Therapy animals bring comfort and healing to people in various settings such as hospitals, nursing facilities, retirement homes, libraries, and schools. Pet Partners, the leading therapy animal organization in the US, reports that 94% of their therapy animals are dogs. Dogs are wonderful, but not everyone feels excited or comforted by a canine. Luckily Pet Partners accepts these other animals into their program: cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, domestic rats, birds, horses, donkeys, miniature pigs, llamas, and alpacas.
When I was a registered Pet Partners handler from 2016 to 2018, my cat Keats brought a lot of joy to the memory care facility we regularly visited. Many residents were lifetime cat owners who had to rehome their pets when entering the facility. They may have never seen their animal again. I was always glad when Keats comforted these residents. As they petted him, they shared stories of cats they’ve owned. I noticed a cheerful spark in their eyes as they spoke.
Interacting with cats can boost your mood, as well as reduce your stress, anxiety, and pain. Countless facilities and people in hospice could greatly benefit from therapy cat visits. I would love for more therapy cat teams to be formed to start meeting this need.
If you have a confident kitty, I encourage you to consider joining Pet Partners and sharing your loving feline. To get started, think about the following questions:
- Is your animal healthy, at least one year old, and have you had him/her for at least six months?
- Does your cat love meeting new people and being petted?
- Does he/she enjoy new environments?
- Is your cat comfortable in a harness (or would you be willing to help him/her become acclimated)?
- Do you have some free time to volunteer regularly with your animal?
If you’ve answered positively to the above, I recommended exploring the Pet Partners registration process. You can learn more about the program at petpartners.org. The world needs more therapy cats, and yours might be the next one to make a difference!
Please share this post with friends and family who might be interested in becoming therapy cat handlers. And if you have any questions about your potential therapy kitty, feel free to contact me.
