Some Cats Make Great Therapists, New Study Finds · Kinship Leave a comment

Animal assisted providers (AAS), through which remedy animals are utilized in settings the place individuals may profit from judgment-free companions, together with schools, nursing houses, rehabilitation facilities, and Olympic trials have shot up in recognition lately. For essentially the most half, canines have been the face of those interventions — like these TikTok viral pups, who’re “carrying the psychological well being of fifty,000 faculty college students on their again.” However pups aren’t the one animals as much as the duty. A brand new examine revealed in Animals discovered that sure cats could make nice AAS companions.

Researchers got down to create behavioral profiles for AAS cats and non-AAS cats, as a way to discover which cats are as much as the job. They collected information on 474 cats by distributing behavioral questionnaires to pet dad and mom.

They discovered some key variations between AAS cats and non-AAS cats. AAS cats scored greater on sociability with each people and cats, consideration searching for behaviors, and, apparently, predatory conduct. They scored decrease than non-AAS cats on resistance to restraint. Caregiver backgrounds, age, and intercourse didn’t have an effect on these variations.

“There’s this notion that cats simply aren’t appropriate for this type of work, however our examine exhibits that some cats could thrive in these settings,” Patricia Pendry, a co-author of the examine, instructed Phy.org. “It seems that cats chosen to have interaction in AAS appear to exhibit the identical behavioral traits as  remedy canines — like excessive sociability and a willingness to have interaction with individuals.”

Not like canines, remedy cats will not be often educated for behaviors associated to their temperaments — some kitties simply appear born destined for caregiving careers. On the similar time, it’s potential that AAS necessities — comparable to extra publicity to people — trigger a few of these traits to naturally develop or strengthen. Researchers are not sure precisely how a lot is innate and the way a lot is discovered on the job.

Regardless, it’s clear that some cats can thrive in AAS settings. And for individuals who want the calming head-butting of a cat to the energetic nuzzling of a canine, cats may very well be a fantastic therapeutic intervention. “The aim of the examine isn’t to immediately promote cats into remedy work,” Pendry instructed Phy.org. “It’s about recognizing that some cats could genuinely get pleasure from this type of interplay and, in the best setting, can present significant help to individuals who want it.”