There are many health benefits of owning a pet. They can increase opportunities to exercise, get outside, and socialize. Regular walking or playing with pets can decrease blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and triglyceride levels. Pets can help manage loneliness and depression by giving us companionship. Most households in the United States have at least one pet.
Studies have shown that the bond between people and their pets can increase fitness, lower stress, and bring happiness to their owners. Some of the health benefits of having a pet include:
- Decreased blood pressure
- Decreased cholesterol levels
- Decreased triglyceride levels
- Decreased feelings of loneliness
- Increased opportunities for exercise and outdoor activities
- Increased opportunities for socialization
However, pets can sometimes carry harmful germs that can make us sick even when the pet appears healthy. The diseases people get from animals are called zoonotic (zoe-oh-NOT-ic) diseases. Below are some tips to help you and your family stay healthy while enjoying pets.
Pick the Right Pet
Before adopting a new pet, make sure that it is the right one for you and your family. Do some research beforehand about the specific needs of the animal. Ask yourself these questions before getting a pet:
- How long will this animal live?
- What does the pet eat?
- How much exercise does the pet need?
- How large will it become?
- How much will it cost for veterinary care?
- Do I have enough time to properly care for and clean up after the pet?
- What type of habitat does this pet need to be healthy?
- What type of exercise does this pet need?
- Are pets allowed in my house, apartment, or condominium?
- Are there young children, older people, or people with weak immune systems who will care for or be around the pet?
Children 5 years of age and younger, people with weakened immune systems, and people 65 years of age and older are more likely to get diseases spread between animals and people (also known as zoonotic diseases). Pregnant women are also at a higher risk for certain animal-related diseases. Before getting a new pet, keep the following in mind:
- Households with children 5 years of age and younger should not have pet reptiles (turtles, lizards, snakes), amphibians (frogs, toads), or backyard poultry because of the risk of serious illness from harmful germs spread between these animals and young children.
- People with weakened immune systems should take extra precautions when choosing and handling pets. Talk to your veterinarian for help picking the best pet.
- Pregnant women should avoid adopting a new cat or handling stray cats, especially kittens. Cats can carry a parasite that causes toxoplasmosis—a disease that can cause birth defects. If you are pregnant, you do not need to give up your current cat, but you should avoid changing cat litter.
- Pregnant women should avoid contact with pet rodents to prevent exposure to lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, which can cause birth defects. If you’re pregnant and have a pet rodent, avoid direct contact and have someone else clean its habitat.
Stay Healthy Around Pets
Wash Your Hands
Whether you are playing with, feeding, or cleaning up after your pet, it is important to wash your hands to help reduce the risk of getting sick from germs pets can carry. If you or a family member are concerned about illness, talk to a doctor and mention the animals you’ve had contact with recently.
Always wash hands:
- After touching or playing with your pet
- After feeding your pet or handling pet food
- After handling pet habitats or equipment (cages, tanks, toys, food and water dishes, etc.)
- After cleaning up after pets
- After leaving areas where animals live (coops, barns, stalls, etc.), even if you did not touch an animal
- Before eating and drinking
- Before preparing food or drinks
- After removing soiled clothes or shoes
Running water and soap are best for hand washing, but you can use hand sanitizer until running water and soap are available. Adults should always assist young children with hand washing.
Keep Your Pet Healthy
Whether you have a dog, cat, horse, parakeet, gerbil, bearded dragon, or other fun pet, providing regular, life-long veterinary care is important for keeping your pet and family healthy. Regular veterinary visits are essential to good pet health. Talk to your pet’s veterinarian about how to keep your pet healthy. Provide your pet with a good diet, fresh water, clean bedding, and plenty of exercise. Keep up with your pet’s vaccines, de-worming, and flea and tick control. Some pets can carry ticks that can spread serious diseases like Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever to people. In areas with plague including some rural areas in the western US fleas can be a risk to both animals and their owners.
By keeping your pet healthy, you help to keep yourself and your family healthy. Contact your veterinarian if you have any questions about your pet’s health or if you think your pet may be sick.
Practice Good Pet Hygiene
In addition to hand washing, practicing good pet hygiene can help prevent the spread of germs between pets and people. Keep pets and their supplies out of the kitchen, and disinfect pet habitats and supplies outside the house when possible. Never clean supplies in the kitchen sink, food preparation areas, or the bathroom sink. Pets can contaminate surfaces in your home with germs—you don’t have touch pets to get sick from their germs.
