Cat owners can breathe easy: there’s little danger that your beloved tabby will make it more likely for you to develop a mental illness. New research has cleared the name of cats, helping put to rest the debate over whether the creatures are dangerous because they host a common parasite that may play a role in disorders like schizophrenia.

Cats host a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii that other research has linked to various mental illnesses. So, for some time, people have wondered whether cats are unsafe; for example, pregnant women are usually told to stay away from litter boxes. (They should still do this because transmission during pregnancy is very real.) In a study published in the journal Psychological Medicine, researchers looked at data that tracked 5,000 Brits born in the early ‘90s until they were 18. This included information about whether the kids grew up with cats, or whether there were cats around when the mother was pregnant. After the scientists controlled for factors like socioeconomic status, there was no link between developing psychosis and having owned a cat.

The researchers suggest that previous studies that did show a link had relatively small sample sizes. In addition, many of these studies asked people whether they remembered having cats, which is not quite as accurate. That said, it’s important to keep in mind that some mental disorders linked to the parasite — like schizophrenia — tend to be diagnosed fairly late in life, so only tracking until age 18 might limit the study.

T. gondii is a fascinating parasite because of its mind-control effect on mice. The parasite essentially hijacks the mice to make them stop being afraid of cats and even love the smell of their urine — which of course makes mice easier to catch. When it comes to humans, more than 60 million people in the US have the parasite, but most of the time our immune systems keep us from having any negative symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

So if you’ve been thinking about adopting a cat, here’s another reason to go for it. And thankfully, cat lovers now have even more ammunition in the argument for why cats are better than dogs.