Children growing up with furry pets are healthier: study

Children who are born to a family with furry pets are able to ward off certain illnesses quicker than others, a new study has claimed.

Researchers from Finland found that babies who have a cat or dog around during their first year have fewer health problems than little ones who don't have pets, report said.

The study published in Pediatrics, followed 397 children from before birth to age one, and noted the number of times they had contact with either a dog or cat each week.

Although newborns had minor respiratory issues and ear infections, researchers found those babies who had more interaction with animals seemed to have fewer of these problems and needed less medication, even when they were sick.

Even though babies living with cats were still protected, their protection was not as strong as those babies who lived around dogs.

Kids living in homes in which dogs went in and out of the house more often seemed to have the lowest risk of infections.

The researchers believe there is something about animals that affect an infant's immune system which can protect against certain childhood infections.

"The people who had dogs that were mostly kept inside appeared to have less protection from the illnesses," Dr Eija Bergroth, a pediatrician at the Kuopio University Hospital and one of the study's authors said.

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