Families with cats and young children may have one more thing to watch after researchers found an unexpected connection between cat ownership and emotional and behavioral struggles later in childhood.
The findings come from a cat ownership study published in the World Journal of Pediatrics that followed 1,893 families participating in Spain’s INfancia y Medio Ambiente project. According to the World Journal of Pediatrics study, researchers compared pet ownership during early childhood with emotional and behavioral outcomes when the children reached ages 7 and 8.
And before anybody starts packing up the cat carrier, researchers did not conclude that families need to get rid of their pets.
What they did find was specific. According to the study, children whose families reported owning a cat at ages 4 and 5, but not during the earlier age 1 assessment, showed higher levels of both “internalizing” and “externalizing” problems several years later.
Researchers reported a relative rate ratio of 1.37 for “internalizing” difficulties among those children. The study described that category as emotional and peer-related struggles that can include worry, sadness, withdrawal, and difficulties interacting with other children. The researchers also found a relative rate ratio of roughly 1.27 for “externalizing” difficulties, which included conduct problems and hyperactivity.
In plain language, the group of children who had cats during that specific preschool period showed more emotional and behavioral difficulties on the researchers’ assessment than the comparison group.
But there is a major catch.
The cat ownership study does not prove the cat caused any of those problems.
According to the researchers, the study was observational. That means scientists identified an association between cat ownership and later behavioral scores, but the research cannot establish that living with a cat directly caused a child to become anxious, withdrawn, hyperactive, or more likely to act out.
Researchers measured the children’s behavior using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, which relies on reports about emotional symptoms, conduct, hyperactivity, peer relationships, and prosocial behavior. According to the journal article, the questionnaire was used to measure behavioral and emotional symptoms rather than diagnose children with a particular mental health disorder.
That distinction makes the viral takeaway much more complicated than simply saying cats are bad for kids.
According to the study, researchers considered several possible explanations for the connection. One is that families with children already experiencing emotional or behavioral challenges may be more likely to choose a cat because cats can fit differently into a household routine than other animals. In that scenario, the child’s difficulties could come first, and the cat could simply arrive later.
The researchers also examined dogs, birds, and other animals. According to the World Journal of Pediatrics findings, the statistically significant increase in both internalizing and externalizing difficulties was associated specifically with owning a cat only during the ages 4 and 5 period. The study did not find the same mental health pattern across the other pet categories.
Another theory raised by researchers involves differences in how children interact with pets. Dogs may lead to more walking, outdoor activity, and social interaction, while cats often require a different type of engagement. The researchers presented those possibilities as potential explanations rather than confirmed reasons for the results.
Then there is the part of the cat ownership study likely to have some parents looking at the litter box differently.
Researchers discussed Toxoplasma gondii, the parasite responsible for toxoplasmosis, as another possible area worth investigating. However, the study did not test the children or their cats for the parasite, meaning researchers could not determine whether toxoplasmosis played any role in the behavioral findings.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cats can become infected with Toxoplasma after eating infected animals and can shed the parasite through their feces. People can become exposed through contaminated cat feces or soil, but the CDC also lists contaminated food, undercooked meat, and other routes of exposure.
The CDC does not tell ordinary cat owners to automatically give up their pets. Its prevention guidance recommends changing litter daily, washing hands after possible exposure, keeping cats indoors when possible, and avoiding feeding cats raw or undercooked meat. The agency says daily litter cleaning matters because the parasite generally does not become infectious immediately after being shed.
Parents should also know that research on pets and children has produced a much messier picture than one scary headline might suggest.
A systematic review of research on companion animals and child development examined 22 studies involving emotional, behavioral, cognitive, educational and social outcomes. The review found evidence linking pet ownership with some potential benefits, including self-esteem, social interaction and reduced loneliness, while findings involving anxiety, depression and behavior remained mixed or inconclusive.
The review also warned that much of the research available at the time relied on observational studies, relatively small samples, or methods that made it difficult to determine cause and effect. Its authors called for stronger longitudinal research that separates the impact of different types of pets and accounts for other family and environmental factors.
The newer cat ownership study attempted to address some of those issues by following families over several years and adjusting its analysis for multiple household and parental characteristics. Still, its researchers acknowledged important limitations, including missing pet ownership information for some stages of childhood and the inability to determine whether behavioral difficulties may have existed before families acquired their cats.
So, does your family pet actually need to go?
Based on this research alone, no scientific conclusion supports throwing the cat out of the house. What the study does provide is a surprising signal researchers believe deserves further investigation, particularly around why cat ownership during one specific period of early childhood was associated with greater emotional and behavioral difficulty scores later.
For now, the cat may be catching a serious side eye, but science has not convicted it.