This is a great idea and these are lovely pictures. People in nursing homes don’t have a chance to look after a cat. They may well have given up their cat when they went into the nursing home.
The Ohio Alleycat Resource Shelter came up with this excellent initiative, to visit nursing homes with senior cats so that the elderly people can, for a while, have a cuddle with a cat. And what’s nice is the cats are seniors as well. I will presume that this is because they have been well selected and elderly cats are more likely to be very calm and laid back about the whole experience.
They call the initiative Pet Adoptions for Loving Seniors (PALS). The cats are seven years of age, at least, and older.
In addition, they invite the nursing home residents to visit the cats at the shelter. This is not only good fun for the participants but also for the cats as it helps with socialisation them, they say.
The senior people like to reminisce about their beloved cat companions that they once cherished and they like having photographs taken with the cats to send to their grandchildren.
As I said, I think it’s a great idea provided the cats are well selected. It’s a coming together of seniors from two different species.
The story comes from the bored panda website.
This is a wonderful idea that I hope will expand, to give joy to the people and the cats. I’m hoping that if I don’t have my own cat in my (future) final years, that I’m in a position to have a foster kitty. If not, than having a visiting kitty would help. There’s nothing quite as satisfying than being in close contact with these special furry beings. My cat has an important role in keeping me sane, in an insane world.
I so hope that, in my final years, folks will know enough to just give me cats to snuggle and sleep with. It has to be the best end-of-life experience there is.
I’m pretty sure that I could depend on my daughter to do that.