Seven Really Cute Animal Ways to Lower Your Blood Pressure Naturally

When “stare”-apy is therapy, and touch can create a deep, emotional connection. Being an animal lover helps, but is not essential. As long as you have a fascination with neoteny. I hold the folks at Cute Overload wholly responsible for the following post, which may be just a bit too saccharine for some viewers. Discretion is advised.

Puppies! (Photo credit: jkbrooks85)

Watch an adorable video of newborn Golden Retriever puppies. The puppycam (gosh, even that’s a cute word) captures their whimpering and squirming about on small, sausage-shaped bodies with eyes still scrunched shut on wrinkly faces while they hunt around for mommy Captiva’s milk. Warning: extremely high awww factor. Set aside a minimum of 15 minutes to fully absorb cuteness — there are over 3 hours of cute-worthy video posted. See the ECAD (Educated Canines Assisting With Disabilities) video here. 

Ruby-eyed White English Angora rabbit (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Stare at photos of unshorn English Angora rabbits. Think of them as the lagomorphic equivalent of an Old English Sheepdog crossed with a Great White Tribble of the Star Trek universe. How can you not melt into a puddle of goo with these productive, extremely sociable, super soft, and hypo-allergenic pets? More photos here.

sleepy kitten (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Let a kitten go to sleep on your lap. You will double as a scratching post. The wearing of silk or tricot fabrics is not recommended. Also, cats sleep a lot. If your lap is going to be their makeshift bed, disconnect the phone, get rid of the doorbell, and don’t drink a lot of water. Here’s a video with five Ragdoll kittens on one lap.

man’s best friend in the ocean?

Swim with dolphins. Prepare to get wet and learn to speak in the language of squeaks and whistles. I’ve never met a dolphin in person before, but they always seem to have a smile on their faces. Like they know you from somewhere. Or maybe it’s the fish in your hand that smells really, really good.

a Pomeranian smile (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Watch a puppy howl like a wolf. Ellie the Pomeranian finds her inner wolf by listening to a video of wolves howling (she gets extra points for cocking her head like the RCA dog, and verifying the presence of the wolves on the laptop). See the moment here.

a pony with cropped mane (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Groom a horse (if you can afford a live one and the stable fees, so much the better). Grooming is good for you and that beautiful creature. As for the riding part … if you’ve never ridden a horse before, start with a pony first.

a real-life Bambi and Thumper (Photo credit: Zuma Press)

Look at photos of unlikely animal friendships. What the fuzz?A baby hippo has a supercentenarian tortoise for a mother. An Anatolian shepherd dog has a cheetah for a best friend. A Bengal tigress nurses piglets. A monkey rides his small pig friend. These images really take the emotional cake. There’s a message here for us humans. See the photos here.