The funny character of the Crazy Cat

If you are a fan or follower of the classic cartoon series The Simpsons and you also love felines, surely you have felt sympathy with the character of The crazy cat. It is even possible that you know someone who also lives with many furry people, or that you yourself are that person. But do you know its history?

Many of us have laughed with her, but few know anything about her past. That is why in Noti Gatos we couldn't stop talking about her.

Although she is known in the Hispanic world as 'La loca de los gato', in reality her name is Eleanor Abernathy. It is about a woman born in Chile who lives in the United States of America. He first appeared in the episode 'Girly Edition' of the ninth season of The Simpsons.

Abernathy gave a cat, much like Snowball, to Lisa, Bart's sister and Homer and Marge's middle daughter, in Chapter I, D'oh-bot.

Her story was told in the episode "Springfield Up", season 18. She explained that as a child she wanted to be a lawyer, and that at 16 she began to study for it. At 24, he obtained a Medical Diploma from Harvard Medical School and a Law Diploma from Yale School. At 32 she began to show signs of alcoholism, and was attacked by 41 cats, including her favorite cat.. That was the day everything got worse for her: her looks and her life.

In season 22, in »A Midsummer's Nice Dreams» it was shown that suffers from Diogenes SyndromeIn other words, everything that is of interest is kept. He had help from Marge, but she ended up getting sick too. Of course, when he ran for mayor, he spoke of public education and medical assistance, unlike the others. He's quite a character, of course.

The syndrome "The crazy one of the cats"

In all populations, women are known to live with their cats. Normally they are single women, without family or children who have cats that provide them with love and company. This is normal and there is nothing strange about it ... But the term "the crazy one with the cats" began to be used due to what we have mentioned above about the Simpsons series.

A case is known of a woman who has many cats in California, United States. Her name is Lynea Lattanzio and she founded «The cat house on the kings, ”A center specialized in rescuing stray animals. He has been active since 1992, when his father asked him to help him find cats ... he went to a shelter and came home with 15 cats. He currently lives with more than 1100 cats on his property of almost three hectares, although in reality it is that more than 28.000 cats have passed through his property. Although read in this way they are only numbers, in reality we are talking about many, but many! Lucky cats to find themselves on their way and not get run over on the road or poisoned by bad people.

Science and the love of cats

There are studies that have investigated the different mental health problems and having cats. Actually there is nothing that is valid to draw conclusions, the only thing the researchers found is that people infected with the T. gondii parasite - responsible for the toxoplasmosis- were almost twice as likely to develop schizophrenia as a person who was not a carrier.

Actually these studies do not prove that the parasite itself can cause mental illness, it is only a hypothesis that exists with a weak link between having a cat and developing a mental illness ... But there are many professionals who reject this theory and do not believe it at all or consider it to be real.

Science rules out this and bets more on emotional problems, that is, people who have problems in their social skills satisfy this need for human contact with strong bonds with their pets. It is common for people with pets to have depressive signs and that is why they become devoted to their pets, although on many occasions this behavior doesn't have any kind of problem that you need to worry about.

Affection for cats should only be considered a problem if the person ceases to be functional, if they are spending their money on pets and do not take care of themselves, or if they start living in unsanitary conditions or pets start living with cats. to reproduce uncontrollably for not having taken relevant measures, such as spaying and / or neutering cats.

It is a myth

According to a study published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, it is clear that people who have many cats are not crazy or suffer from obsessive disorder. This would destroy everything they have tried to show with the character of The Crazy Cat from The Simpsons.

In the research shown in the aforementioned magazine and carried out from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) they analyzed more than 500 pet owners. They compared their reactions to animals and studied their behaviors to understand if there were any statistics that made them more prone to mental illness.

The results were very clear: there was no reason to support the existence of "crazy cats." There is no evidence to support this stereotype of person. Cat owners did not differ from other people just by having cats, nor did they have symptoms of emotional problems or emotional that had to do with owning cats.

The fact that a person keeps cats as pets is not an indicator that they are lonely, anxious, or depressed. It was only found that both people with cats or dogs as pets empathize better with animals than those without them. People with pets were more likely to distinguish the howl or howl of a cat or dog and know if it was in pain or needed help, but this does not make them "crazy about cats", "crazy about dogs" or any other animal.

The benefits of having a cat as a pet

If you have cats in your home, congratulations! Because you can enjoy all the benefits that it will bring to your life:

• Reduce stress and anxietyOwning a cat can be calming and release calming chemicals in the body that lower levels of stress and anxiety. A short, sweet petting session is usually enough to relax the owners and reduce stress and anxiety.
• Lowers the risk of stroke- Studies show that cat owners are less likely to have a stroke than any other pet owner. Scientists speculate that this is also due to a cat's lower maintenance property.
• Therapeutic benefitsOwning a cat can release oxytocin in your body, the hormone known to induce feelings of love and trust. People who go through difficult times of grieving report that talking to their pet helps to resolve those feelings, as it is sometimes easier to talk to an animal than to another human. Additionally, one study found that children with autism were more likely to be less anxious and calm while petting a cat.
• Increase immunity- Exposure to pet dander and fur in the home results in increased resistance to allergens, reducing the risk of allergies and asthma.
• Lowers blood pressure- Cat owners are known to have lower blood pressure than non-cat owners due to the calming presence that cats provide. One study was conducted with a room full of cat owners where the owners spoke loudly, which naturally raised blood pressure levels. But when owners were observed talking to their cats, their blood pressure remained constant.
• Reduces triglyceride and cholesterol levelsHigh levels of triglycerides and cholesterol contribute to heart disease and are symptoms of type 2 diabetes, as well as strokes, liver and kidney disease. Naturally, reductions in these levels lead to a decreased risk of these diseases.
• Increase sociability- Cat ownership provides a natural conversation starter and can enhance the owner's ability to socialize. One study revealed that women were more attracted to men who owned cats because ownership of cats often suggests sensitivity and intelligence.
• Provide companionship: owning a cat reduces feelings of loneliness. Although cats may be known for their independence, the bond between a cat and its owner reinforces companionship. A Swiss study conducted in 2003 revealed that having a cat is similar to having a romantic partner.