Always remove your dog’s feces (poop) from your yard and public places by using a bag, and dispose of it in proper areas. Dog and cat feces can contain parasites and germs that can be harmful to people. Keep children away from areas that might contain dog or cat feces to prevent them from getting roundworms and hookworms. Cover sand boxes so cats don’t use them as a litter box. Clean the cat’s litter box daily to lower the chances of exposure to harmful parasites. Remember, pregnant women should avoid changing a cat’s litter box if possible.
Teach Children How to Interact with Animals
Pets can teach children compassion and responsibility. However, children 5 years of age and younger should be supervised while interacting with animals to ensure the safety of the child and of the pet. Teach children to wash their hands right after playing with animals or anything in the animals’ environment (cages, beds, food or water dishes). Don’t let children kiss pets or put their hands or other objects in their mouths after handling animals.
Adults should supervise and be extra cautious when children 5 years of age and younger have direct contact with farm animals, including animals at petting zoos and fairs.
Keep Wildlife Wild
Although they may look cute and cuddly, avoid touching wild animals to reduce the risk of illness and injury. Don’t encourage wild animals such as raccoons, prairie dogs, or wild rodents to come into your home by feeding them. You might find a young animal that appears to be abandoned and want to rescue it, but often its parent is close by. If you are concerned about the safety of a wild animal, contact a local wildlife rehabilitation facility
Pet Allergens
Millions of Americans live with pets despite being allergic to them. Any furry animal, most commonly cats and dogs, may trigger allergy symptoms like sneezing or red, itchy eyes. Pet allergies can also make asthma harder to control.
You may think animal allergies are caused by fur, but that fuzz and fluff is merely a carrier for allergens. Pet dander, the source of allergens, is composed of tiny, even microscopic, proteins from flecks of skin shed by pets.
- Cat allergens are found in cat saliva, which sticks to fur when cats lick themselves. They are also released by glands in the skin and shed as dander or secreted in the urine of male cats. The allergens are buoyant, which means they easily remain airborne.
- Dog allergens are also present in dander, as well as saliva, urine, and blood. Although allergen levels can differ among breeds, all breeds, even hairless dogs, can trigger allergies.
Pet allergens are easily spread. They can circulate in air and remain on carpets and furniture for months. These small particles may also be carried on clothing into areas where there are no pets.
Preventive Strategies
If you suspect you or a loved one is allergic to a pet, you can get tested.
There are many options for reducing exposure to pet-related allergens, and the following may help:
- Keep pets out of the bedroom where an allergic person sleeps
- Encase mattresses and pillows in special allergen-proof fabric covers
- Remove or replace carpets
- Vacuum regularly, but when the person with allergies is not present, using a cleaner with a HEPA filter (high-efficiency particulate air, which is a type of mechanical air filter) or a double-layered micro filter bag
- Use a portable air cleaner with a HEPA filter for the allergic person’s bedroom
- Avoid certain ionic air cleaners that can generate harmful ozone
- Keep pets off furniture and out of cars
- Bathe dogs, which may decrease allergens if done at least twice a week for effectiveness
- After playing with your pet, wash your hands and clothes to remove pet allergens
- Avoid contact with soiled litter
- Dust often with a damp cloth
Studying Pet Allergens
Studying Pet Allergens- Pet allergens in homes– Scientists have found that more than 50% of households have a dog, cat, or both. Nationwide studies showed dog and cat allergens were present in almost all U.S. homes, even those without pets.
- Pet allergens and asthma – Scientists project that elevated pet-allergen levels in bedrooms result in more than 1 million increased asthma attacks each year for people sensitive to dogs and more than 500,000 increased asthma attacks for people sensitive to cats. Another study showed that asthmatic children who were sensitized and exposed to pet allergens had greater likelihood of wheezing.
- Endotoxins and pets– Scientists have determined that people who have more contact with house-dust endotoxins, particles created when bacteria die and disintegrate, may wheeze more. These people are more likely to be younger, live with dogs, cats, or smokers, and have cockroaches and carpeted floors in the home. Another study showed that pet allergens along with endotoxins in a home could make wheezing and asthma worse.
- Age and allergens– The effects of allergens on children may depend on age. Researchers found that inner-city children who had more contact with specific allergens and bacteria before age 1 were less likely to have wheezing and allergy symptoms when they were older. This finding suggests such early-life exposure may help build a defense in the body against developing wheezing and allergic diseases.
