How ‘pandemic pets’ are helping us cope with coronavirus stress Marwa Hussein, a Queen’s student and local, is one of the many people who adopted a new pet this year.She said always wanted a pet, but the decline in her mental health, plus the availability of a cat, pushed her to finally obtain one.“I get some pretty bad depressive episodes sometimes, and being cooped up indoors certainly does not help,” Hussein says.She said being obligated to feed and clean her cat gives her a great reason to get up out of bed, which has been pulling her out of dark funks.Mylo is only six months, which means he has lots of energy, so Hussein says the company during the darker moments of the pandemic is something she really needed to get through.But, the.