Not many of you know that my day job is writing politics, and editing other political stories. For me (and for practically everyone, really), this particular election cycle has been tiring, grueling, and just all around miserable. I found myself drinking a lot more than I usually do. I would go to bed, wake up, and wish I could just crawl totally under the covers and stay there. My cats aren’t officially therapy cats, but through all of it, they provided a certain type of therapy that I really needed.
Therapy cats are gaining in popularity
In Los Angeles, Purina ran an experiment with therapy cats – or, in that case, kittens. Stressed-out people went into a clear box to sit down, and then came the kittens. Pretty much everyone involved said that they felt much better afterward, and how could they not? There’s practically no way a bunch of kittens is not going to help you relax.
Here’s the video of that experiment. It’s amazing:
If you need a certified therapy cat, you don’t have to go adopt one. There are programs available to help you get your own cats certified as therapy cats. There are certain requirements that your cats have to meet, but if you’re willing to go through such programs, you don’t have to go about getting a new cat.
How my cats are therapy cats
You don’t really have to get your cat certified as a therapy cat unless you need to. Your cats are probably already your own personal therapy cats and kittens. I know mine are. Tonight, I was feeling particularly upset because an argument broke out between friends of mine on Facebook and I didn’t know what to do about it. I was worried they were going to expect me to take sides. I was worried they were going to jump on me because I wasn’t taking sides.
Fortunately, none of that happened. But at the height of my stress, I found myself pinned down with Kali in my lap.
How do you not relax and start to feel a bit better with this?
But Kali wasn’t the only cat to comfort me tonight. After she got up and left, Chase decided he wanted his own brand of cuddles (he’s a wool-sucker).
Of course, they don’t have to be in a purring, cuddling mood to provide therapy. We all know how easily feline antics can make us laugh and take our attention away from more stressful things. In short, cats are wonderful therapy animals, whether they’re certified or not. Mine have seen me through an awful lot.
