I wonder if doctors will begin to write prescriptions for their patients to acquire a cat, especially if they suffer from cardiovascular disease? 

A recent study conducted by the Stroke Research Center at the University of Minnesota has determined that individuals are less likely to die of heart attacks or other cardiovascular diseases if they have owned a cat.

The half of the study participants who had never owned a cat were 40 percent more likely to die of heart attacks and 20 percent more likely to die from cardiovascular disease, such as stroke or chronic heart disease, than those who either currently or in the past had owned a cat. 

I was interested to learn that this benefit did not accrue to people who did or had owned a dog. Dogs provide other benefits.

The researchers who conducted this study are now investigating the possibility of using cat ownership as a therapeutic intervention for those who are at a high risk for cardiovascular events. If they conclude that living with a cat can serve this purpose, it might indeed happen that doctors begin to prescribe cat ownership to their cardiac patients. And you thought that I was joking!