Heartwarming footage showing a pair of cats enjoying an affectionate snuggle is lighting up social media.
It’s no great secret that cats love to snuggle, but what’s less commonly known is that close contact can actually be beneficial to overall feline health.
The benefits were highlighted in a 2014 study conducted by researchers from the Center for Animal Welfare and Ethics, School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Queensland in Australia and the Laboratory of Statistical Genetics, Rockefeller University, in New York.
Stock image of a pair of cats cuddling. A video of two felines enjoying a snuggle has people questioning their own relationship status.
SunRay BRI Cattery RU/Getty
As part of the study, 139 cats were split into two groups. One half spent 10 days being gently stroked by a person or via a tool (for the anti-social or aggressive cats) at least four times a day, for at least 10 minutes at a time.
The other half, meanwhile, were deprived of attention and any kind…