Cats as therapists – the flip side…

Some time ago, I wrote a blog about how cats can have a positive effect on their human carers health and general wellbeing. (https://www.ailurophile.co.uk/?p=284) Obviously this is a wonderful thing and in an ideal world, the relationship would be beneficial to the cats too.

Unfortunately, that sometimes isn’t the case. In the rescue world, people see examples of this all the time. There are the more extreme cases, such as well meaning people who take in large numbers of cats with no real way to provide all of the practical and psychological care the cats need. These people are usually referred to as hoarders. The less extreme cases tend to be situations where the cats have their basic needs met, but due to their human carers mental or physical health, not necessarily with the regularity they should. And often, for the same reason, the cats own psychological needs are overlooked quite drastically. Unfortunately, this is detrimental to a cat in the long term, as it often means they aren’t given the tools to develop social interaction skills with humans.

While I most definitely believe that having a cat family member can bring many positives to a humans existence, it has to be considered how beneficial the relationship is to the cat too. Cats need a lot more in terms of mental stimulation, veterinary care and dietary care – bearing in mind cats have are first believed to have been domesticated 12,000 years ago – than we used to think. And we’re learning more and more about their thought processes and needs all the time. To care for a cat well, it’s important to try and learn what they’ll need from you in terms of care before committing to giving a home to one.