Cats are amazing animals. Any cat owner will tell you this. But did you know cats can increase your life span?

There is medical research that backs this up. Forget that apple a day to keep the doctor away. Get a cat.

People with cats actually visit a doctor less often than people who don’t indulge in a feline companion. It’s possible that people with cats develop a stronger immune system. Playing with cats, petting them and laughing can actually increase your immunoglobulin-A secretions, which is part of your immune system. That means cat owners will have fewer common colds than the average person without cats.

It also has been found that cat owners have fewer heart attacks, strokes, less stress and lower blood pressure. A study from the University of Minnesota Stroke Institute found that people with cats die less frequently from heart attacks and strokes.

In fact, the results were startling. People without cats died 40 percent more frequently from heart attacks and strokes. The same was not true for dog owners or people who owned other pets. It even has been shown that cat owners have a better chance of survival after a heart attack.

The theory is that cats can lower your stress level by their actions, such as their purr, their head butting and rubbing, and the way they play and interact with humans. All of these actions lowered blood pressure in the study. All of these actions reduced cortisol, which is a stress hormone in the brain. Cats help us to relax, and that lowers blood pressure.

In general, cat owners have lower blood pressure. A study was done in Australia on people with and without cats. The study showed that cat owners consistently had lower blood pressure. This was true even when cat owners had unhealthy, fat-laden diets.

In addition to keeping us healthier, cats are great pets for children and seniors alike. Kids love cats. Cats can teach kids how to care for someone, how to be less selfish and how to be more content.

Cats can help to keep elderly people happier, active and engaged. Another fact for our elderly audience: Cat-owning seniors have lower health-care costs than non-cat owners do. Cats can help people overcome depression, as well.

We’re often asked by our doctors to eat better, eat more vegetables, cut out the ice cream, exercise, and get rid of our stress in one way or another. We take pills for cholesterol, high blood pressure, stress, and to prevent heart attacks and strokes. But I think I’ll just get another cat.

This is one study that will give me the ammo to do just that. Who wouldn’t love a companion that comes with all of these benefits, including lots of love?

Dianne Erskine-Hellrigel is executive director of the Community Hiking Club and president of the Santa Clara River Watershed Conservancy. If you’d like to be part of the solution, join the Community Hiking Club’s Stewardship Committee. Contact Dianne through communityhikingclub.org or at zuliebear@aol.com.