Do you know what the biggest issue is when it comes to therapy cats? It’s not the training (feline or human). And it’s not finding the “right” cat. It’s overcoming the prejudice and myths surrounding cats and how appropriate they may be as therapy animals.
Even now, people still think cats are too independent, aloof and untrainable to be effective therapy pet partners. If you’ve followed my blog or social media for any length of time, you know that’s completely false. You probably also know that there are many hardworking cats like me. Cats who visit hospitals, nursing homes, schools, and other facilities where a fluffy being can do some good. But many people — and many facilities — haven’t figured that out yet.
What’s it going to take to change their minds? Studies like this one (funded in Belgium) that was just recently published. It not only found that cats can make good therapy animals — they have something unique to offer with this type of work.
Overcoming the Myth About Cats Being Antisocial
The crazy thing about the study is that the abstract begins, “The engagement of cats in animal-assisted services (AAS) is increasing. This is surprising given that feline behavioural needs have been perceived as contradictory to conditions associated with AAS engagement, leading to the assumption that cats as a species are not suitable for AAS.” So clearly this study was badly needed because it showed that wasn’t the case.
Therapy Cat Work Further Improves a Cat’s Temperament
The realization that cats exist with characteristics that lend themselves to therapy animal work (duh!), was just a start. They also found that doing therapy work helped to strengthen a cat’s ability to interact socially with people, be comfortable with being handled, and the other things therapy cats do. Which shows that while a cat may be inclined to be friendlier and more easy going than other cats, these traits are also to a certain extent, teachable.
This makes a lot of sense from my own personal experience as a therapy cat. Once I learned the routine of therapy work, it was easier for me to do the important stuff, like be with people in a way they needed.
More to Come?
It’s an early study, and they admit they are still learning a lot about cats and animal-assisted work. I hope there are more studies diving deeper into this because eventually it could make improvements to therapy cat training. Right now, the human halves of therapy pet teams are pretty much making it up as they go along! Just ask my human, or any other volunteer with a therapy cat.
The post Researchers Finally Affirm Cats Make Good Therapy Animals appeared first on Summer’s Fabulous Cat Life.
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The post Researchers Finally Affirm Cats Make Good Therapy Animals appeared first on Summer’s Fabulous Cat Life.”}]] Read More
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