Bideawee Tails from a Volunteer
PET THERAPY - NOT JUST FOR GOLDEN RETRIEVERS ANYMORE by Florence Scarinci
Don't misunderstand me: I love Golden Retrievers. In fact, I have owned two of them. The first one, whom twenty years after her crossing to "Rainbow Bridge", we still call "The Sainted Cindy", would have been an excellent therapy and performance dog had my life not been so complicated at the time. Indeed there are literally hundreds of Golden Retrievers serving as furry therapists in every imaginable setting: hospitals, hospices, nursing homes, rehabilitation institutes, adult day care centers, schools for children with special needs, even libraries with Reading to Dog programs. You name the venue and there you will find those beautiful, blonde canines with the spirits of angels working with the elderly, the infirm, the disabled. No one is surprised when one of them shows up wearing a vest and an id card.
What does surprise people is when a cat arrives for an hour of animal assisted activities or animal assisted therapy, known in the vernacular as "pet therapy". You might be interested to learn that Bideawee has four members of the family felidae who are engaged in pet therapy. Although much fewer in number than Golden Retrievers, cats serving as "pet therapists" have several qualities that dogs in that same capacity do not. For one thing, cats remind people of infants. No less an authority than famed ethologist Konrad Lorenz explains this phenomenon, called in scientific circles, "pedomorphosis". Cats are about the same size and weight as a human baby and the placement and size of their eyes is also very infant-like. Given this association with babies, they appeal to people's need to nurture and cuddle on a subconscious level. Cats' normal body temperature is higher than human's and therefore, are warming, comforting and soothing when they sit on laps. Their purr and their kneading motion have a mesmerizing effect as well. In addition, cats, even those who do not pass the certification test, are very attuned to changes in emotion and electromagnetic activity.
One such warm, purring, sensitive, card-carrying member of Bideawee's and Delta Society's legion of cat therapists is Emily. Emily is a 12 year old, black and tan, part Maine Coon, part alley cat, who every Monday promptly at 2 p.m. strolls in to Franklin Nursing Home in Franklin Square, Long Island, her leash attached to her harness held by her owners, mother and daughter team, Maureen and Kelly Franklin. Although in middle age, Emily is new to animal assisted activities. The Franklins found Emily in the street when she was a tiny kitten and have always known that she was a gentle and affectionate cat. But it was only after Kelly read an article in the May 2009 issue of Cat Fancy about cats helping veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome ("A Calming Presence" by Brad Kollus) that she thought to have Emily tested by Delta Society at Bideawee's Wantagh location.
Delta's testing for cats differs from that given to dogs. Obviously the examiner does not expect the cat to walk in heel position or sit on command (you recall the old story about the difference between cats and dogs. Ask a dog to jump, he will ask "how high?" Ask a cat to jump and he will say, "Put that suggestion in a memo and I will get back to you.") Cats have to demonstrate a willingness to be held and be stroked for a length of time. They should be well groomed. They also have to show that they are nonreactive to harsh noises and equipment such as walkers and canes and are able to walk on a harness and leash. Additionally cats must be calm during travel to the nursing home or hospital (I have two very affectionate cats who will sit on my lap and purr for hours while being stroked, as long as we are sitting in my living room. But neither one likes to travel in a car. Both drool and whine and throw up in a car. They would arrive at their destination wet, stressed and in a foul mood. So despite their affectionate nature, my cats would never make good therapy animals.) People who aspire to have their cats serve in a therapeutic situation must also understand how their pet responds to unfamiliar situations. (Again my cats love my windowsills and furniture but run and hide when brought into strange places). Emily, however, who is not only affectionate but unflappable, passed with flying colors and began her assignment almost immediately.
As the Franklins prepare to leave their home for the short trip to the nursing home, Kelly will ask, "Emily, are you ready to go to work?" Even though Emily may have been lounging on the sofa in the sunlight at that moment, she eagerly hops off the couch and heads for the front door. After walking in and signing the register at the nursing home, Maureen or Kelly will place Emily on a cart and wheel her into the day room. There a group of residents is eagerly awaiting her arrival. The members of the group, who might have been dozing in front of a movie or a soap opera, immediately light up. Smiles appear on faces and the residents begin to call Emily over and vie to be the first to interact with her. One lady who is generally noncommunicative will start to tell stories of the cats who had owned her during her life. Another woman routinely bestows a blessing on Emily. Emily provides the opportunity for a third woman to confide in Maureen who lends a sympathetic ear. Forty-five minutes pass all too quickly and soon Emily is back home on the couch basking now both in the warm sun and in the pleasure of a job well done.
If you think that the dozing furball on your living room couch could pass the certification test, and if you have time in your week and want to touch a life, consider having your cat tested at Bideawee.
BIDEAWEE: A NEW VERSION OF READING TO DOGS
AN UNSCHEDULED THERAPY DOG VISIT
BIDEAWEE DOGS and CATS GO GREEN
BAD ECONOMY BAD FOR DOGS AND CATS
LIFE GOES ON: Bideawee's Pet Loss Support Group
A Therapy Dog at College Teaches Important Lessons
Part 2: ADOPTING AN OLDER DOG: Joys and Challenges
ADOPTING AN OLDER DOG: Joys and Challenges
The Cat Who Changed My Life
The Lonely Cat's Best Friends
Therapy Benefits: What's In It for Me?
