it has awarded a $52,204 grant to the University of Missouri for a new study, Shelter Cat Adoption in Families of Children with Autism: Impact on Children’s Social Skills and Anxiety as well as Cat Stress. This study will examine the effect of the introduction of a shelter cat on social skills and anxiety in children with autism, and on stress levels for the cats themselves. “Preliminary research demonstrates the effectiveness of companion animal interaction on alleviating social skills deficits and anxiety in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD),” said the study’s Principal Investigator, Gretchen Carlisle, PhD, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri. “While many studies have focused on the impact of dogs on children with ASD, this study aims to determine the beneficial impacts of a pet cat on children with autism and their families, as the temperament and the ease of care for cats compared to other animals may increase the likelihood of a positive outcome for the children, the cats and the family as a whole.” In addition to HABRI’s grant award, the PIs have also received funding from the Winn Feline Foundation in the amount of $25,000. The combined funding from Winn Feline and HABRI have enabled the PIs to expand the sample size and add the support of a statistician, which will greatly enhance the power of the study and hopefully result in more definitive and robust findings. “Winn Feline Foundation is thrilled to have initially supported this important study on the human-cat bond and to hear of HABRI’s grant award. Their additional support will strengthen the study’s findings”, commented Winn’s Executive Director Dr. Vicki Thayer. “This significant project evaluating the effects and benefits of adoption of cats by children and families with ASD fits our mission and values”. Using a two-group, randomized, repeated measures design with a delayed treatment...

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) today announced the initiation of five new research projects focused on the positive effects of human-animal interaction on human health. These new scientific studies will focus on important areas of human-animal interaction research, including child health, healthy aging, cardiovascular health, and chronic disease management.   “This new group of projects will provide further evidence for the health benefits of the human-animal bond,” said Steven Feldman, president of HABRI. “For example, HABRI is funding the first study to examine the role of pet ownership on gut microbiota and risk of cardiovascular disease.”  The following five research projects were awarded HABRI funding:  Jeffrey Kline, MD (Indiana University): Canine-assisted anxiety reduction in pediatric emergency care (CANINE III)  Katharine M Watson, BVMS (Indiana University): The influence of pet ownership on gut microbiota composition and cardiovascular disease risk among 50 to 85-year old United States adults  Kevin Morris, PhD (University of Denver): Exploring the impacts of animal-assisted interventions on positive youth development for adolescents in residential treatment  Jessica Bibbo, PhD (Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging): Uncovering Pet Ownership Benefits, Challenges, and Resources in an Aging Society: Promoting Healthy Aging in Healthcare and Community Environments  B. Rhett Rigby, PhD (Texas Woman’s University): How does 8 weeks of equine-assisted therapy affect older adults diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease?  The CANINE III study will focus on the efficacy and impact of therapy animal interaction, and was made possible through Pet Partners, which continues to commit special funding for research into the health benefits of animal-assisted therapy.  “This robust pipeline of innovative research is made possible through the support leading pet care companies and organizations who...

The Human Animal Bond Research Initiative (HABRI) Foundation today announced the results of a study exploring the effects of an email mediated intervention to increase walking in dog owners and non-dog owners, conducted by researchers at Purdue University and published in the journal Clinical Nursing Research. Findings of the study showed that a simple email intervention sharing the importance of walking and the positive impact of walking on a dog’s health were effective tools to promote walking. These interventions caused participants to increase and maintain dog walking over a 12-month period. Email intervention for non-dog owners also increased weekly minutes of walking compared with baseline measures and control groups, however dog owners accumulated significantly more walking minutes per week than non-dog owners. “Walking is an easy, accessible way to increase physical activity, which is important for the health of people and their pets,” said the principal investigator on the study, Elizabeth A. Richards, PhD, RN, CHES, of Purdue University. “Because an email reminder is so simple, these findings should be easy to replicate, encouraging dog owners and non-dog owners alike to lead more physically active lifestyles.” Participants assigned to the intervention group received a twice-weekly email message for the first four weeks of the intervention followed by weekly email messages for the next eight weeks. The emails attempted to influence confidence through a variety of mechanisms which the investigators hypothesized would directly influence dog walking for dog owners and walking for non-dog owners. Previous studies have supported that dog owners who walk their dogs are motivated to do so because of dog-related support for walking. A number of dog-owner participants in this study anecdotally reported that their ability to maintain behavior change in physical activity was in part due to the dog expecting a walk and conditioning the owner to comply. “With...