What is a Therapy Cat?

A therapy cat is defined as a cat trained to help ailing humans in a medically beneficial way to take advantage of the human-animal interaction for purposes of relaxation and healing. A therapy cat provides affection and comfort to people in retirement homes, nursing homes, schools, hospices, and other human service care facilities. Emotional Support Animals or Comfort Animals are often used as part of a medical treatment plan as therapy animals. These animals provide companionship, relieve loneliness, and sometimes help with depression and certain phobias, but do not perform tasks that assist people with disabilities.

Although dogs have more traditionally been recruited as therapy animals, and horses are the second most favored, cats are now beginning to be used more and more. It has been proven in numerous studies that animals can help people heal. They reduce loneliness, depression, and anxiety. They can improve our heart health and get us to exercise more. That's why many hospitals and nursing homes today have programs that introduce dogs, cats, and other comfort animals for their patients to interact with.

Therapy Cats Come in all Sizes and Breeds

The single most important characteristic of a therapy cat is its temperament. A good therapy cat must be very friendly, patient, confident, gentle at all times, and at ease in any situation. Therapy cats must also enjoy contact with adults, as well as children, and be content with being petted and sometimes handled clumsily.

Therapy Cats must always be very calm and tolerant around people, dogs, and other animals as well as being handled and held frequently by different people. They must also adapt easily to the sight and sounds of medical equipment, wheelchairs and unfamiliar noises in the hospital or home environment.

Cats have been known to perform miracles in healing.

The vibration of their purring actually has healing properties. Cats have helped people recover from infections, depression anxiety disorders, surgeries and more! Ask any number of cat owners about the benefits of petting or snuggling with a cat and the responses will likely be the same.

Cats provide their own brand of unconditional love and comfort.

They help us relax and cope with the stresses of life in a special way. When our feline friends run to greet us after a long day away, it affects us physically. Many studies have shown that having a cat can calm nerves, lower blood pressure, help prevent and treat cardiovascular disease, cancer and chronic pain, strengthen the immune system and even help you live longer.

There have been arguments made that therapy animals can work as well as or better than conventional pharmaceutical medicine for helping people relax, lowering stress levels and blood pressure decreases, causing the heart rate to slow down.

Therapy cats are assets in many situations.

One group that benefits greatly from a little cat-love therapy is children. Therapy cats have been used to help kids with developmental disorders like autism be more comfortable with the world around them.

Companion cats are also especially valuable to the elderly or when interacting with Alzheimer's Disease or dementia patients, by stimulating both memory and forgotten emotions.

Certification for Therapy Cats

The first step in preparing a cat to be a therapy animal is to make sure the feline meets basic requirements.

These can vary by organization, but typically include being comfortable in a harness and up to date with shots. A variety of organizations train and certify pet therapy teams. Pet Partners is one of the most well-known national organizations that facilitates and promotes animal-assisted therapy and offers training and registration for therapy animal teams. Pet Partners Therapy Animal Program is one of the largest in America, and has been training volunteers across the country since 1990.

Medication for the Human Soul

People who suffer from depression often find solace in the companionship that their pets provide.

The emotional problems that depression brings about can be tumultuous and trying. A furry friend can be just what the doctor ordered, providing a special kind of support that can be considered a type of medication for the human soul, with positive results and no side effects.

The role of cats in therapeutic processes continues to amaze researchers and medical professionals, as we learn more and more about their impact on human lives and healing.