Effect of gentle stroking and vocalization on behaviour, mucosal immunity and upper respiratory disease in shelter cats

Gourkow, Hamon and Phillips tested whether positive human interaction improves the health of anxious shelter cats. Cats receiving structured gentle stroking and soft talking from handlers showed more contented behaviour, higher secretory immunoglobulin A (a marker of mucosal immunity) and reduced incidence of upper respiratory disease compared with cats handled neutrally. The study provided rare experimental evidence linking emotional state, immune function and clinical illness in cats, demonstrating that affective welfare has measurable physical health consequences. It strengthened the case for positive human-cat interaction as a disease-prevention tool in shelters and is widely cited in psychoneuroimmunology and shelter-medicine discussions of feline welfare.