Cat owners beware! Research finds link between kitties, schizophrenia

You might want to think twice before adopting a small kitten for the family. New research shows that 50.6 percent of people diagnosed with schizophrenia have owned a cat while growing, reported the Huffington Post.

"Cat ownership in childhood has now been reported in three studies to be significantly more common in families in which the child is later diagnosed with schizophrenia or another serious mental illness," the researchers behind a new study published in the journal Schizophrenia Research wrote.

This, however, merely shows a link rather than solid, concrete evidence. Researchers theorize that Toxoplasma gondii (T.gondii), a parasite found in cats an can be passed on to humans, could be a benefactor in the development of the mental illness.

Further research is needed to set a base for such a claim, but for now, reap the benefits of having a cat. According to a 2008 study from researchers at the University of Minnesota's Stroke Institute, cat owners are 30 percent less likely to die of a heart attack.