--- title: Cats Don't Directly Cause Mental Illness: Study description: A new study undermines previous links between cat ownership and the development of mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. canonical: https://time.com/4678615/cats-mental-health-problems-study/ author: Zamira Rahim article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-22T17:08:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:06:34.402Z article:section: Science og:title: Cats Don't Cause Mental Health Problems, Study Says og:description: New research undermines previous links between the two og:url: https://time.com/4678615/cats-mental-health-problems-study/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blted19acd478afe098/6988bb55ab6d7758cc6acf01/gettyimages-632913732.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3355 og:image:height: 1887 og:image:alt: International Cat Show in Kiev og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Cats Don't Cause Mental Health Problems, Study Says twitter:description: New research undermines previous links between the two twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blted19acd478afe098/6988bb55ab6d7758cc6acf01/gettyimages-632913732.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Cats Don't Cause Mental Health Problems, Study Says > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=73c9813c-df66-4642-822c-e70af595c8ae&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Cats Are Just as Smart as Dogs, Study Suggests [Watch (HLS stream): Cats Are Just as Smart as Dogs, Study Suggests](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/qkv5k1zG.m3u8) (0:54)  _Published 2017-01-26. Cats may be just as smart as dogs (and humans), a new study suggests_ by [Zamira Rahim](https://time.com/author/zamira-rahim/) ## Zamira Rahim Feb 22, 2017 5:08 PM UTC  A cat is seen during the International Cat Show in Kiev, Ukraine, on January 28, 2017. A cat is seen during the International Cat Show in Kiev, Ukraine, on January 28, 2017. Vladimir Shtanko—Anadolu Agency—Getty Images by [Zamira Rahim](https://time.com/author/zamira-rahim/) ## Zamira Rahim Feb 22, 2017 5:08 PM UTC Good news: having a cat in the home does not increase your risk for mental health problems, according to a [new study](https://www.eurekalert.org/pub%5Freleases/2017-02/ucl-con022017.php). Cats are host to a parasite called Toxoplasma Gondii. [Prior research](https://www.eurekalert.org/pub%5Freleases/2008-01/jhmi-tii011608.php) has suggested that people infected with this parasite are at an increased risk of developing schizophrenia. But after examining this “small link,” researchers from the University College London don’t believe cat ownership directly leads to psychotic symptoms. Researchers followed families for almost 20 years and found that if the parasite does increase mental illness risk, it “does not significantly increase exposure.” Lead study author Dr. Francesca Solmi, of UCL, said in a [statement](https://www.eurekalert.org/pub%5Freleases/2017-02/ucl-con022017.php) that her team could not measure parasite exposure directly, but the overall study was done on a larger scale and controlled for factors such as “household over-crowding” and socioeconomic status. “The message for cat owners is clear: there is no evidence that cats pose a risk to children’s mental health,” Solmi added. That said, separate evidence that suggests parasite exposure can lead to general health problems in children hold up. The parasite “can lead to serious birth defects and other health problems in children,” senior study author Dr. James Kirkbride said in the same statement. “As such, we recommend that pregnant women should continue to follow advice not to handle soiled cat litter in case it contains T. Gondii.” ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4678615/cats-mental-health-problems-study/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4678615/cats-mental-health-problems-study/"},"headline":"Cats Don't Cause Mental Health Problems, Study Says","datePublished":"2017-02-22T17:08:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:06:34.402Z","description":"New research undermines previous links between the two","url":"https://time.com/4678615/cats-mental-health-problems-study/","keywords":["Research","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blted19acd478afe098/6988bb55ab6d7758cc6acf01/gettyimages-632913732.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zamira Rahim","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zamira-rahim/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blted19acd478afe098/6988bb55ab6d7758cc6acf01/gettyimages-632913732.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"International Cat Show in Kiev","caption":"International Cat Show in Kiev","creditText":"Vladimir Shtanko—Anadolu Agency—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4678615/cats-mental-health-problems-study/","name":"Cats Don't Cause Mental Health Problems, Study Says"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Cats Are Just as Smart as Dogs, Study Suggests","description":"Cats may be just as smart as dogs (and humans), a new study suggests","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/qkv5k1zG/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-01-26T21:06:04.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/qkv5k1zG.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4678615/cats-mental-health-problems-study/","duration":"PT54S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4678615/cats-mental-health-problems-study/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```