This should come as no surprise to cat owners, but the rest of you may be interested to learn that owning a cat is apparently good for your health. A new study finds that non-cat owners are 30-40 percent more likely to die of cardiovascular disease or a heart attack than those with a feline friend.

The findings emerged from an analysis of data on nearly 4,500 men and women, ages 30 to 75, who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Study. All were free of cardiovascular disease when they entered the study in the 1970s.

Compared with cat owners, people who never had a pet cat were 40% more likely to die of a heart attack over the 20-year study period. They were also 30% more likely to die of any cardiovascular disease, including stroke, heart failure, and chronic heart disease.

How about dogs? The study found no similar beneficial link. More