I'd go along with this a lot more than the mental-health problems article. Tuxie came to us, as I've mentioned elsewhere, when our family was suffering the MOST PROFOUND stress and anxiety, and she really helped us cope and keep it together, despite herself being a very unsocialized kitteh, thx to her abandonment at such a young age (around 3 months-ish). She needed us, and we needed her; she still won't have the first thing to do with any other humans, but seems very well-bonded to us, especially to my husband who is her most immediate caregiver.
And I'm totally with the article's author: though I wouldn't want to go on living without my husband, the few times when we've been forced to share space for more than a few days at a time, right in each others' pockets, we both get extremely ornery. We're both loners, so a cat is a perfect pet for us!
Andria